Array to the base, storage to the peak
Two different problems, two different tools. Sizing one to solve both is what produces disappointing paybacks.
Industry
Food and beverage processing
Processors run two different facilities in the same building: a moderate year-round operation, and a seasonal campaign where everything runs at once and the demand charge is decided for the year.
- Load shape
- Steady base with an intense seasonal campaign
- Typical system
- 400 kW DC to 3 MW DC
The load
What the meter sees
Nut hullers, tomato lines, wineries and dairies all share the pattern. For most of the year the plant carries a manageable base load. Then the campaign starts, product arrives faster than it can be processed, every line runs, and monthly demand can double or worse.
That peak is the design target. Sizing an array against the average month leaves the campaign uncovered; sizing against the campaign leaves an over-built system idle for most of the year. Storage sized in kW to shave the campaign peak, combined with an array sized to the base load, is usually the better-balanced answer.
Air compressors deserve their own paragraph. In most processing plants they are among the largest and least examined loads, running at part load with leaks nobody has chased. A leak survey and a sequencing change routinely finds savings that arrive faster than any generation project.
Power quality is the quiet issue. Plants full of motors and variable-frequency drives can carry a poor power factor and harmonic distortion, both of which can attract charges and both of which we measure during the audit rather than assume away.
Load inventory
The equipment that sets the bill
| Load | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Process motors and drives | Hullers, crushers, pumps, augers and conveyors, mostly running during the campaign |
| Air compressors | Often the largest single load, and the most common place we find easy savings |
| Refrigeration and chilling | Product cooling and storage, running well beyond the campaign window |
| Boilers and process heat | Gas-fired at most plants, but an electrification candidate worth modelling |
| Wastewater and effluent handling | Aeration and pumping, continuous during operation |
How we approach it
What works in this sector
Campaign timing helps
Most Valley campaigns fall between August and November, when solar output is still strong.
Compressed air first
A leak survey and a sequencing change usually pay back within months and shrink the array you need.
Roof and yard both available
Processing sites generally have both a large roof and spare yard, so the design is not forced onto one or the other.
Answers
Food and beverage processing: questions
Not covered here? Our engineers answer directly, not through a call centre.
Ask a question(661) 555-0183We do not size the array for the campaign. We size the array to the year-round base load and evaluate a battery, in kW, to shave the campaign peak. That combination almost always beats an over-sized array.
Not directly from photovoltaics. PV makes electricity. Where process heat is a major cost, solar thermal or heat pumps are separate technologies worth evaluating on their own merits, and we will say so rather than stretch PV to fit.
Modern grid-tied inverters are required to meet strict power-quality standards and can often help with power factor. Existing motor loads and drives are the more common source of distortion, which is why we measure the baseline.
It changes the mix. Night-time process load cannot be served by daytime generation, so more of the value comes from storage and tariff optimisation and less from raw array size.
Bring us the bill before you bring us the roof
Every project starts with twelve months of interval data and a load shape. The array comes after that, sized to what you actually use.
CSLB #1071482 (sample). Prevailing wage on public works. Engineers answer, not a call centre.