JACKSON COUNTY, TEXAS — On March 22, Nestlé announced an investment in Ganado, a solar project by Enel North America. The company’s investment will add 208 megawatts of solar electricity to the United States power grid, enabling Nestlé to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout its operations, including its pet food manufacturing plants.

The solar project currently consists of 600 hectares of solar electricity.

Alongside its investment in Ganado, Nestlé will purchase renewable electricity attributes generated by the project at an estimated average of 333,000 megawatt hours per year for at least 15 years. The company will use the solar electricity to power many of its US-based facilities, including those that produce DiGiorno pizza, Stouffer's, Nesquik, Tidy Cats cat litter and Purina Pro Plan pet food.

“We will continue to accelerate the use of renewable electricity, including wind and solar, to source 100% renewable electricity across our sites globally by 2025, and to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” said Howard Baker, global head of engineering service and technologies at Nestlé. “Our investment in this solar project is an important milestone to achieve these objectives: we will use renewable electricity to help power our US manufacturing facilities, while also contributing to increasing the amount of renewable energy available in the United States.”

Ganado is expected to help reduce Nestlé’s carbon emissions by about 126,294 tonnes annually.

“We are continuing to accelerate our work to make sure we produce and transport our products in a sustainable way,” said Kate Short, chief procurement officer at Nestlé North America. “Not only will our investment in Ganado help reduce carbon emissions across our US manufacturing sites, but we're also proud that it will help expand the availability of renewable energy in the United States, adding enough solar electricity to power about 24,574 homes each year.”

The investment in the solar project furthers Nestlé’s investment in another solar project, called Taygete I, in 2020.

Read more about sustainability efforts in the pet food and treat industry.