FDBusiness.com

Nestle has installed a unique solar power system to produce its Coppa del Nonno ice cream brand in Italy. The new solar power system – located at the company’s ice cream factory in Ferentino, western Italy – is the only one of its kind in the country to use a combination of three different solar power technologies on the same site.

Supported by a smaller solar power system built in 2009, it will provide all the energy needed to power the Coppa del Nonno ice cream production line. The innovation is part of the company’s countrywide commitment to obtaining more energy from renewable sources.

The factory already featured cutting-edge ice cream production processes, and the installation of this new solar power system reaffirms its excellence in the management of energy resources.

Nestlé’s Ferentino factory is one of the most advanced in its category, with 11 production lines producing more than 26,000 tonnes of ice cream per year.

Its entire solar power system – built with the technical support of the Solar Green Energy Company – produces enough energy to meet around 14% of the factory’s total energy needs, or the equivalent of around 750 homes.

It is the only factory to produce Coppa del Nonno ice cream, an historical brand which has been available exclusively in Italy for around 60 years.

In addition to Coppa del Nonno, the Ferentino factory makes some of Nestles most prestigious ice cream brands in Italy.

These include Maxibon, Maxicono, Antica Gelateria del Corso, and the company’s biggest seller, La Cremeria.