DE WITT, IOWA – April 17, 2012 – Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), an Alliant Energy company, recognizes Tom Dittmer and his agricultural business for its commitment to using energy efficiently and being green.
Grandview Farms was honored with a 2011 Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award for their leadership and vision in integrating energy efficiency in to the design, construction, or operation of their business. Dittmer accepted this award today at the 2012 Iowa Energy Summit, held in Cedar Rapids.
“Midwestern values teach us to do all we can to protect our environment, and business rules teach us to grow our businesses. Incorporating energy efficient upgrades into our new and existing buildings helped us work towards both goals at the same time,” said Tom Dittmer, operator of Grandview Farms, Inc.
Dittmer’s swine enterprise consists of a 6,000 sow farrow to finish operation, marketing about 170,000 hogs annually to Tyson and Triumph Foods. In addition to an existing 550 sow farrowing building, the farm recently added a 576 sow farrowing building.
Besides implementing energy efficient lighting and ventilation for the new building, Grandview Farms also installed heat lamp controls in both the new and existing farrowing units. In total, the upgrades and energy efficient construction will result in 1,374,853 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annual energy savings. These projects qualified for both custom and prescriptive rebates from Alliant Energy.
“Energy efficiency addresses both energy cost concerns and our environment,” said Tom Aller, President of IPL. “We’re recognizing Grandview Farms for the impact and leadership they’ve shown in these areas.”
Alliant Energy awarded the 2011 Excellence in Energy Efficiency Awards to its commercial and industrial customers who underwent energy efficiency initiatives that yielded the highest cost and energy-savings. The 2012 Energy Summit provided attendees with a variety of energy-related educational sessions, technical information and energy solutions.
Media Contact: Justin Foss (319) 786-4788