Peanut factory pulls power from the sun
A Kiwi peanut butter company is switching to solar power to help roast its products.
Nelson’s Pic’s Peanut Butter factory has installed 486 solar panels on the roof of Peanut Butter World, using the region’s plentiful sunshine to roast millions of peanuts a day.
Pic’s Peanut Butter founder Pic Picot said the lifecycle of peanuts used in the company’s spreads was coming full circle.
‘‘Our products are grown by the sun and now they’re processed by the sun too.’’
He said the factory processed about 1000 kilograms, equivalent to the weight of a great white shark, of peanuts every hour into as many as 28,000 jars of peanut butter every day.
The new solar panels will supply at least 20% of Pic’s annual energy demand, with the summer months providing significantly more power – enough energy to roast 3.3 million peanuts on a sunny day, or 124,000 jars per month, he said.
It would require just 10.3 seconds of sun to produce a 380g jar of peanut butter.
The move to solar had been in the pipeline for some years, Picot said but ‘‘once the value of the electricity generated by solar came close to the cost of financing and maintaining the hardware, the question changed from why should we install solar to why should we not install it.
‘‘It’s been exceptional to see the panels up and generating power.’’
Picot said no other mainstream peanut butter producer in the country roasted their own peanuts.
He likened the difference in the flavour of fresh roasted peanut butter to that of fresh roasted coffee, and saw additional benefits to roasting in New Zealand.
‘‘Argentina, the source of many of the roasted peanuts entering New Zealand, gets only 20% of its electricity from renewable sources. Australia, at 24%, is a little better, whereas 75% of New Zealand electricity produces no emissions. Fresh roasting ourselves here in New Zealand and powering operations through solar is part of our commitment to a sustainable future.’’