CAREL USA Joins NASRC Membership at Platinum Level

Manheim, Pennsylvania — CAREL USA, a subsidiary of CAREL Group, recently joined the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) at the platinum level. The NASRC is an action-oriented 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to creating a climate-friendly future for refrigeration through natural refrigerants.

CAREL USA is a manufacturer of controls and humidification systems for HVAC and refrigeration in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Globally, CAREL Group has demonstrated a commitment to fostering a climate-friendly future for refrigeration through equipment that is compatible with natural refrigerants.

“At the core of CAREL’s culture, and this has been true for over 40 years, is a focus on honoring the opportunity to enable environmental and business sustainability in our industry. Our solutions development, both internally and with partners around the world, is highly focused on helping the industry achieve or beat low GWP and TEWI targets. This means we are committed to dramatically reduced refrigerant charge requirements, leak potentials, and the availability of efficient natural refrigerant solutions that make a difference,” said Alessandro Greggio, Group Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for Refrigeration.

As grocers face increasing regulatory pressures to reduce the carbon footprint of their refrigeration systems, the demand for low global warming potential (GWP) refrigeration technologies has risen. Natural refrigerants have zero or near-zero GWP, and as a result offer a future-proof solution to regulations.

However, these technologies are associated with a number of barriers that have prevented their wide-scale adoption in the US, such as upfront cost premiums, a shortage of workforce training, lack of performance data, and technology gaps in existing stores.

NASRC works directly with over 130 companies from every sector of the supermarket industry to eliminate those barriers and bring natural refrigerants on par with other refrigerant options. Together with the industry, they drive forward solutions that offset upfront costs, establish new training resources, provide performance data for the industry, and address technology gaps.

"CAREL understands the necessity and the difficulty for retailers and their partners to transition to natural refrigerants in a cost-effective way,” said Martino Manfrin, CEO CAREL USA. “NASRC was founded to help the industry do that - to keep up with regulations, to bring important innovations to the forefront, to share challenges, and best practices across the membership - with the goal of moving the industry forward to ultra-low GWP solutions. It's a clear and simple choice for CAREL to be a part of that." 

 “We are pleased to welcome CAREL USA to our network” said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. “CAREL Group has helped to advance natural refrigerant technology solutions internationally, and we look forward to leveraging their global expertise to drive progress here in the US.”

In addition to CAREL USA, NASRC’s member network represents over 24,000 US supermarket locations and stakeholders from all sectors of the commercial refrigeration industry, including service contractors, manufacturers and suppliers, consultants, engineering firms, trade associations, distributors, and nonprofits.

More information about CAREL USA is available at www.carelusa.com.

NASRC Joins 1% for the Planet as Nonprofit Partner

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) has joined 1% for the Planet as a nonprofit partner, introducing new opportunities for funding support to accelerate our mission and drive industry progress.

Founded in 2002, 1% for the Planet’s mission is to increase the amount of charitable giving directed towards environmental causes. The organization strives to connect philanthropic businesses, who pledge to donate 1% of their gross sales, with high-impact nonprofits, like NASRC.

“The intent of 1% for the Planet is to help fund these diverse environmental organizations so that collectively they can be a more powerful source in solving the world’s problems,” writes Yvon Chouinard, co-founder of 1% for the Planet.

Since our founding, we have experienced tremendous support from the supermarket industry. Our membership network now represents more than 130 industry stakeholders - including 24,000 supermarket locations in the United States – that contribute directly to our mission to eliminate the barriers preventing natural refrigerant adoption in supermarkets. 

The support we’ve received from industry stakeholders has been the driving force behind our mission and has positioned us to make meaningful progress. Introducing new support from philanthropic businesses and individuals would expand our capacity tremendously, increasing our ability to take swift action and drive significant industry progress. 

“We are thrilled to join 1% for the Planet and are grateful for the opportunity to connect with businesses and individuals looking to support nonprofits like us,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. “We look forward to leveraging new relationships and opportunities to accelerate our mission and drive a meaningful impact.”

Learn more by viewing NASRC’s 1% for the Planet profile here.

Dalkia Energy Solutions Expands Support for NASRC, Contributing to Reduced Carbon Footprint

BEVERLY, Mass. – Dalkia Energy Solutions, EDF Group recently increased its financial support level for the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC). The NASRC is an action-oriented 501c3 nonprofit that brings together stakeholders from virtually every sector of the commercial refrigeration industry to advance natural refrigerants and create a climate-friendly future for supermarket refrigeration.

