NASRC's Incentive Program Drives $880,000 for Climate-Friendly Grocery Stores

Mill Valley, California - The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit working in partnership with the grocery industry to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants, recently announced that they have secured a total of $880,000 in funding support for natural refrigerant grocery projects through their Aggregated Incentives Program (AIP) Pilot.

“We launched the AIP program to support grocers facing increasing regulatory pressure to transition away from HFC refrigerants,” said Danielle Wright, NASRC Executive Director. “Incentives have the power to offset cost premiums and make natural refrigerants a feasible business choice for grocers.”

Launched in 2020, NASRC’s AIP Pilot was a first-of-its-kind, no cost platform through which NASRC coordinated incentive funding for natural refrigerant projects in California grocery stores. The pilot was designed to bolster the California Air Resources Board (CARB) F-gas Reduction Incentive Program (FRIP), which was established to support the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants resulting from CARB’s HFC reduction measures that take effect on Jan 1, 2022.

“NASRC’s assistance was critical in obtaining the FRIP funding,” said Jay Schick, Refrigeration and HVAC Buyer at Costco, a FRIP awardee and AIP Pilot participant. “We hope to see the program grow in the future as this is key to accelerating our transition from HFC refrigerants.”

FRIP is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities. FRIP was established to address the fact that upfront costs remain a significant hurdle for grocers to transition to low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.

Recently, CARB awarded FRIP grants to 15 grocery projects across California, 12 of which were funded through the NASRC AIP Pilot and represented $880,000 of the total $1 million awarded. The projects funded through the AIP Pilot will use climate-friendly natural refrigerants with near-zero GWP, such as CO2 and propane.

The grants will support innovative projects, including partial transitions to natural refrigerants in four existing Whole Foods Market facilities. Because natural refrigerants are not a “drop-in” solution, they require a full system replacement rather than a simple gas retrofit, representing a much greater challenge for grocers. “There’s no straightforward solution for replacing HFC equipment,” said Mike Ellinger, Principal Program Manager of Engineering, Compliance & Sustainability at Whole Foods Market. “The FRIP funding will allow us to test several innovative approaches and the results will inform our strategy for existing stores in the future.”

ALDI, another national chain grocer, received awards for seven projects through the AIP Pilot, four of which are located in disadvantaged communities that are disproportionately impacted by the changing climate. "The funding ALDI receives through FRIP supports our continued dedication to natural refrigerant technology,” said Dan Gavin, ALDI Vice President of National Real Estate. “At ALDI, we continue to explore new ways to lower our carbon footprint, and we are particularly excited about the energy data we will receive from this outstanding program."

In addition to the grants, FRIP awardees will participate in data sharing and service workforce development activities, further addressing barriers that are slowing the adoption of natural refrigerants in the US. NASRC is supporting the implementation of these activities as part of their AIP Pilot.

Due to the COVID pandemic, the FRIP funding was not renewed in the California 2021 fiscal year budget. NASRC is advocating for the program to receive additional funding in the future to support full or partial system replacements in existing stores. There will be opportunities to submit comments in support of renewed FIRP funding later this year, but in the meantime NASRC is thinking bigger.

“Our goal with the pilot was always to expand beyond California,” said Wright. “Given the upcoming federal HFC phasedown, there is a need for national funding support to aid the transition. That’s where we’re looking next.”    

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About North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council
The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) is a 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit working in partnership with the grocery refrigeration industry to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by traditional refrigerants. The organization works with stakeholders from across the grocery refrigeration industry, including over 38,000 food retail locations, to eliminate the barriers preventing the adoption of natural refrigerants. For more information, visit www.nasrc.org.

First-of-its-kind Study Compares Costs of Natural & Low-GWP Refrigerant Systems

As food retailers in the US face growing refrigerant regulations, the need for tools and resources that provide clarity on the cost of natural and low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant technologies is becoming increasingly apparent. A new study comparing the upfront and ongoing costs of various natural and low-GWP refrigerant systems has provided a first-of-its-kind resource that could help build a pathway towards that clarity for retailers.

