B4: Fast track Flexing industrial refrigeration: A feasibility study for Australian abattoirs Report at a glance
RACE for Business Program Flexing industrial refrigeration A feasibility study for Australian abattoirs Project Code: 21.B4.F.0153 Copyright © RACE for 2030 CRC, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-922746-15-3 June 2022 Citation Stanley, C., Taylor, D., Wyndham, J., Briggs, C., Leak, J., Deegan, M., Weller, A. and Levy, K. (2022). Flexing industrial refrigeration: A feasibility study for Australian abattoirs. RACE for 2030 CRC Project team Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity • J. DETALeakConsulting • C. Stanley • D. AustralianTaylorMeat Processor Corporation • M. Deegan AGL Energy Services • K. UniversityLevy of Technology Sydney • J. Wyndham • C. GlaciemBriggsCooling • A. Weller Project partners What is RACE for 2030? The Reliable Affordable Clean Energy for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre (RACE for 2030) is a 10 year, $350 million Australian research collaboration involving industry, research, government and other stakeholders. Its mission is to drive innovation for a secure, affordable, clean energy future. racefor2030.com.au
What difference will it make?
Flexing industrial refrigeration A feasibility study for Australian abattoirs 1
Electrical batteries can be used to offset loads during times of high electricity prices and provide some effective flexible demand. Of the opportunities identified, they offer the most significant amount of flexible demand.Whatnext?Furtherinvestigation may be carried out to identify additional opportunities for flexible the demand of abattoirs, such as adding cost effective thermal storage or altering freezer load demand. The methods used in this study may also be applied to other industrial sectors to identify and quantify suitable load flexing opportunities.
What did we do? We conducted detailed investigations across the sector, including discussions with abattoirs, refrigeration providers, technology suppliers and energy retailers, to facilitate the study. We identified several load flexing opportunities, namely suction pressure modification, blast fan optimisation, thermal batteries, electric batteries and hot water heat pumps. We then modelled the economic savings of these opportunities under different electricity pricing regimes and for different locations, and calculated their payback periods.
Report at a glance What is the report about?
Approximately 70% of the electrical load for an abattoir is used in the refrigeration plant to chill or freeze meat, with a relatively minor amount for cold storage. Currently, there are more than 134 operational abattoirs broadly distributed across Australia, with an average refrigeration load of 1.5 MWe
The report looks at identifying and quantifying possible options for flexing the significant refrigeration loads of abattoirs.Whyis it important? Abattoirs are energy intensive businesses that use vast amounts of energy for both heating and cooling.
Given the time critical process cooling requirements of abattoirs, we found only limited opportunities to flex loads directly without storage. Suction pressure modification and blast fan optimisation both provide savings for almost no capital investment, but only modest quantities of load flexing. Thermal storage and hot water heat pumps also offer cost savings, but with substantial payback periods.
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