Project Review

Coast American Cooling  Salinas Valley Produce Company Harvests Millions in Solar Savings.

A Leader in The Salinas Valley

Founded in 1991, Coastline Family Farms is a year-round shipper of more than 25 fresh vegetables farmed on premium land around the Salinas Valley. Coastline operates several cold storage, processing and packaging facilities that provides consumers with some of the area’s freshest produce.

Their Challenge

One of Coastline’s packaging facilities, Coast American Cooling, was processing such large quantities of produce to arrive at market in peak condition required substantial energy to run their cold storage and packaging equipment. Coastline needed a way to offset their electricity costs in a way that was as sustainable as their farming operations.

How They Saved

The SunPower system currently offsets more than 85% of the facility’s electricity usage and is projected to save $70 thousand in the first year and more than $2.6 million over the next 25 years. In addition to the energy savings they received hundreds of thousands in tax incentives and further advance the sustainability of their products from the ground to store shelves everywhere.