Grower's Cooperative continues its decade long effort to reduce consumption of
electricity, water and natural gas
LAKE WALES, Fla., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The bright Florida sunshine that
goes into every glass of Florida's Natural(R) Brand Orange Juice is now
helping power the Florida's Natural Growers Visitor Center on Highway 27 North
in Lake Wales. The Florida's Natural Grower's Cooperative just installed
solar panels on the 5,000 square foot facility as part of their continuing
effort to promote and utilize renewable energy sources.
The solar panels are estimated to supply 30% of the power needed to
operate the Visitor's Center and are being used as a test case by the
Cooperative to explore more sources of renewable energy.
"Florida's Natural Growers is committed to producing the finest All
Florida juice to our consumers using the least energy possible," said Walt
Lincer, VP of Sales and Marketing. "Solar energy is clean, renewable and
sustainable. We use it to grow our oranges so it just makes sense to use it
to power our Visitor's Center."
The installation of solar panels at the Visitor's Center is just the
latest example of the Florida's Natural Growers' ongoing, Cooperative wide
commitment to reduce the consumption of electricity, natural gas and water.
From 2000-2007 natural gas consumption is down approximately 25% and
electrical consumption is down about 9%. Water usage is down over 90% since
the early 1980's with the implementation of recirculation programs and the
installation of cooling towers. The Cooperatives' co-generators, installed
within the last decade, enable Florida's Natural Growers to generate 75% of
their off season load and all of their internal steam needs. The system burns
clean natural gas to generate both electricity and steam. The single gas burn
provides two power supply benefits.
To help educate the public about renewable energy, the Visitors Center
will feature an interactive display demonstrating how the solar panels power
the facility.
About Florida's Natural Growers
First formed in 1933, the growers' cooperative was named Florida Citrus
Canners Cooperative, as its main function was canning grapefruit sections and
juice for its grower members. After the development of frozen concentrated
juices in the 1940's, the Cooperative invested in the necessary infrastructure
and became one of the largest juice processors in the state. In 1969, the
Canners Cooperative eventually changed its name to Citrus World, Inc. to
better reflect its diverse product line. Today, the majority of the
Cooperative's sales are derived from the Florida's Natural (R) Brand, now the
second largest selling premium NOT From Concentrate brand in the United
States. The cooperative now uses Florida's Natural Growers as its name.
Florida's Natural Growers is comprised of twelve grower organizations
representing nearly 1100 individual growers who own over 50,000 acres of
citrus in Florida. Florida's Natural Growers operates its processing plant in
Lake Wales, Florida, with a juice packaging plant in Umatilla, Florida. The
Lake Wales facility employs 850 employees and can extract over nine million
pounds of fruit every twenty-four hours in peak season. Brands product in
Lake Wales include Florida's Natural (R), Florida's Natural Growers Pride (R),
Donald Duck (R), Bluebird (R), and Earth's Own Organics (R).
Fact Sheet
Natural Gas Consumption from 2000-2007 Down 25%
Co-Generators on site within the last decade burn natural gas to generate
both electricity and steam. One gas burn provides two benefits.
Electricity Consumption from 2000-2007 Down 9%
Replacement of bulbs resulting in a decrease of 8-10% within the offices.
Lighting is on sensors within offices. When the building is unoccupied,
the lighting turns off.
Water Usage from 2000-2007 Down 5%
From the early 1980's, the installation of a recirculation program and
cooling towers reduced out of the ground water consumption approximately
90%.
Florida's Natural Growers generates 75% of the off-season electrical load
and all internal steam needs.
SOURCE Florida's Natural Growers
Mr. Walter M. Lincer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, +1-863-676-1411
