Energy utility company , Energy Partners ( EP ), has invested in and constructed a R390-million integrated energy solution that provides solar-assisted cooling , heating and world-class utility management to help Clover SA - one of the largest dairy producers - power through South Africa ' s energy crisis .
PROJECT
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Clover SA , at the forefront of efficient and sustainable solutions and heat pump technology Technical information provided by CEO of EP , Manie de Waal and EP general manager for refrigeration Dawie Kriel , edited by Eamonn Ryan .
Energy utility company , Energy Partners ( EP ), has invested in and constructed a R390-million integrated energy solution that provides solar-assisted cooling , heating and world-class utility management to help Clover SA - one of the largest dairy producers - power through South Africa ' s energy crisis .
According to de Waal , South Africa ’ s limited and unstable power supply is now a mediumterm certainty . More than just electrical power , it is absolutely critical to identify opportunities across the total energy ecosystem , such as refrigeration and steam supply , whereby capital can be preserved , efficiency increased , and costs reduced .
Clover is the largest and oldest dairy processor in South Africa and ‘ Project Sencillo ’ was introduced in 2020 to optimise its production footprint . With the amalgamation of many smaller production facilities into a few key larger factories , the dairy producer was in search of increased efficiency and cost reduction .
Energy Partners responded to the call . A pioneer in the field of energy efficiency and sustainability in South Africa , the energy utility company is making waves with its innovative approach to refrigeration , cooling -as-a-service ( CaaS ). The latter is a concept born from the global phenomena of servitisation . Central to the concept of servitisation is that clients pay for a service rather than the equipment itself . For Clover this means that they will only pay a fee per unit of cooling and heating they use , which enables the dairy company to lower its operational costs by as much as R792-million over the next 20 years .
Through servitisation , EP was able to invest in , design and construct an integrated refrigeration , power and steam plant , of which the utility company will operate and maintain on behalf of Clover for the period of the agreement . “ This is an industry-leading partnership that not only realised the largest outsourced refrigeration system in the world , but also the first solar-assisted one we are aware of ,” says Kriel .
De Waal continues : “ Servitisation builds operational agility , improves profitability , minimises waste and achieves resource efficiency . We are global leaders with a servitisation model that includes 100 % investment , design , construction and utility management across power , refrigeration and steam assets .”
With EP assuming the capital cost of the project , Clover is able to further invest in Project Sencillo and its five-year , multi-phased plan targeting the improved utilisation and efficiency of company assets and processes .
Anton Pretorius , Clover ' s group manager : product technology and technical services , explains : “ This removal of upfront investment , together with the fact that we have access to a modern , automated plant that EP has committed to guaranteed uptime and efficiency in line with industry standards , has resulted in lower operational costs and ensures that Clover is at the forefront of efficient and sustainable technology .”
De Waal notes that the model highlights an opportunity for commercial and industrial businesses to increase their bottom line , while decreasing operational costs and risks in a highly-challenging economic environment .
EP also provided an outsourced steam solution for this project with three 30 bar , 30 ton boilers .
Ammonia surge drum : the system is an ammonia-based refrigeration system driven by Grasso screw compressors with evaporative condensing to ensure optimum efficiency .
The view from the roof
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All images courtesy of EP Refrigeration .
Energy Partners general manager for refrigeration , Dawie Kriel
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THE REFRIGERATION PROJECT
Kriel provides the following information :
The project letter of intent was signed in February 2021 . EP commenced on site around March that year , with the retrofit project that involved both the replacement and upgrade of the existing system at Queensburgh . EP took a phased approach to the project with staggered completion dates to ensure minimum disruption to Clover ’ s production . The final leg of the project was completed in March 2022 , an effective 12-month project timeline that ran
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ahead of schedule despite the challenge of production uptime .
Initially , a new plant room was planned for the refrigeration system , but the site topography made this too expensive . It helped that EP ’ s in-house consulting team were also part of the overall professional team driving the larger project . Careful planning of shut-downs and space utilisation in the existing plant room were necessary to achieve effective time management . The use of the existing plant room proved to be an added complexity , both in terms of creating
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an efficient layout and ensuring continuity of cooling during the project . The focus of CaaS is providing peak efficiency for the full 20-year contract , so design and construction must be done with this in mind .
In terms of client Clover ’ s design specifications , they needed to increase the system efficiency and capacity , and wanted to take the refrigeration supply off-balance sheet .
EP ’ s CaaS product was chosen because it guarantees efficiency , uptime and temperature while providing a completely
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28 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za COLD LINK AFRICA • September 2023