Musco Family Olive Co. Awarded "Game Changer of the Year" for Biomass/Wastewater System Designed by Combined Solar Technologies
8/22/2011

Client Musco Family Olive Co. ("Musco") was recently honored as a "California 2011 Leader in Innovation in Energy and Agriculture" by Grow-California. Musco, the nation's leading supplier of table olives, received the "Game Changer of the Year" award in the category of Innovation in Energy and Agriculture for its implementation of a wastewater and biomass system to generate energy for its plant.

The biomass system daily converts more than 15 tons of olive pits, previously considered waste, into carbon-neutral heat energy. That energy is then used to evaporate wastewater and to drive the largest industrial steam engine in the United States at Musco's Tracy, California headquarters. The technology was developed by another Stoel Rives client, Combined Solar Technologies, a leader in renewable energy/water reclamation.

"Musco Family Olive Co. is a true game changer in its innovative approach," said Jon Gregory, president and CEO of Grow-California LLC, which specializes in connecting entrepreneurs, growth companies and market leaders with capital, talent and customers. "[This project] caught the interest of numerous investors, bankers and economic development organizations who consulted with us to identify California agricultural companies with an impressive focus on innovation."

Read the Musco press release

Stoel Rives partner Michael Campos assists Musco in developing its long-term environmental compliance strategy and has represented Musco in a variety of permitting issues involving storage and land application of its process wastewater.