NASRC Expo Drives Progress for Energy Efficient and Low-GWP Technologies

Irwindale, California – On January 15th and 16th, the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) and Southern California Edison (SCE) co-hosted the first-ever Low-GWP & Energy Efficiency Expo, which brought together supermarket refrigeration, energy management, and regulatory stakeholders to explore the latest commercial refrigeration technologies offering both low global warming potential (GWP) and energy efficiency benefits.  

These technologies are of growing interest to the supermarket industry, in-part due to pending California regulations that were developed in response to the State’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and reduce hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions to 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. HFCs are of particular interest because they are extremely potent GHGs with thousands of times more warming potential than CO2, and have been named the fastest growing sources of GHG emissions globally.

To meet these goals, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed new refrigerant regulations that will require retailers to reduce their emissions by transitioning to lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. The State’s ambitious GHG emission reduction targets will also require a decrease in indirect emissions from energy use, which has led to changes in state energy mandates.

Because supermarkets are more electricity-intensive than any other commercial building type and the refrigeration system makes up the largest electricity load in most supermarkets, both the energy use (indirect emissions) and global warming potential (GWP) of the refrigerants (direct emissions) must be addressed to maximize GHG emissions reductions. As a result, these state energy mandates and refrigerant regulations have significant implications for California grocers.

“Grocers are caught between increasing pressures to transition to low-GWP refrigerants and simultaneously reduce their energy use,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of the NASRC. “As a result there is a growing need for refrigeration technologies that are both low-GWP and energy efficient, which is why we created this expo event.”

The expo featured 28 exhibitors offering low-GWP and energy efficient technology solutions, as well as a series of technomercial and case study presentations that highlighted specific solutions (see featured solutions here). Technology options for existing facilities were especially of interest, in-part because existing facilities represent the greatest potential for emissions reductions.

Despite the opportunity for emissions reduction, existing facilities also present the greatest challenge for retailers due to high costs, business impacts, and a lack of available technology options to modularly transition to low-GWP refrigerants. To address this challenge, Tom Wolgamot of DC Engineering and Rob Arthur of Cushing Terrell teamed up in one of the sessions to explore a series of design options to incorporate low-GWP refrigerants into existing stores. See their presentation here.

The Expo event also featured an Emerging Technologies “Shark Tank” session that highlighted the newest innovations in commercial refrigeration, a session that highlighted the new proposed measures for the California energy code and latest trends in utility programs, and a regulatory update from CARB on their HFC reduction measures and incentive program.

Two recurring themes throughout the event were the need for both regulatory coordination and funding support to achieve GHG emissions reduction targets. Cost remains the greatest barrier to advancing these technologies, especially in existing facilities. As a result there is a considerable need for funding assistance to support the transition to low-GWP refrigerants. Collaboration between the industry and regulators can also reduce the burden of transitioning, and even lead to more effective regulations.

The NASRC plans to build on the momentum of this event to address the challenges preventing a low-GWP and energy efficient future for supermarket refrigeration and to coordinate funding sources for low-GWP technology installations. 

“This event laid the groundwork for key solutions that will lead to significant progress for the industry, and NASRC is uniquely positioned to drive these forward solutions with our members and partners.” said Wright. “That’s exactly what we were formed to do.”

For more information or to get involved in the solutions, visit www.nasrc.org.

NASRC Refrigerants Workshop Seeks to Align Climate and Energy Goals in California

San Francisco, California – On July 18, 2019, the NASRC and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) will co-host an educational workshop to help the supermarket industry prepare for California’s refrigerant regulations. Expert presenters will share insights on commercial refrigeration market trends, the latest technology solutions, and strategies to optimize energy efficiency in the context of new regulatory requirements. The workshop will bring together stakeholders from the commercial refrigeration, government, and utility sectors to discuss goals, define challenges, and identify solutions that meet the needs of supermarkets, comply with regulations, and increase energy savings.

 “This workshop will provide a platform to align the goals of various stakeholders and develop actionable solutions to the challenges faced by each group,” said Danielle Wright executive director of NASRC. “Bringing all stakeholders to the table is key to overcoming barriers to natural refrigerant adoption and making measureable industry progress.”

California is one of a growing number of states who have committed to phase down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) commonly used as refrigerants in supermarkets and grocery stores. HFCs are often referred to as super pollutants due to their rapid and severe impact on global warming. California has set goals to reduce state HFC emissions by 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, and has already established regulations to limit the use of high-GWP refrigerants. Additionally, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced new regulations that will ban the sale of virgin refrigerants with a GWP of 1,500 or more and will require all new systems to use refrigerants with a GWP of 150 or less starting in 2022.

For California supermarkets and grocery stores, the transition to low-GWP refrigerants is anything but easy in both new and existing stores. Natural refrigerants, including carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, and ammonia, are technically viable and “future-proof” solutions to all existing refrigerant regulations, but these new technologies often come at an upfront cost premium when compared to traditional refrigeration technologies. Furthermore, it can be difficult to assess the return on investment as the ongoing costs of maintenance and operations can also be higher for natural refrigerant-based technologies. 

The state has acknowledged the cost premiums associated with adopting low-GWP refrigerant technologies as well as the need for funding to support supermarkets as they transition. Last year, the California Cooling Act (SB 1013) established an incentive program to help offset the cost premiums associated with low-GWP refrigerant technologies. However despite broad support from the supermarket community, the incentive program went unfunded in the state’s proposed 2019-20 budget. Without financial support, supermarkets will continue to face uncertainty around how to fund this transition.

California utilities will also be impacted by the new refrigerant regulations. As new requirements go into effect and more low-GWP refrigerant technologies are installed, the baseline from which utilities measure energy savings will change. As a result, existing tools and programs will need to be adapted to address these new technologies. Natural refrigerant-based technologies have the potential to be energy efficient, but in many cases efficiency gains require increased system complexities that come at an additional cost. Utility incentives could play a key role in driving the adoption of low-GWP refrigerant technologies while ensuring energy efficiency. This would have a big impact on energy use throughout the state because not only are supermarkets more electricity-intensive than any other commercial building type, but their refrigeration system makes up the largest electricity load, using up to 60% of the store’s total energy.

“Optimizing natural refrigerants technologies to be energy efficient represents a win for all stakeholders,” said Wright. “Not only will this help offset upfront costs through opportunities for utility incentives, but it will also provide supermarkets with a return on their upfront investments through energy savings. This has the power to increase the adoption of low-GWP technologies and contribute to both direct and indirect state emissions reduction goals. We see this workshop as a critical step towards accomplishing all of these goals.”

The workshop is generously sponsored by Climate Pros, AHT Cooling Systems USA, Hillphoenix, and BITZER US. Attendees will include supermarket retailers, service contractors, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, government agencies, utilities, engineering & design firms, consultants, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

Click here for more information.

Thank you to our sponsors!