Now, with the help of up to $170 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstration, the plant will soon implement changes meant to reduce annual emissions by close to 99 percent from 2022.
The funds will be used by 10 of the company’s U.S. plants to install heat pumps, electric heaters, electric boilers, anaerobic digesters, biogas boilers, solar thermal and more.
Marcos Eloi Lima, chief procurement and sustainability officer for Kraft Heinz, said the company’s goal is to achive net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. These funds will aid in that process.
“This investment recognizes our continued efforts to reduce our environmental footprint, and we’re eager to get started,” he said.
Kraft Heinz hasn’t said what specific improvements are expected in Holland, but said funding will be allocated based on the needs of each individual plant.
The process is expected to reduce natural gas use by 97%, total water use by 3% and overall energy use by 23% by 2030.
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“I’m proud of the impact this project and award will have on our facilities, but also on our current and future workforce and the communities that surround our operations,” said SVP and Head of North America Operations Helen Davis.
The projects are expected to create about 500 construction jobs across the 10 plants, which are located in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Iowa, Minnesota and Virginia.
Heinz Holland opened in 1897. Today, the plant has close to 300 employees.
— Contact reporter Austin Metz at ametz@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Kraft Heinz of Holland will receive clean energy facelift