Bunge said the renewable energy initiative will offset 100% of its power usage in Fort Worth with an equivalent amount of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) that are derived from Texas wind power. Beginning in August, Bunge’s Fort Worth plant energy will be sourced from a local wind farm, the company said.
“Our partnership with Direct Energy is a great step toward our focus in finding scalable solutions to fighting climate change,” said Rob Coviello, chief sustainability officer and government affairs at Bunge. “We strive to do the right thing in every decision we make and in every region where we work. By optimizing our facilities and embracing new technologies and sources of energy, we are confident we will be able to reduce our global environmental footprint and to improve value to our customers.”
Bunge has taken several steps in recent years to improve its sustainable standing. Most recently, the company achieved 100% renewable electricity powered by wind at its corn mill in Atchison, Kan., and its soybean processing plant in Emporia, Kan.
In 2019, Bunge signed a long-term contract with Evergy for 8% of the latter’s total wind farm in Nemaha County, Kan. A few months ago, the wind farm became fully operational. It will now help to transition about 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity from coal and natural gas to wind each year across the two plants in Kansas. In addition to Kansas, Bunge owns a soybean processing plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that gets more than 60% of its electricity from wind power.
