(Editor's note: This story first ran in March 2022. Given the rise of microgrids in the commercial sector, we thought it was worthwhile to repost in EnergyTech).
An international baking operation has chosen GreenStruxure to deploy net-zero microgrids on site at six of its bakeries.
Bimbo Bakeries USA chose six California operations as the first sites for the hybrid systems. Once deployed, they are expected to reduce carbon emissions by about 25 percent and electricity use by the same portion.
“Grupo Bimbo and Bimbo Bakeries USA are committed to Net Zero Carbon by 2050,” said Chris Wolfe, Bimbo Bakeries USA’s Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability. “These onsite microgrids represent a key component to our diversified strategy.”
GreenStruxure, a microgrid energy-as-a-service joint venture of Schneider Electric and Huck Capital, will install modular and highly digital systems featuring battery storage, solar PV and back-up gen-sets. Under the EaaS model, GreenStruxure will install and pay for building the microgrids, while the customer pays a monthly bill on the service.
Mexico-based parent Grupo Bimbo owns and operates nearly 200 bakery plants globally and plans to expand its microgrid goals in the near future.
The six California bakeries – Montebello, Placentia, Oxnard, San Luis Obispo, South San Francisco, and Sacramento – were chosen based on their energy intensity, increasing utility electricity costs and highest decarbonization impact.
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In 2020, the company’s bakeries in Escondido, CA and Denver, CO were awarded Food Processing Magazine’s “Green Plant of the Year” and “The Colorado Environmental Leadership Award,” respectively.
“Bimbo Bakeries USA’s actions have made it very clear that they are going to lead the market when it comes to sustainability,” said GreenStruxure CEO Jose Lorenzo. “On-site energy systems are Bimbo Bakeries USA’s best option to decarbonize and fulfill their long-term sustainability targets with optimized cost.”
In addition to the Schneider Electric and Huck Capital support, GreenStruxure has also received $500 million in funding from private equity giant Blackstone’s ClearGen fund.
(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]).
