WARSAW, IN (June 25, 2010) - Maple Leaf Farms has been awarded a $10,000 grant by Wabash Valley Power Association, Kosciusko REMC’s power provider. The grant was awarded as part of an energy efficiency grant program for commercial and industrial accounts served by electric cooperatives in WVPA’s service territory. The grant program was designed to encourage investment in energy-saving projects by non-residential power customers.

Maple Leaf Farms competed against businesses within WVPA’s service territory to receive the grant. They had to complete a bid for the funds by submitting a proposal describing the project, demonstrating how much energy would be saved, and identifying how much funding would be required to advance the project. The bids were ranked by independent judges who did not know the business name or locations, and made their selections based on several criterion, the most important being the total energy savings to be realized.

Jason Glenn, corporate distribution manager for Maple Leaf Farms, completed the grant application for the company. “Maple Leaf Farms has long been focused on decreasing our utility needs and increasing our overall sustainability. We were very excited to learn about this grant opportunity to help offset the cost of one of our initiatives, and are honored that WVPA and Kosciusko REMC selected our project.”

With their grant funds, which are only a portion of the project’s total cost, Maple Leaf Farms will upgrade the lighting in their Milford distribution center, replacing halogen lamps and ballasts with more efficient lighting equipment. The lighting improvements will reduce energy usage by an estimated 43,648 kwh annually. The project is anticipated to be completed by October 10, 2010. This is the company’s second step in an overall plan to reduce energy consumption and costs.

“We are excited that Maple Leaf Farms took advantage of this opportunity,” said KREMC President and CEO Steve Rhodes. “Companies that take steps to invest in energy efficiency are realizing that these improvements can very quickly pay off with savings on their energy bills. Helping commercial/industrial members cut their energy usage and costs - through energy audits and with  grant  funds - is a much smarter and cost-effective way to meet energy needs than building new power plants. We hope all our commercial and industrial members also take steps to become more energy efficient.” 

Kosciusko REMC is a Touchstone Energy® electric cooperative serving over 17,000 customers throughout Kosciusko County and into surrounding counties.