MONTEVIDEO, MINN. — Hormel Foods Corp. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 26 at its Jennie-O Turkey Store plant in Montevideo, Minn., to celebrate the completion of the company’s latest community solar project. The project added an 8-acre solar field to the site, which is projected to generate 3.2 million kilowatt hours per year.

"We are inspired to do our part to make the world a better place with the completion of this project," said Tom Raymond, director of environmental sustainability at Hormel Foods. "We know the importance of advancing renewable energy initiatives and this project demonstrates our commitment to environmental stewardship, including how we source the energy we need."

The new solar array will supply 10% of the plant’s annual electricity. Additionally, a portion of the project was allotted to the community, offering the Jennie-O team, community members and businesses the opportunity to use renewable energy and receive discounts on their energy bills.

Hormel predicted the added solar panels will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,265 tonnes annually.

Hormel has committed to achieving 100% green power throughout its company worldwide by 2030. Progressing toward that goal, last year Hormel increased its procurement of domestic renewable electricity from less than 10% to 100%.

The company’s green energy commitment is part of its 20 By 30 Challenge, in which Hormel proposed 20 quantitative and qualitative goals to achieve by 2030.

Additional information on Hormel’s progress on the 20 By 30 Challenge can be found in its recently released Global Impact Report.