Solar panels would be placed both north and south of the Lactalis Tulare plant along Highway 99.
Cheese maker Lactalis has filed plans with the City of Tulare to install 20MW of solar power at their Hwy 99 plant as well as 15MW of battery storage. This will enable the company to be mostly self-sufficient to power up its 24/7 hour operation.
The former Kraft Cheese manufacturing facility is surrounded by open space, allowing plenty of room for both ground and rooftop solar panels to connect to the plant directly. Power generated at the facility will not go into the grid but will be used to carry on its daily operation.
The big dairy plant sits on 169 acres and the solar project would take up about 85 acres of that.
The application for the project says the ground-mount solar is proposed to occupy vacant land north and south of the manufacturing facility. The canopy-mounted solar is proposed to be developed as shade structures located over the existing parking lots directly south of the facility. The project would generate electricity to support the existing dairy manufacturing facility and offset its electrical demand, which is considered a “behind the meter.”
The project proposes to further improve the existing Lactalis Heritage Dairy manufacturing facility with the addition of ground-mount and canopy-mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar equipment capable of generating up to 20 megawatts (MW) of renewable electrical energy, and a battery energy storage system (BESS) storing up to 15 MW per hour (MWhr).
The ground-mount solar is proposed to occupy vacant land north and south of the manufacturing facility. The canopy-mounted solar is proposed to be developed as shade structures located over the existing parking lots directly south of the facility. The project would generate electricity to support the existing dairy manufacturing facility and offset its electrical demand, which is considered a “behind the meter.”
The completed assembly of PV modules is mounted on a “tracker” framework structure that tracks the sun from east to west throughout the day.
The canopy and canopy-mounted solar panels will be installed in the existing parking lot and will be placed to allow for the continuation of existing parking and traffic patterns, while providing shade for employees.
Energy Storage
As proposed, the project includes a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) that could be centrally located, or it would have one BESS on each solar facility site. The approximately 15 MW BESS would consist of a series of batteries housed within the inverter pads or in separate storage containers in a prefabricated metal container. The BESS unit would be installed on the project site and would have appropriate fire suppression systems built to applicable State and local code requirements.
Battery storage allows a company to continue to tap the energy after the sun sets.
Construction of the project is anticipated to last approximately eight to twelve months.
French-owned Lactalis completed the year-long process of purchasing three Kraft plants in November of 2021.The Tulare plant now includes the manufacturing of feta cheese with other varieties.