New off-grid microgrid to power Central Valley cold storage facility for almond industry

Amond World, a refrigerated cold storage developer in California’s Central Valley has partnered with Origo Investments to build a facility in the Madera Airport Industrial Park that will include an off-grid microgrid designed and built by Scale Microgrid.

The facility will serve the region's almond farmers and processors.

The Central California almond industry produces 80% of the world’s global supply of almonds, according to Adam Hayner, principal at Origo Investments. The region also grows 60% of the citrus and other nuts consumed in the US each year. 

Why agriculture is turning to microgrids

California is in the midst of an energy crisis with energy shortfalls and extreme weather jeopardizing the reliability of the Central Valley’s local grid. This puts the almond and citrus crops at risk.

These issues, combined with wildfire-related power shutoffs, have led multiple California food growers and producers to turn to microgrids and distributed energy resources. Bluehouse Greenhouse and Taylor Farms are two examples. Like the Amond World facility, both have chosen off-grid microgrids. Such complete withdrawal from the grid is unusual – but growing – in the US where most microgrids are connected to the grid.

Watch Microgrids for Agriculture and the Food Industry