Clif Bar sets new green energy standard with pollinator-friendly solar farm

The Clif Bar Baking Company – which features a biophilic design that incorporates natural outdoor elements in an indoor space – has powered up the region’s largest private behind-the-meter solar array. Clif Bar is a member of RE100 – meaning it sources green power for 100% of the electricity used by its California headquarter, its satellite offices and bakeries around the US. According to founder and co-CEO Gary Erickson, this is the next step in becoming a fully sustainable food company. “At Clif Bar, we’re working to run a different kind of company which starts with rethinking conventional models for food production,” said Erickson. Promoting biodiversity The two-megawatt solar system – spread over five acres – will generate an annual output of more than three million kilowatt hours of electricity – the equivalent of the solar power needed to run 280 homes for a year. It will supply the 300,000 square foot commercial bakery with 30% of its annual electricity. Solar canopies over the employee parking area provide additional energy generation. Clif Bar is also a participant in InSPIRE, a national research study led by the National Renewable Energy Lab on the economic and environmental benefits of including native plants and pollinator habitat with renewable energy projects. The family and employee-owned maker also works closely with non-profit Fresh Energy, which campaigns for pollinator-friendly solar initiatives. As such, indigenous drought-tolerant flowering plants have been planted under and around the panels to promote biodiversity, increase energy production, conserve water and topsoil, and support local pollinators. “At Clif Bar, we treat energy like an ingredient,” said Elysa Hammond, Clif Bar’s VP of environmental stewardship. “We’ve made a commitment to using ingredients that are good for people and the planet – and that includes the energy we use to make our food. We took that idea one step further by integrating a solar-pollinator ecosystem that supports biodiversity and healthy farming systems." The company has set up an outdoor walking trail to educate visitors about the benefits of renewable energy and the importance of pollinators to the food system. Setting a new standard “Pollinator-friendly solar projects like Clif Bar’s are critically important to inform best practices for renewable energy and our food system,” added Rob Davis, director of the Center for Pollinators in Energy at Fresh Energy. “The future of our food supply worldwide is dependent on the work of pollinators, and they need our help. “Clif Bar’s strategic decision to encourage solar with habitat sets a new standard for sustainable energy design, operations, and management. We need more companies, universities, and communities to follow Clif Bar’s lead.”