Emmi using solar power from Amstutz
Emmen LU – The milk processing firm Emmi will in future use solar energy produced on the roofs of its neighboring company Amstutz Holzenergie AG. For twelve years now, 80 percent of the process energy required by Emmi has been sourced from a wood chip plant on the Amstutz premises.
Emmi and Amstutz Holzenergie AG are expanding the terms of their collaboration. According to a press release, products such as the Aktifit probiotic yoghurt drinks and creamy Luzerner Rahmkäse will in future be produced by way of solar power generated on the roofs of the neighboring company Amstutz Holzenergie AG. For twelve years already, 80 percent of the process energy required by Emmi has come from a wood chip facility located on the Amstutz premises, which feeds hot steam into the Emmi system by way of a long-distance pipeline.
A total of 1,440 photovoltaic modules at Amstutz produce approximately 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Amstutz uses around 200,000 kilowatt hours itself, with 300,000 passed on to Emmi. “We are pleased that our neighbor Emmi has been using environmentally friendly ‘wood steam’ from our company for twelve years, and that we can now strengthen our partnership for a sustainable energy future with solar energy from our roofs”, comments Managing Director Albert Amstutz in the press release.
As the press release explains further, Emmi’s network of roughly 25 plants in Switzerland is fully supplied with electricity from European hydroelectric facilities. Moving forwards, the company intends to “significantly” increase production of its own renewable electricity over the next few years. For example, the roof of the new cheese dairy in Emmen in the canton of Lucerne, construction of which is still ongoing, will also feature photovoltaic elements.
