J.R. Simplot, ConAgra French Fry Plants Become Energy Star Buildings

Two J.R. Simplot Company facilities and one operated by ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston Inc. have become the first three french fry plants to earn recognition for “superior energy performance” under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program.

To qualify as a Energy Star building, each of the three potato processing plants had to score in the top 25th percentile of the EPA’s National Energy Performance Rating System by attaining a score of 75 or higher. Buildings at that level typically use almost 20 percent less energy compared to similarly sized standard plants in the U.S.

Together, the processing plants for frozen french fries save more than $10 million in energy costs annually and prevent almost 40,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the EPA. The avoided CO2e is roughly equal to the emissions that result from the annual electricity use of 5,000 homes, the agency said.

{related_content}The three sites recognized as Energy Star buildings are:

• The J.R. Simplot Company’s plant in Aberdeen, Idaho. The plant makes batter-coated french fries in addition to shoestrings, thincuts and wedges. The facility also produces tater gems, hashbrown patties and Cornados, Simplot’s stone-ground corn fries.
• The Simplot plant in Othello, Wash., which makes a line of traditional french fries — shoestrings, thincuts, regulars and wedges, tater gems and hashbrown patties.
• The ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston Inc. plant in Quincy, Wash.

Energy Star introduced its energy performance indicators for food processing, an industry that spend almost $7 billion on energy annually, in October 2009.

Top image courtesy of J.R. Simplot.
Inset images of “My Fries” courtesy of Lamb Weston.