The already heightened focus on climate change and sustainability has been amplified by the recent increase in wholesale energy costs. Large energy users are seeing an impact on their bottom line and are looking for solutions that will deliver both business and environmental benefits.
ESB’s Smart Energy Services is working with these organisations, in Ireland and the UK, to help them solve their energy problems without the need for upfront capital investment.
“We collaborate with large energy users to optimise existing assets and identify the latest, most innovative energy solutions for their business,” says Ronan Geraghty, customer solutions manager at ESB’s Smart Energy Services. “Because every business is different, we tailor solutions to drive efficiencies and guarantee significant savings.”
Geraghty notes that there has been a marked change in market sentiment of late. “Increasing energy costs are concentrating the mind,” he says.
“Business cases for sustainable investment which had in the past been difficult to make are now a lot easier to stand up. Also, as we emerge from the pandemic it feels like we are coming into a new place. CEOs, CFOs and energy managers whose job had been to keep the show on the road are now starting to focus on their sustainability and decarbonisation targets for the next five to 10 years, and everything we do aligns with those ambitions.”
However, for many companies, the capacity to invest in energy initiatives is severely constrained, both by the disruptions caused by the pandemic and the increased costs. “They need a very quick payback time and that can represent an impediment to investment,” Geraghty says. “ESB’s Smart Energy Services has a €75 million fund to support companies in that situation. We can fund energy projects like the installation of heat pumps, LED lighting, solar, electric vehicle fleet solutions and monitoring and management systems which deliver improved efficiency and reduced costs.”
Because every business is different, we tailor solutions to drive efficiencies and guarantee significant savings
The cost of these projects is repaid through savings made over time. “Customers no longer have to worry about payback,” he says, adding, “The way energy costs are at the moment, a lot of customers will make savings on their bills even while repaying funding. That makes it much easier for customers to make decisions on these projects.”
A typical project will begin with an enquiry from a company. “We then take a partnership approach. Our team of experts will go on-site to look at potential savings through technologies like lighting, solar, heat pumps, electric vehicle fleet management solutions and so on. Very often we start with quite a wide-ranging conversation and then narrow it down to the specific initiatives which will deliver dramatically reduced energy costs and carbon emissions,” he says.
This approach has seen ESB’s Smart Energy Services deliver projects for more than 300 large businesses across Ireland and the UK. Customers include Tesco Ireland, Medite, the Dublin Airport Authority, ABP Food Group, and Ardagh Glass.
Low Carbon Farming
One of those companies is Low Carbon Farming, operator of the UK’s largest greenhouse complex which covers 29 hectares in East Anglia. The company approached ESB’s Smart Energy Services with an ambitious vision to achieve a world-first: to deliver a large-scale greenhouse heating solution that would not rely on fossil fuels.
ESB’s Smart Energy Services team designed a solution to capture the waste heat from nearby water recycling plants, which was then supplied to Low Carbon Farming. The recycling plants expel tens of thousands of litres of clean, warm water per second at temperatures up to 25 degrees Celsius. Two heat exchanger buildings capture 72MW of waste heat and transport it over two miles to the greenhouses. In an innovative piece of circularity, the combined heat and power units that provide the electricity for the heat pumps also provide carbon dioxide to feed the plants.
“We are taking waste heat from water treatment plants and transforming it into usable heat to grow food,” says Geraghty. “It was not without its challenges, but it was a really interesting project. The thermal power generated is enough to heat nearly 20,000 homes and provides 90 per cent of the heat required by the greenhouses. It is the most efficient system of its kind anywhere in Ireland or the UK, with 75 per cent lower carbon emissions than traditional greenhouses.”
ABP Food Group
Another food producer to avail of ESB’s Smart Energy Services solutions is ABP Food Group, the largest beef processor in Ireland and the UK with 11,000 employees and 46 manufacturing plants. It is the first food company to be awarded a quadruple certification from the Carbon Trust and is a founding member of the Origin Green food and drink sustainability programme.
The company called on ESB’s Smart Energy Services team when it was looking for a partner to develop renewable generation capabilities and improve energy efficiency. Meat processing relies on the availability of constant refrigeration and a reliable supply of hot water, both of which require significant amounts of energy. ABP Food Group wanted a way to reduce energy usage and cut carbon emissions at two of its Irish plants, to support its journey to carbon zero.
ESB’s Smart Energy Services designed a decarbonisation strategy focused on the electrification of heat, energy storage, heat recovery and smart energy management systems. Air source heat pumps provide the majority of the hot water needed by the plant while heat capture and thermal storage technologies recycle waste heat from the refrigeration systems.
The results include a projected 66 per cent reduction in energy usage and an 80 per cent reduction in annual carbon emissions at the two plants.
“Sustainability is embedded within our culture,” says John Durkin, sustainability and environmental manager at ABP Food Group. “Our partnership with ESB’s Smart Energy Services provides the expertise and financing support to achieve our most ambitious goals for carbon reduction.”
Tesco Ireland
Tesco Ireland has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2035 and has partnered with ESB’s Smart Energy Services to procure and install a variety of energy efficient upgrades, in addition to ongoing energy monitoring and carbon accounting.
With 152 stores across the country, Tesco Ireland needed to reduce its energy consumption, while maintaining service and comfort for colleagues and customers. The retailer also needed a way to track carbon savings, monitor return on investment and identify areas for further improvement on an ongoing basis.
Continuous monitoring and analysis of energy usage and carbon by ESB’s Smart Energy Services’ energy management hub ensured ongoing energy savings while identifying opportunities for improvement. The hub uses a cloud-based, state-of-the-art remote monitoring system to capture energy usage by type, equipment performance, environmental data, and carbon output.
The results have been impressive, with a 25 per cent reduction in electricity usage, more than 45 million kWh of energy saved annually, and a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions achieved to date.
“Our partnership with ESB’s Smart Energy Services is helping us stay on track to achieve net zero carbon targets and improve our customer experience without any disruption,” says Ian Logan, retail and distribution director at Tesco Ireland.
All of these projects only represent the tip of the iceberg, according to Geraghty. “The solutions are out there. There is a massive opportunity now to help vitally important sectors such as the food and manufacturing industry to achieve its sustainability and decarbonisation targets and ESB wants to play its role in that.”
To learn more, visit www.esb.ie/our-businesses/smart-energy-services