by Jbs012010 a3 — January 22, 2010—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is recognizing the first three frozen fried potato-processing plants to earn the Energy Star for superior energy performance. These plants perform in the top 25 percent for energy efficiency nationwide and, on average, use nearly 20 percent less energy when compared to similar plants across the country, says EPA. Together, they annually save more than $10 million and prevent nearly 40,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents from entering the atmosphere.
The three potato-processing plants to first earn EPA’s Energy Star are J.R. Simplot Company’s Aberdeen, Idaho plant; J.R. Simplot Company’s Othello, Washington plant; and ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston Inc.’s Quincy, Washington plant.
Announced in October 2009, EPA’s Energy Star Energy Performance Indicators (EPIs) for food processing have become important tools in helping improve the energy efficiency of the industry, which spends nearly $7 billion on energy each year. Energy Star EPIs allow companies to measure their energy performance against others in the industry while achieving breakthrough improvements in energy efficiency.
