Case Study 2

New York Food Manufacturing.

 

Project Issues

  • Food industry manufacturing/distribution with high peak demand

  • ConEd gives inexpensive per-kWh rate, but high demand charges

  • Facility requires snow to be removed from roof in case of heavy storm

  • Brand new facility

  • High base load power demand, “Peaks” up by 50% for 3 hours a day, strong thermal requirement for process, space heat and space cooling

  • Space constraints an issue

Customer-Specific Solution

  • 1MW CHP system providing base load power and process thermal energy

  • 3 MW rooftop solar array which provides almost complete coverage of the roof

  • Rooftop array integrated with combination thermal melting supplied by CHP system and electric spot melting under solar panels to remove snow during large storms

  • 1.5MW/6MWh battery solution drops peak demand

  • Demand peak occurs in early morning hours, so the system designed to charge completely from solar the day before; enhances ITC value of the project

  • Enter into ConEd Demand Management program to reduce costs

Lessons Derived:

This project shows the flexibility of a customer-focused, technology-agnostic approach to microgrid solutions. Most of the equipment needed to be roof-mounted due to lack of space inside and around the building. The 1MW CHP system was mounted on dunnage tied directly into building reinforced supports. The solar arrays and integrated snow melting have the effect of utilizing the space, but also reducing any chance of snow-storms larger than 27” creating a roof-failure scenario.

The existence of a significant utility-sponsored demand management program made the dedicated battery installation very economical. The significant capital costs of the project, with customized installation and integrated snow melt, would normally have been prohibitive, but the location in a very congested area, with extremely high electricity delivery costs, made the project returns acceptable.