Mars
Chocolate North America, makers of Las Vegas’ own Ethel M Chocolates, announced
today the grand opening of a new solar garden at its Henderson chocolate
factory. The state of the art solar installation provides 100 percent of the
electrical energy to the Ethel Ms plant during peak operating hours.
The
project’s completion was commemorated with a ribbon cutting event attended by
state and local government officials, executives from NV Energy, juwi solar
Inc. (JSI), and Mars Chocolate North America leaders.
“At
Mars Chocolate North America, we have the opportunity to make a difference in
the world.” said Mike Wittman, vice president of supply. “We are proud of the investments we are
making to ensure we are using the earth’s resources responsibly. This newest solar garden moves us closer to
our goals of eliminating our carbon footprint at our sites by 2040 and using
100 percent renewable energy.”
The
new Ethel M factory solar garden features 2,112 ground-mounted solar panels on
4.4 acres, and is the largest solar installation by a food manufacturer in
Nevada. The installation generates 1,258 megawatt hours of zero-emission
electricity each year, offsetting 867 metric tons of greenhouse gas – the
equivalent of removing approximately 170 vehicles from the road. The project will generate as much energy as
115 Nevada households use annually.
Mars
will purchase all of the energy generated by the solar garden and JSI will own
the project and its associated energy credits.
Mars worked closely with NV Energy to ensure that the new installation
met net metering requirements, enabling Mars to receive energy offsets from the
utility based on the amount of energy their solar panels will produce.
"This
is the second solar PV project built by juwi solar on Mars-owned property,”
said Michael Martin, CEO of JSI. "We are proud to play a role in advancing
environmental and sustainability goals by replacing the grid’s brown power with
green power generated onsite."
The
solar garden is adjacent to the chocolate factory and Ethel M’s Botanical
Cactus Garden. A vista point located
within the Botanical Cactus Garden will allow the more than 700,000 annual
visitors to view the new solar facility.
“We
are fortunate to have been a part of the Henderson and Las Vegas community for
more than 30 years,” said Phillips. “We hope the completion of our solar garden
demonstrates our continuing commitment to be an environmentally friendly
citizen. Our goal is that every business
decision we make will have a positive effect on people and the planet through
our performance. This project achieves
all three.”
About
Mars Chocolate North America
Mars
Chocolate North America is the North American chocolate operations of Mars,
Incorporated. In 1911, Frank C. Mars
made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established
Mars’ first roots as a confectionery company.
In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and
together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar.
In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the philosophy
of a “mutuality of benefits” for all stakeholders – this vision serves as the
foundation of the Mars, Incorporated we are today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales
of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare,
Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. More than 65,000 Associates worldwide are
putting our Mars Principles in action every day to make a difference for people
and the planet through our performance.
Mars
brands include: Chocolate – M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY
WAY® and TWIX®; Petcare – PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, SHEBA®, CESAR® and ROYAL CANIN®;
Wrigley – ORBIT®, EXTRA®, STARBURST®, DOUBLEMINT® and SKITTLES®; Food – UNCLE
BEN’S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS® and SEEDS OF CHANGE®; Drinks – ALTERRA
COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA CO.™, KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience
–SERAMIS®, CIRKU™ and COCOAVIA™.
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