Flour Maker Ardent Mills Signs 25-Year Agreement with US Solar

Ardent Mills, a flour-milling and ingredient company, recently announced that it has signed a 25-year agreement with US Solar to purchase an expected 1.8 million kWh annually under a subscription plan supporting US Solar’s Goodhue County, Minnesota solar gardens.

The subscription plan is expected to reduce energy costs at Ardent Mills’ Hastings Mill, the first operating mill in Minnesota. Although the solar gardens will not directly provide power to the Hastings Mill, Ardent Mills’ agreement to subscribe to these solar gardens is crucial in enabling the gardens to be built, bringing more solar energy onto the local electrical grid.

Other subscribers to US Solar’s gardens include residents and public entities, including many Minnesota cities and schools. The first solar garden has started construction and is anticipated to be online later this year.

Ardent Mills has built a team to conceptualize, research and implement projects that will make a positive environmental impact, including hiring a full-time Sustainability Lead, Phoenix Dugger.

Last year, Ardent Mills also invested in sustainable energy solutions in Kansas at its Newton and Wichita community mills. The facilities enrolled in Westar’s new Green Energy Program, under which program they anticipate receiving a substantial portion of their energy from the newly-constructed Soldier Creek Wind Energy Center. By choosing renewable energy, Ardent Mills estimates that it will reduce its total carbon footprint by over 29,000 metric tons each year.