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    Nuts about Renewables: Divert, Blue Diamond Focused on Making Energy out of Almond Byproducts

    Sept. 19, 2024
    The material will be converted at Divert’s Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Turlock, California into renewable energy and soil amendment.
    Almonds after being shaken from trees. Image credit Blue Diamond Growers
    Almonds after being shaken from trees. Image credit Blue Diamond Growers

    Divert, an impact technology company and Blue Diamond Growers, a farmer-owned cooperative and an almond company, have come together to transform almond processing byproducts into renewable energy.

    Divert’s advanced technologies and sustainable infrastructure will not only help Blue Diamond Growers alter low-value almond byproducts into renewable energy but also assist California in achieving its 2045 net-zero carbon pollution goals.

    Under the partnership, the material will be converted at Divert’s Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Turlock, California into renewable energy to supply local homes and businesses, as well as soil amendment allowing for the nutrients to return to farmland thereby supporting further food growth.

    The facility will be able to process 100,000 tons of wasted food each year from food manufacturers and other companies, and produce enough renewable energy to supply roughly 3,000 homes each year, once fully operational in 2024.

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    Moreover, the facility will help California food manufacturers and retailers comply with organic waste requirements in accordance with the state’s Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383) regarding organic waste reduction. The legislation requires large food waste generators to divert food waste from landfills through waste prevention or donation, and encourages the use of anaerobic digestion to create renewable energy.

    Almond production requires a vast amount of water, but the nut also stores carbon and does not cause greenhouse gas emissions nearly as high as beef, cheese or vegetables, according to Yale University’s Journal of Industrial Ecology.

    Agricultural waste can be transformed into biofuels.

    Blue Diamond is a cooperative of more than 3,500 almond growers focused in California. Amonds are the state's largest food export, according to reports. 

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