Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85652
The wind turbine at Teichert's Vernalis Plant in California came online in 2010 and has provided as much as 70 percent of the power consumed on site. HARNESSINGthe Wind A fter the 2008 economic downturn, ag- gregate producers across the United States began looking for ways to weather the storm, and an important part of that was to cut costs. Energy has always been one of the largest expenses at aggregate operations, and the price of energy continues to rise, despite the downturn in the economy. Teichert Aggregates ad- dressed the issue of high energy costs by looking at an alternative energy source — the wind. "We consume a significant amount of energy," says Paul Mercurio, engineering and quality assur- ance manager at Teichert Aggregates, "and we're always looking for ways to reduce our energy costs. At the same time, we're trying to find greener ways to source our energy." When the company decided that wind might be the answer for supplying power at its Vernalis Plant, which was located in a favorable wind area, it turned to Foundation Windpower, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based provider of on-site, wind-turbine elec- tricity generation, about the concept of installing a wind turbine on site. "Foundation Windpower put together a proposal and gave us some pricing," Teichert Aggregates turned to the wind when it sought a 'green' source for saving money on energy. by Kerry Clines, Senior Editor WIND ENERGY 25