Hormel Solar Project to Supply Jennie-O Plant, Community with Green Power

Sept. 28, 2023

Hormel Foods celebrated the completion of an 8-acre solar field at its Montevideo, Minn., Jennie-O facility.

Hormel Foods has completed an 8-acre solar field at its Jennie-O plant in Montevideo, Minn., according to a release detailing a ribbon-cutting celebration on the operation held Sept. 26.

The solar field is expected to generate 3.2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) annually between the community solar and on-site solar projects. The on-site portion will supply approximately 10% of the plant’s annual electricity, the release said, and the community portion will provide employees of Jennie-O, the community and businesses an opportunity to receive discounts on energy bills and support green power generation.

Greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be reduced by the solar field by an estimated 2,265 metric tons per year — equivalent to the annual GHG production of 504 average gas-powered passenger vehicles.

Hormel Foods director of sustainability Tom Raymond speaks to the crowd at the Jennie-O plant in Montevideo, Minn., during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new solar field (in the background).

This is not Hormel’s first solar project, having completed projects in Kansas and California, nor is it the company’s first renewal energy initiative, with Hormel having Virtual Power Purchase Agreements for wind power in northern Texas and eastern Nebraska. It also is an anchor-tenant in a community solar project in Illinois (in addition to this central Minnesota project). Hormel Foods has set a goal to achieve 100% green power worldwide by 2030.

More information on Hormel’s “20 By 30 Challenge” can be found here.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.