Pacific
Gas and Electric rewarded Rocket Farms for several initiatives the
company employed
during the last several years, including its installation of heat
curtains in greenhouses, under-bench heating to take advantage of upward
movement of warm air, and drip irrigation.



PG&E estimates these and other initiatives save 305,256 therms per
year — equal to removing 249 cars from the road or powering 616 homes
for a year.



Rocket Farms, which grows novelty orchids and other potted plants, has
invested more than $500,000 per year for the last several years
on various sustainable growing practices for its 5 million acres.



Other sustainable initiatives include an active recycling program —
31.84 tons of cardboard and plastic in December alone; building a
greenhouse constructed almost completely from onsite recycled materials
and using an integrated pest management (IPM) program to minimize the
amount of pesticides used. The company is Veriflora certified and has 60
acres of certified organic growing space.



While
PG&E’s financial incentives offer motivation for reducing energy
consumption, company representative Ashley Huffman said Rocket Farms has
had a code of sustainability that pre-dates the PG&E program. Sustainability “permeates every part of the business,” Huffman said.