MADISON, WI - December 15, 2008 - In July 2008, Wisconsin Specialty Protein broke ground on a new 21,000-square-foot facility within the Reedsburg Industrial Park with a “green” vision, a strong environmental commitment and the plan to make the new plant and its products friendly to the environment. The leadership of the specialty whey protein business start-up wanted to preserve wetlands on its 8.5-acre site and work to obtain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its building from the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit environmental organization.
“We really wanted to be sensitive to the land features and to the environmental impact of our new location and we did this by pursing sustainability in our overall design,” said Tera Johnson, Wisconsin Specialty Protein CEO. “We used environmentally friendly building materials, minimized site paving to preserve green space and are creating rain gardens for storm water management.”
As with any start-up business, cash is important and paying for the environmental design features in the new building would take upfront dollars before the long-term energy-efficiency gains could be realized. That's where Wisconsin Power and Light's (WPL's) Shared Savings program stepped in to assist the company. The Shared Savings program is an initiative that assists industrial, commercial and agricultural customers with identification and implementation of energy efficiency projects - and invests the capital to finance them.
“I met with Tera early on during the planning phase and we took a look at the energy-efficient design elements she wanted integrated into the structure,” said Mary Eiler-Radl, Alliant Energy Strategic Account Manager. “It turned out that the project was a perfect fit for our Shared Savings program and we were able to help pull the financing together.”
With the energy-efficiency and heat recovery measures being implemented through the Shared Savings program, it is estimated that Wisconsin Specialty Protein will reduce their natural gas use versus a traditional building by 116,000 therms per year, which equals annual savings of approximately $115,000. In addition to the dollar savings, the low-interest financing and ability to repay the loan using the energy savings was attractive to the company.
“Energy conservation and environmental stewardship are fundamental to the mission of our company and Alliant Energy was a great partner in our effort to design a plant that uses roughly 40% less energy than a typical whey drying plant,” added Johnson. “We're achieving this through an innovative cool temperature process design, energy efficient equipment, and extensive use of heat exchange, heat recovery and reuse throughout the system. The funds from the Shared Savings program made it possible for us to make these investments that will benefit our business, our customers, and the planet for years to come.”
When their building is completed in early 2009, Wisconsin Specialty Protein's manufacturing plant in Reedsburg will be the first and only source of organic cow, rBST-free cow, goat, and sheep nutritional supplement grade whey protein concentrates in the world. The business also plans to launch its own line of consumer ready, small-batch, nutritional supplement whey protein products. All the company's whey comes from small specialty, artisan cheese makers who source their milk from local family dairy farms.
Shared Savings is an energy efficiency program available to business customers of Wisconsin Power and Light Company, an Alliant Energy company. Low-cost loans to purchase and install energy-efficient equipment are repaid to WPL from the customers' energy savings. From 1987-2007, the Shared Savings program has avoided the generation of over 5 billion kilowatt-hours - enough energy to power almost 498,000 average homes for one year.
Businesses interested in WPL's Shared Savings program are encouraged to visit www.alliantenergy.com/sharedsavings or call 1-866-ALLIANT (255-4268) for more information.