Authored by DC Engineering - an engineering design firm based in Meridian, Idaho – the study was commissioned by a national chain grocer and aimed to equip the grocer to make informed system selection decisions. The grocer chose to remain anonymous but agreed to make the study results public.

“This study is a great example of the kind of transparent and comprehensive cost comparison food retailers are looking for,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. “As regulatory pressures increase, retailers need more tools like this to effectively compare their options.”

“With the ever-changing tapestry of refrigerant compliance issues, we have found end-users need clear, fact-based guidance on the most suitable system for their long-term operational success,” said Glenn Barrett, engineering manager at DC Engineering. “Both the first cost and lifecycle costs of different system designs are heavily impacted by the system options and features utilized. Providing a baseline of the client’s key parameters, and then adhering to those parameters, is imperative to achieving a meaningful comparison.”

The study compared both the upfront costs of installation and ongoing cost of energy for four different refrigeration system designs serving a 40,000 square foot market with a 900 MBH load. The baseline design was a 3-rack system using R-448A, which was compared to three other system designs:

• A CO2 transcritical system utilizing a single rack and an adiabatic gas cooler

• A micro-distributed system using R-448A and utilizing an adiabatic fluid cooler and a hydronic loop for heat rejection

• A micro-macro-distributed system using R-290 for standardized cases and CO2 for specialty cases and utilizing an adiabatic fluid cooler and a hydronic loop for heat rejection

To obtain competitive installation pricing, the four system designs were bid across five regions using multiple contractors and OEMs. As a result, over 50 competitive bids were reviewed to analyze first costs. The bids were averaged to compare the variation of the case, equipment, and installation costs across each of the four system designs. Overall, the CO2 transcritical design resulted in the lowest first cost, even when compared to the baseline HFC system.

“It’s important to remember that this study reflects one retailer’s experience and is not necessarily representative of other retailers,” said Wright. “We’ve heard from a number of our retailer members that they are still experiencing significant cost premiums for CO2 transcritical systems.”

Energy performance was also modeled for each of the four system designs using a combination of Pack Calculation Pro, Excel, and other tools. Weather data was incorporated from each of the five regions and all system loads were kept constant for the purpose of comparison. The results reflected energy penalties in every region for all alternative system types, ranging from 9% to 122% above the HFC baseline system.

“It was very interesting to see how energy use differed between the various real world, commercially available, designs,” said Barrett. “It was particularly interesting – and encouraging  –  to see how the thermodynamic efficiency advantages of natural refrigerant solutions played out when compared to a very efficient HFC, multiple suction group, rack design using industry best practices. The study substantiated our view that natural refrigerant designs are both viable and varied to meet most any facility conditions but can indeed be improved to maximize energy efficiency.”

This study is an important first step towards providing retailers the tools they need to effectively compare their options. Looking ahead, NASRC plans to build on this study to incorporate additional system types and baseline assumptions, as well as energy performance data from the field. 

“Our hope is that this study will serve as an important blueprint that can be expanded to include other system designs and field data,” said Wright. “NASRC’s goal is to help coordinate that expansion to drive more clarity for retailers.”

Click here to read the full report.

NASRC Launches FREE Natural Refrigerant Technology Library

For a limited time, access free on-demand presentations highlighting the latest natural refrigerant technologies for supermarket and food retail applications! The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) - a 501c3 nonprofit collaborating with the supermarket industry to advance the adoption of natural refrigerants - has launched a first-of-its-kind library of on-demand presentations showcasing natural refrigerant technology solutions for both new and existing supermarket facilities.

Due to the high global warming potential (GWP) of traditional hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs), supermarkets are facing growing regulatory pressures to transition to low-GWP refrigerant technologies.

Natural refrigerants, including ammonia, hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide, are simultaneously the most climate-friendly solution and the most effective way for supermarkets to achieve regulatory compliance. But high upfront costs and other market barriers have prevented their widespread adoption, contributing to uncertainty around the low-GWP technologies that will best meet the needs of each supermarket.

