Now that we’ve moved past winter and those nasty snowdrifts, we can begin to see a silver lining from all of that bone-chilling wind in Woodstock, Ill.
From January 2014 through April 2014, OWC’s on-site Vestas V39-500 kW wind turbine produced at total of 388,155 kW of power and our operation consumed 301,104 kW – that’s 29% more power created than used. And all of that excess power was put right back on to the grid. In fact, the additional power put to grid by OWC’s turbine actually exceeded the power grid requirements for all of our Illinois, Nevada, and Texas locations combined!
And although our OWC Austin facility didn’t rely on the wind for power, it does harness the warm Texas sun with its array solar panels for light energy. The solar array is powerful enough to support no less than 32% of the entire building’s annual power consumption with excess power also put out onto the grid. OWC currently occupies one floor in what is a three-story building in Austin.
But at OWC, we don’t just rely on the natural elements to help preserve the environment. We are also proactive in other ways, such as our recycling efforts. OWC’s staff members pre-sort all waste by type, meaning OWC Woodstock literally takes out the trash just once every 10-months on average! OWC recycles – by volume of compressed waste and compressed recyclables – in excess of a 10:1 ratio of recycled material vs. landfill waste as we continue to strive for a zero waste environment. We even went the extra mile when designing our incredibly efficient and recently patented packaging solutions.
By minimizing our footprint at our facilities, we have made a company-wide commitment to energy conservation and environmental leadership. And we will continue to maintain that commitment for years to come!
