United Wind, the nation’s distributed wind energy developer, announced that it has signed an agreement with Smithfield Foods, Inc., a global food company, to power dozens of Smithfield farms in Colorado with onsite wind energy.
United Wind has partnered with Colorado’s Smithfield for a 3-MW WindLease Agreement. WindLease lets farmers lock into their electric rate using wind energy.
The partnership will provide Smithfield with long-term, low-cost renewable energy for its agricultural operations and contribute to its industry-leading goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2025 – the first commitment of its kind from a protein company.
“At Smithfield, we are committed to seeking out innovative ways to reduce our environmental impact, all while creating value for our company and stakeholders,” said Stewart Leeth, VP of regulatory affairs and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. “This partnership with United Wind is part of our efforts to produce the food needed to feed a growing world population, while minimizing our use of natural resources.”
United Wind’s WindLease provides farms and other rural businesses with a distributed wind system, sized to meet each customer’s onsite load, and priced at a fixed monthly rate for the twenty-year lease term. United Wind handles all aspects of the project, from permitting and construction to monitoring and maintenance, with no upfront or ongoing project related costs.
“We’re excited to bring competitive distributed wind energy options to food and agricultural companies like Smithfield in wind-rich environments throughout rural areas of the country,” said Russell Tencer, CEO of United Wind. “The economics and land-use attributes of distributed wind just make more sense in the areas we serve.”
Since its founding in 2013, United Wind has developed, financed, and commissioned more than 100 distributed wind projects ranging from 10 to 100 kW in rated capacity throughout Western New York and the Midwestern U.S.
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