COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – Less than a month after announcing a sales agreement to source renewable energy from a wind farm in Oklahoma being built by Duluth, Minn.-based Allete Clean Energy, Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn., agreed to a long-term commitment to purchase wind energy from Denmark-based Orsted’s Haystack Wind project in Nebraska.

Earlier this year, Target Corp. and PepsiCo signed similar agreements to purchase wind energy from the new wind farm owned by Orsted, which is billed as the world’s largest developer of offshore wind farms. The Haystack Wind farm, which is currently under construction and expected to be operational this year, will produce 298 megawatts of power.   

In 2019, Hormel formed a partnership with IGS and PCI Solar and built a solar energy facility to power its Swill American Sausage Co. in Lathrop, Calif. Also in 2019, Hormel announced plans to source wind energy from a wind farm being built in Milligan, Neb., by Kinect Energy Group. 

“As one of the leading global branded food companies, Hormel Foods has committed to match 100% of its domestic energy use with renewable sourcing by 2030,” said Tom Raymond, director of environmental sustainability for Hormel.

Orsted officials expect the wind farm to generate $4 million in local taxes and through payments to landowners in the community.

“It’s great to partner with Hormel Foods, PepsiCo, and Target as they work towards their renewable energy goals,” said Vishal Kapadia, senior vice president and chief commercial officer at Ørsted Onshore. “Through projects like Haystack Wind, we’re able to provide clean energy to the grid while contributing to the project’s local community through job creation, landowner benefits, and local tax reduction.”