Photo courtesy of MCE
By Susan Wood
Excerpt from article:
One agricultural customer that chooses to pay for clean energy on its utility bills is Straus Family Creamery, an organic Petaluma creamery.
“Energy markets are fluid and volatile, so we have adapted in so many ways,” Straus Vice President of Sustainability and Strategic Impact Joe Button said. “This year both electricity and natural gas rates have increased significantly, but I think most of that is in (PG&E) transmission rates.”
Button declined to provide what Straus Family Creamery has paid for power, but he said the operation’s creamery in Rohnert Park uses 3 million kWh (hours) per year. A longtime advocate for regenerative, environmentally-friendly farming, the company uses a “97% carbon-free business model,” he said.
To Button, Sonoma Clean Power model meshes with his company’s philosophical and civic standards.
“We see them as a key partner. We want to help them grow in (establishing) the future energy structure,” he said.
