Ardagh Glass California facility taps into solar energy

The Indiana-based Ardagh Glass Packaging-North America business unit of Ireland’s Ardagh Group is working with CI Renewables LLC to move forward with plans for a solar energy project in Madera, California, where Ardagh has a glass wine bottle manufacturing plant.

The 10-megawatt solar project, being built and to be operated by Dana Point, California-based VALTA Energy, is expected to be completed later this year. The solar project will supply approximately 25 percent of the electricity needed at Ardagh’s Madera facility.

“We are pleased to see this important solar project for Ardagh move forward,” says Walter Serafyn, managing partner of Baltimore-based CI Renewables. "This is the second large-scale solar project we have developed for Ardagh, and we look forward to more opportunities with Ardagh in the future.”

About a year ago, Ardagh’s Madera facility was awarded its ninth Energy Star plant certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At that time, Ardagh listed upgrading and optimizing its furnaces, using recycled glass and installing energy-efficient lighting fixtures as among its energy-saving initiatives.

“As an environmental leader in the packaging industry, Ardagh continuously pursues opportunities to increase our use of renewable energy,” says Alex Winters, chief sustainability officer at Ardagh Glass Packaging. “Not only does this project advance Ardagh closer to our sustainability targets, but it also stands to aid our wine customers in their sustainability endeavors. By curbing the carbon footprint of bottles sourced from our Madera facility, this initiative aligns with our shared goal of fostering a more environmentally conscious future.”

Globally, Ardagh operates 63 metal and glass packaging production facilities in 16 countries, employing more than 20,000 people with annual sales of approximately $9 billion.