The system combines Viking Cold’s Thermal Energy Storage system with rooftop solar PV in order to deliver green, cost-effective, around-the-clock energy management for cold storage facilities, supermarkets and utilities. The system can reduce peak demand for electricity by up to 90 percent, saving customers money and helping to balance the electricity grid. Viking Cold Storage announced the launch of the new system at Hannover Messe on April 26th.
The technology enables cold-storage facilities, supermarkets, and utilities to intelligently store and deploy PV generated power within refrigerators to delay their use of energy and to reduce energy costs. The patented Thermal Energy Storage Cells originate from a NASA approach to using ‘Phase Change Material’ to absorb infiltrated heat so that products remain at their target temperatures. This environmentally friendly solution solves one of the largest challenges to solar energy utilisation by reducing renewable variability.
“Solar has proven to be a low-cost, reliable, and green generation resource, but its intermittent nature has prevented its use for powering around the clock refrigeration” said James Bell, CEO of Viking Cold Solutions. ““Until now, the missing piece has been cost-effective and reliable thermal energy storage. Our system enhances the usability of solar energy for cold storage operators, allowing them to store latent power within storage cells, to sustainably protect their products, while lowering operating energy costs.”
Rooftop solar, used in combination with Solar Energy Storage, can bring multiple advantages for businesses and grid operators across Europe. For example, it can increase the value of solar PV by storing energy during the day and using it at night for refrigeration, thereby increasing savings. Both solar PV and Solar Energy Storage are low-cost solutions that have been designed to last for at least 20 years with minimal maintenance. Furthermore, peak load shedding or shifting at any time of day increases savings during periods of renewable variability or at peak rate times. Thermal backup also allows customers to maintain safe temperatures and preserve food quality during outages or equipment failure, thereby eliminating perishable food loss and reducing business interruption.
The system comes at an important time for Europe, which has set a binding target to generate at least 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. The Viking Cold system will help to balance the grid by reducing peak demand. As penetration of renewable energy grows, it will eventually overwhelm the ability of conventional resources to compensate for renewable variability. The system can benefit utilities by providing a ‘buffer’ of on-demand, efficient, and green Thermal Energy Storage at customer sites, helping to stabilize the grid and enabling more intermittent users and suppliers of electricity to safely interconnect.
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