“We heard from our retailer members that there was a lack of information on viable natural refrigerant technology options,” said Danielle Wright, NASRC executive director. “Retailers need to fully understand the benefits and trade-offs of each technology option in order to make sound decisions and effectively navigate increasing refrigerant regulations.”

To address this challenge, NASRC hosted a webinar series in which NASRC members presented on the latest natural refrigerant technology offerings. Presentations focused on options for existing stores, which are especially challenging as they require a costly full or partial system replacement to allow for the use of natural refrigerants. For a limited time, NASRC has made all webinar recordings available on-demand for free in a new Natural Refrigerant Technology Library.

“Our goal with this series was to help supermarkets and their partners learn about natural refrigerant technologies that meet their needs in both new and existing stores,” said Wright. “This information is also critical for policymakers and utilities to make informed decisions that will shape energy and refrigerant regulations.”

View the recordings now to learn about the latest natural refrigerant technology solutions for supermarkets.

NASRC is supported by over 24,000 US supermarket locations and more than 130 organizations representing all sectors of the commercial refrigeration industry. Learn more at their website here: www.nasrc.org.

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 Expo to Highlight Low-GWP AND Energy Efficient Refrigeration Solutions

Irwindale, California – On January 15th and 16th, North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) and Southern California Edison (SCE) will co-host the first-ever Low-GWP & Energy Efficiency Expo, which will showcase the latest commercial refrigeration technologies and solutions that offer both low-GWP and energy efficiency benefits in new and existing facilities.

This event will build on a workshop NASRC co-hosted with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) earlier this year, which sought to align the goals of California food retailers, California utilities, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) by optimizing for energy efficiency with natural refrigerants.

“After our July workshop, it became clear that food retailers, service contractors, government agencies, and utilities were looking for an easy way to identify technologies that are both energy efficient and compatible with refrigerants below 150 GWP,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of the NASRC. “Our goal with this event is to provide a platform to showcase these technologies in the context of California regulations.”

In 2017, CARB proposed new regulations that will require all new systems to use refrigerants with a GWP of 150 or less starting in 2022, causing many California grocers and food retailers to explore natural refrigerant technologies and solutions.

Natural refrigerants, including hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, offer a “future-proof” solution in terms of regulations, but also present a unique set of challenges. Not only do these technologies often come at an upfront cost premium compared to traditional technologies, but a shortage of trusted data has led to uncertainty around energy performance and other lifecycle costs. What’s more, because natural refrigerants are not a “drop-in” solution, existing stores require a full system replacement, making a natural refrigerant “retrofit” unfeasible in most facilities.     

California utilities offer a variety of programs that can help finance the adoption of energy efficient refrigerant technologies, such as on-bill financing, emerging technologies funding, and custom incentive programs. By incorporating low-GWP refrigerant technologies into new and existing programs utilities can support CARB in reaching their emissions reductions targets and California food retailers to adopt low-GWP technologies without breaking the bank.

“Utility incentives and other funding sources that offset the upfront costs of these technologies have the power to increase volumes of adoption and drive us closer to reaching economies of scale where we see the costs of these technologies fall,” said Wright. “But for that to happen, utilities, government agencies, and supermarkets need to have a better understanding of which technologies below 150 GWP also offer energy efficiency benefits in both new and existing facilities.”

This free, two-day event seeks to provide clarity by highlighting a diversity of commercial refrigeration products that are compatible with refrigerants below 150 GWP and have proven energy efficiency benefits through a product expo, technomercials, case studies, and refrigeration “Shark Tank” sessions. Attendees will also hear updates on California refrigerant regulations, current and future offerings from California utilities, and 2022 Title 24 energy code impacts.  

This event will be attended by grocery and food retailers, service contractors, equipment manufacturers & suppliers, utilities, policymakers, government agencies, and other key commercial refrigeration stakeholders.

 Manufacturers interested in exhibiting should contact the NASRC at info@nasrc.org. Exhibitor applications are due by COB Friday, November 15th. For more information or to register for the expo, visit www.nasrc.org/energy-efficiency-expo.