Using performance-based indicators, which compare one plant process to another of a similar size and design, is one way to set energy-efficiency targets for manufacturing facilities. But forward-thinking processors are looking at other strategies that take whole-building energy use into account rather than ranking processes one by one.

The sustainable challenge

For the team behind the design and construction of ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston Plant in Delhi, LA, the challenge was to create the highest-performing and most efficient sweet potato processing plant possible while providing access to local rail and highway transportation systems, Louisiana’s sweet potato fields and a qualified workforce. With demand increasing, the need for a dedicated plant became clear early in the planning stages in late 2007.

“We had an opportunity to build something from scratch and set out to build a great, sustainable plant because it was right for the business and who we are as a company,” says Rick Martin, vice president for manufacturing at Lamb Weston. “We’ve been producing quality sweet potato products for the past 10 years, which allowed us to bring the best of what we’ve learned to the design and construction of the Delhi plant.”

Health-conscious consumers are eating more sweet potatoes these days, and ConAgra sought to unify its domestic processing in one plant while also taking advantage of newer process technologies to achieve bottom-line efficiency. So, the company instructed its design team to work in an integrated fashion from the start of the project. It was also decided early on that the $156 million, 192,000-sq.-ft. plant would submit paperwork to the US Green Building Council (USGBC) for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The new plant would also, eventually, bring 275 processing jobs to rural Delhi.

An integrated team

The design and construction team of Fisher & Sons Design/Build, a design and construction firm based in Burlington, WA, and Paladino and Company, a Seattle, WA-based sustainability and green building consulting firm, met early and often with trade subcontractors, process engineers and representatives from ConAgra Lamb Weston to make the right decisions for site selection, building orientation and other key matters.

Paladino’s role was to guide the team in integrating a LEED-certification strategy that would align with and support the sustainability framework and business case model. Autodesk Revit 3D design software was used to design and coordinate the hundreds of miles of mechanical piping, electrical conduits and plumbing before the project broke ground.

Energy goals first

“The design-build process was key because mechanical contractors, the owner, general contractor, process engineering contractors and LEED consultant all sat at same table to discuss issues and work through strategies to achieve our goals,” says Patrick Leonard, project lead for Paladino on the Lamb Weston project. “The process is better than design-bid-build where everyone is siloed away from each other, and there are only handoffs with no outside input. This was about creating the best food processing plant; whatever LEED rating it got was secondary. Lamb Weston does not develop new plants like this every day. This was a once-in-every-10-years kind of thing.”

The design the integrated team created delivered on energy-efficiency goals and LEED points for sustainable sites, water and energy efficiency, recycling construction waste, access for workers who bike to work and other non-plant-specific points.

“Manufacturing is energy, energy, energy, and everything else secondary,” Leonard says. “This was an energy-efficient project in the first place. The difference was that LEED gives a way to point out that companies are doing more than just focusing on energy; it shows they are responsible stewards of the environment and creating a better workplace for their workers, as well as the other things that LEED certifies. If you’re just checking boxes on a scorecard, you’re not going to have this type of energy-efficient, technologically advanced building.”

In fact, the results were astounding. The integrated team delivered a 44 percent reduction in energy use, achieved a 60 percent reduction in water usage through low-flow plumbing fixtures and reduced the plant’s annual natural gas demand by 20 percent by installing an innovative biogas system to treat wastewater through anaerobic digestion and then pumping the steam back in to heat the plant’s boilers. This biogas process also prevents methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere.

The plant runs automated processes during off-peak hours and uses a sophisticated, proprietary building automation system to track and control all energy use. Staff members are devoted to long-term energy forecasting in their procurement departments.

The Lamb Weston Delhi plant opened in 2010, and its energy and water targets have been confirmed by the company’s building commissioning agents. The USGBC gave the plant its highest rating, LEED Platinum, meaning the building creates almost as much energy as it uses and nets zero energy from the electrical grid. 

For more information:

Patrick Leonard, Paladino; (206) 957-8565;
patrickl@paladinoandco.com