Cocoa Beans: The New Biomass?

Premium chocolate manufacturer Lindt USA and New Hampshire's largest electric utility, Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH), have partnered to produce renewable power in New Hampshire. The chocolate company will provide PSNH with cocoa bean shells which will be burned to produce electricity.

 Lindt, based in Stratham, N.H., is one of the only U.S. chocolate manufacturers to manage the chocolate making process from raw material to final creations. During chocolate production, raw cocoa beans are roasted and crushed, with the resulting pulp blended with a variety of ingredients. As a result, the cocoa bean shells become a byproduct -- and in the state of New Hampshire they are a designated biomass fuel source. Lindt will now deliver the shells to PSNH's Schiller Station power plant in Portsmouth, N.H., to be used as a supplementary fuel source.

"Lindt controls every aspect of the chocolate making process, from the choice of cocoa beans to the finished product," said Thomas Linemayr, chief executive officer and president, Lindt USA, in a statement. "Our partnership with PSNH provides us with an opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint by disposing of a byproduct in a responsible manner."

The cocoa bean shell concept was first tested in March 2009 and is now being officially implemented following approval from New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services. The burning of biomass, such as cocoa bean shells, reduces the amount of carbon dioxide a power plant would otherwise emit through the burning of fossil fuels.

"This is the most economical way to produce electricity with biomass," explains Georgina Benedetti, an energy analyst with research firm Frost & Sullivan.  "By cofiring coal with cocoa bean shells, big modifications to energy plants aren't needed."

According to PSNH, each ton of cocoa bean shells used to generate electricity for PSNH customers will displace the need to burn one half-ton of coal.

Lindt USA is a division of Lindt & Sprungli, a premium chocolate manufacturer and distributor.  Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) is New Hampshire's largest electric utility, generating and distributing clean electricity for more than 490,000 homes and businesses. 

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