Month: August 2024

LEON, Va., August 12, 2024 /3BL/ – Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery, one of the most innovative, woman-owned wineries on the east coast, is the first vineyard in Virginia to partner with Vanguard Renewables® to enhance sustainable winery operations. Vanguard Renewables is a leading provider of sustainable food and beverage byproduct and organic waste management services.

Founded in 1982 by French entrepreneurs Jean and Sylviane DeLuc, Prince Michel was purchased in 2005 by current owner Kristin Easter, who assembled an award-winning team to help secure the vineyard’s reputation as an industry leader. Prince Michel has won several awards for its wines, and the property is named a top Virginia winery to visit in numerous industry publications.

“What sets us apart is our commitment to innovation and integration; we have equipment, plentiful storage, as well as crushing and bottling capabilities onsite, which allows us to produce beautiful wine while also providing services to our fellow winemakers in the Monticello Virginia American Viticultural Area (AVA),” said Chief Executive Officer Reo Hatfield of Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery.” We are always looking to innovate and to operate more sustainably, and that is what led us to discussions with Vanguard Renewables.”

“We are currently in a phase of expansion at Prince Michel” said owner Kristin Easter. “We are enhancing our services group, wine club membership, brewery, food, lodging/suites, and merchandising, and this partnership with Vanguard Renewables complements our existing commitment to quality, service, the environment, and the community. Our entire team is committed to these principles; from our CEO Reo Hatfield to our winemakers Bryan Jones and Mat Bryant along with our general manager Mike Haney, Karen Newton our head of merchandising, and Kristie Twomey our director of marketing, we believe in hiring and partnering with the best in class.”

Vanguard Renewables partners with food and beverage manufacturers, retailers, and institutions across the United States to recycle inedible and unsalable food material via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion. Companies work with Vanguard Renewables’ in-house logistics team to create a custom organics materials recycling program; whereby Vanguard Renewables combines the food and beverage waste along with dairy cow manure into renewable gas and a low carbon biofertilizer.

The Company handles process byproducts, packaged waste, fats, oils and grease, process water, discards, and many other organic materials through its network of farms, food and beverage partners, and strategic end site and hauler partners. This helps its clients achieve increasingly challenging zero waste to landfill and sustainability goals.

“It is an honor to work with a forward-thinking organization like Prince Michel,” said Kent Bartley, President of Organics Solutions at Vanguard Renewables. “They are paving the way in the region to sustainably manage their byproducts, showcasing their commitment to innovation and to the planet. We could not be more thrilled to serve as their partner.”

Vanguard Renewables recently announced the groundbreaking for its newest Farm Powered anaerobic digester in the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of several that will start construction or commissioning in 2024 across the United States.

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Visit Vanguard’s Media Room: www.vanguardrenewables.com/media-kit

About Anaerobic Digestion

Inedible or unsaleable food and beverage waste from the manufacturing and retail sectors is collected, sorted, depackaged on-site, and combined with dairy farm manure in a sealed biodigester tank. Once combined in the biodigester, microorganisms that naturally occur in manure digest the waste, converting sugars, fats and other compounds into biogas. Harnessing the waste’s energy captures as much as 95 percent of the potential greenhouse gas emissions that would result if food and beverage waste were sent to a landfill or if the farm manure were field applied. The process produces RNG that is upgraded to pipeline-quality gas and injected into the existing pipeline infrastructure on-site, displacing traditional fossil fuels. The biogas is then used for heating and cooling or can be used to make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles. The by-products of the anaerobic digestion process include a low-carbon and nutrient dense fertilizer (digestate) that reduces the farm’s dependency on chemical fertilizers, and a dry by-product which is used for animal bedding. When food and beverage manufacturers send their organic waste to a Farm Powered site and purchase the RNG created by their waste to power their plants, they are creating a closed-loop solution that helps to address Scope 1 and 3 emissions in their business practices.

About Vanguard Renewables

Vanguard Renewables®, based in Weston, Massachusetts, is a national leader in developing food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects. The Company owns and operates on-farm anaerobic digester facilities in the northeast and currently operates manure-only digesters in the south and west for Dominion Energy. Vanguard Renewables is expanding nationwide and plans to complete more than 100 anaerobic digestion facilities by 2028. Vanguard Renewables is committed to advancing decarbonization by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms and food waste, generating renewable energy, and supporting regenerative agriculture on partner farms via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion. Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure Fund business. To learn more visit: www.vanguardrenewables.com.

Media Contact:

Billy Kepner

Bkepner@vanguardrenewables.com

1-607-331-9806

About Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery

Founded over four decades ago by Jean and Sylvan LeDucq, Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery stands as a testament to enduring quality and innovation in the Virginia wine industry. Under the visionary leadership of its founders, the winery gained acclaim for producing award-winning wines that brilliantly capture the essence of Virginia’s wine country. Today, as a woman-owned business led by Kristin Easter, Prince Michel continues to honor its rich legacy while embracing a forward-thinking approach. With a dedication to both tradition and cutting-edge techniques, Prince Michel continues to be a leader in the industry, celebrating the heritage and future of Virginia winemaking. This storied winery not only crafts exceptional wines but also offers a memorable experience to its visitors, solidifying its reputation as a premier destination in the Virginia wine landscape.

Media Contact:

Kristie Twomey

ktwomey@princemichel.com

1-844-302-4021

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, August 14, 2024 /3BL/ – Signs of summer are already here, and extreme heat persists in Texas. After experiencing record breaking heat indexes in 2023, Entergy Texas is providing tips on how to prepare your home for the high-heat and manage your bill this summer with our newly launched Bill Toolkit site. The site helps customers manage energy usage and save money through energy efficiency and bill assistance programs. Examples of products and services offered through our Entergy Solutions program, available at little to no cost, include AC tune-ups, LED bulbs, smart thermostats, duct sealing and insulation.

Additionally, this program offers home assessments that yield energy efficiency recommendations. A Home Performance with ENERGY STAR assessment reduces the up-front cost of installing energy efficiency upgrades.

Customers also can save money with these quick and easy energy efficiency tips:

Change air filters. Air filters on some air conditioning units require monthly cleaning or replacing.Set your thermostat to the highest comfortable temperature. The smaller the difference between the inside and outside temperatures, the lower your energy usage and bill will be.Buy a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat can help manage costs, is controllable, and can help monitor usage.Use fans to cool off. Ceiling fans, box fans and oscillating fans use very little electricity to circulate the air. Make sure ceiling fans are rotating in the right direction – counter-clockwise during summer – to push cooler air down into the room. Be sure to turn all fans off in unused rooms.Close blinds, shades and curtains to keep the sun out and the cool air in. Also, close air conditioning vents in rooms that are not in use.Seal cracks and holes around doors, windows and ductwork. Weather stripping and caulk will help keep the cold air in and the hot air out.Use the myAdvisor tool on myEntergy.com. The usage and cost tool can compare usage history by month, day and hour.

For customers needing help with their bill, Entergy Texas’ Bill Toolkit provides an overview of payment options, such as level billing, pick-a-date assistance programs, such as The Power to Care program. Entergy Texas partners with third party agencies that provide utility bill assistance for seniors, disabled individuals and programs that are income-based. You also may be eligible to receive federal payment assistance through the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program or CEAP.

For more information, visit BillToolkit.entergy.com for the tools and resources you need to understand your bill, reduce your usage or look for assistance programs and services available to you.