Poland Spring Bottling Plant to Use Solar for 20% of Energy Needs

(Credit: Pixabay)

Nestlé Waters North America has announced it will construct a 10-megawatt AC renewable energy project at its Poland Spring bottling plant in Hollis, Maine. This proposed solar energy installation, currently in the permit application process, will supply enough clean electricity to meet approximately 20-25% of the current energy needs of the facility, the company notes.

Once completed, the proposed solar project would occupy 47 acres of land, making it one of the largest contiguous solar arrays in Maine. The project developer is EnterSolar, of New York. The civil engineers are Sevee & Maher Engineers, of Cumberland, ME.

Depending on timing for permits from both the Town of Hollis and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the proposed groundbreaking could begin as soon as April 2021, with project completion projected for Spring 2022.

Just last month, Nestlé Waters announced that its Ontario, California water bottling site is the first food and beverage factory in the world to earn Platinum certification under the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard. Nestlé Waters is also the first company of any type to achieve this advanced certification in North America.

And in July, the company announced that three more of its US domestic still water brands have started to convert their packaging to 100% recycled plastic. Ozarka Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, Deer Park Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, and Zephyrhills Brand 100% Natural Spring Water packaging, which has long been 100% recyclable, will now be both 100% recyclable and made from 100% recycled plastic. With the expansion of recycled plastic (rPET) to these brands, nearly 60% of all households in the US will have access to one of the company’s regionally distributed spring water brands in bottles made entirely with recycled plastic.