Committed to establishing earth-friendly farm practices for future generations, Lancaster County’s Kreider Farms is launching a solar power project that will increase energy efficiency for its four Manheim chicken houses, which are the most state-of-the-art egg processing facilities available in the United States.

Set to begin this month in conjunction with Earth Day on April 22, the $2 million project is slated to be complete by mid-summer.

Kreider Farms has partnered with MBC Development of Schuylkill Haven and A1 Energy of Manheim, to install solar panels onto the roofs of its four chicken houses. The chicken houses, each of which measures about the size of a football field, will utilize 100 percent of the power from the solar panels for its needs, which encompass everything from fans and conveyors to lighting.

“This project is just the latest example of how Kreider Farms make ‘green’ technologies an important part of our operations,” said Ron Kreider, president and CEO, and third-generation family leader of Kreider Farms. “Over the years, we’ve invested millions of dollars into eco-friendly, high-tech facilities in an effort to improve the quality of our products and reduce our environmental footprint, which helps to preserve farmland.”

“The solar panels will generate almost a megawatt of usable energy. That’s enough to power approximately 100 residential homes,” said Jim Miller, president of MBC Development. “Solar panels are evolving and these new models are approximately 15 percent more efficient than ones we installed 3 years ago – a significant increase.”

Kreider Farms distributes farm fresh dairy products to retailers and wholesalers from Virginia to New England. Egg varieties include white, brown, organic and cage-free.

For more information on sustainability initiatives, visit the Kreider Farms website.

NewsClip: Kreider Farms Launches Solar Chickenhouse Project

4/21/2014