Los Angeles: After more than 20 years farming onions, Steve Gill still breaks out in tears at his processing facility. Only now he's crying all the way to the bank.
He recently began using juice from his pungent crop to create energy to run his refrigerators and lighting. That's slicing $700,000 (Dh2.5 million) annually off the electric bill at his 14-acre plant in Oxnard, northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County.
Gill is also saving $400,000 a year on disposal costs. And he has secured more than $3 million in government and power company incentives to do it.
"It's a great sustainability story, but it was first a business decision to solve a waste problem," said Gill, 59, who co-owns the firm with his brother David.
Farmers and processors in California's $37 billion agricultural industry in particular are looking for ways to save money and reduce their environmental footprint, said Sonia Salas, science and technology manager for the Western Growers Association. "Many growers want technology that helps them handle waste," she said.
