Frito-Lay’s manufacturing plant in Killingly, Conn., today inaugurated a new co-generation system that will generate almost 100 percent of the facility’s electrical requirements, company officials said.
The facility will utilize waste heat generated to produce steam to help with the manufacturing of snack products made there. Frito-Lay said the new system will not only reduce the plant’s environmental footprint, but also will help alleviate the significant load on the heavily congested northeast power grid.
“Today’s launch of the co-gen system is an example of sustainability and partnership in action,” Leslie Starr Keating, senior vice president of operations for Frito-Lay North America, said in a statement. “Working with the state of Connecticut and the Department of Energy, we are able to invest in sustainable business practices that benefit this community and the country by providing relief to the northeast power grid and using technologies with a lower environmental impact.”
The project was funded in part by the State of Connecticut and the Department of Energy. The state grant was awarded as part of the Connecticut’s Energy Independence Act, which encourages businesses and government agencies to install systems to help alleviate the demands on the Northeast power grid. The DOE grant from its Industrial Technology Program was awarded to highlight the potential for combine heat power projects in the food industry.
With the installation of the Co-Gen system, the Frito-Lay Killingly site will reduce its carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions, which contribute to greenhouse gas.
Plano, Texas-based Frito-Lay North America is the $12 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo, which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.
Tags: Connecticut, Frito-Lay, Killingly, Leslie Starr Keating
