The Wonderful Company, the farming giant owned by Stewart and Lynda Resnick, recently completed construction on a major solar farm in the Central Valley.
POM Wonderful – the subsidiary of the Wonderful Company – is the nation’s largest grower and producer of fresh pomegranates and pomegranate juice and has its processing plant in Del Rey, a small Fresno County community located southwest of Sanger.
Thursday, POM Wonderful revealed the completion of the solar farm at its plant, which will be fully operational next month and is expected to deliver over 90 percent of the company’s electricity by next year.
The solar plant is an 8.3 megawatt installation on 40 acres and generates 17.3 million kWh per year.
Along with the completion of the solar farm, POM Wonderful also announced that all of the 16 oz. bottles it sells in the United States will be made with 100 percent recycled plastic.
Derrick Miller, POM Wonderful President, celebrated the completion of the solar farm with a ribbon cutting outside of the processing plant in Del Rey.
“As an agriculture company at heart, we know that sustainability is critical to our future,” Miller said. “That’s why we conserve natural resources and work hard to minimize our company’s impact on the environment.”
Miller noted that POM Wonderful uses over 11 million plastic bottles annually.
“Today, as we celebrate the transition to 100 percent rPET and the completion of our solar farm, POM Wonderful pledges to continue to look for new ways to minimize our impact, serve as community stewards and enhance sustainability across every part of our business,” Miller said.
Steve Swartz, POM Wonderful’s Chief Strategy Officer, talked about the company’s commitment to use 100 percent renewable electricity in the United States by 2025.
“In the face of a rapidly changing climate, The Wonderful Company is placing sustainability at the center of our work,” Swartz said.
“Importantly, our commitment extends beyond pursuing the known improvements of today. It also includes cutting edge environmental research that will push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