With decades of work helping grocery chains across the US reduce their energy footprint, Dalkia has been a supporter of the NASRC since its founding in 2015. Dalkia’s increased level of NASRC support demonstrates a new level of commitment to driving adoption of these more sustainable refrigeration solutions.

 Dalkia is the building energy services division of EDF Group, one of the largest utilities in the world. EDF Group is focused on advancing low-carbon energy to support both economic growth and climate solutions. Dalkia’s 2016 acquisition of Groom Energy Solutions marked its introduction to the US market, bringing reliable and cost-effective energy management solutions to both commercial and industrial customers.

 “Dalkia’s projects globally have contributed to the prevention of roughly 4.2 million tons of CO2 of emissions, the equivalent of taking two million cars off the road,” said Jon Guerster, CEO of Dalkia Energy Solutions.  “And the numbers for 2019 will be even greater.”

He furthered, “we work closely with each and every customer to develop a customized initiative roadmap to unlock energy savings and maximize efficiency. It’s part of our mission and at the heart of all we do.”

Dalkia’s commitment to energy efficiency is especially important in supermarkets, which are more electricity-intensive than any other commercial building type in the US.

To reduce the overall carbon footprint of supermarket refrigeration, both the energy use and the global warming potential (GWP) of the refrigerants used must be considered. The climate impact of a supermarket’s refrigeration system can be evaluated using a measure called the Total Equivalent Warming Impact—the sum of the “indirect” emissions resulting from energy use and the “direct” emissions of refrigerants. For this reason, energy efficiency has become a growing part of NASRC’s strategy to create a climate-friendly future for supermarket refrigeration, as was demonstrated at their recent Low-GWP & Energy Efficiency Expo.

“A growing number of retailers are looking for solutions that offer both low-GWP and energy efficiency benefits. Stakeholders from both energy management and supermarket refrigeration need a seat at the table to advance solutions for supermarkets, and we are glad to see Dalkia position themselves at the forefront of this effort.”

- Danielle Wright, executive director of the NASRC.

“We view the transition to natural refrigerants as a critical piece in the broader greenhouse gas emission reduction puzzle. The US is trailing Europe, where our affiliate Dalkia Froid Solutions has made a significant number of upgrades delivering commercial refrigeration using low-GWP refrigerants, about 150 installations per year with over 2,000 commercial and industrial sites in total under maintenance in Europe,” said Adin Hamilton, SVP of Dalkia Energy Solutions. “There is a great deal of ground to make up in the US, and our involvement with NASRC is a way to participate and contribute to the thought-leadership required to advance this cause. Dalkia is committed to helping customers meet emerging regulatory requirements and organizational carbon reduction goals.”

In addition to Dalkia Energy Solutions, NASRC is supported by a strong network of members, which represents over 24,000 supermarket locations in North America, major equipment manufacturers, service contractors, and other commercial refrigeration stakeholders. Together with their network, the NASRC is driving forward industry solutions that eliminate the barriers to a sustainable future for refrigeration.

More information about Dalkia Energy Solutions, EDF Group is available at: https://www.dalkiasolutions.com/

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.

NASRC California Workshop Drives Incentives for Low-GWP and Energy Efficient Technologies

San Francisco, California – On July 18th, the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) organized a workshop aimed at aligning stakeholder goals and optimizing energy efficiency opportunities with low-GWP refrigerants. The workshop featured an update on refrigerant regulations from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), as well as an overview of low-GWP technologies that will help supermarkets comply with the new regulations. The intention of the workshop was to highlight the goals and challenges of key stakeholders and identify potential “win-win-win” solutions.

“We often hear that there is a perceived trade-off between GWP reduction and energy efficiency. But we see an opportunity to optimize energy savings with natural refrigerants, which represents a win for CARB, supermarkets, and California utilities. That was our primary goal with this workshop.”

- Danielle Wright, Executive Director, NASRC

The workshop was set in the context of California’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and to reduce HFC emissions to 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. To achieve these goals, CARB has proposed new regulations that would prohibit the use of refrigerants with a global warming potential (GWP) above 150 in new construction and ban the sale of virgin refrigerants with a GWP above 1,500 starting in 2022.

Though regulatory compliance is an important objective for supermarkets, they have a number of other goals to consider, such as keeping their products cold and their costs down. The pending regulations present a challenge for California supermarkets because many low-GWP technologies still represent a considerable cost premium. To really accelerate the adoption of refrigerant technologies below 150 GWP, supermarkets are going to need some financial support to offset cost premiums. 

The workshop featured several potential solutions to help overcome existing cost hurdles, starting with a state incentive program. This year, the California State Legislature allocated $1 million to the state’s low-GWP incentive program, which was established in 2018 under the California Cooling Act. This incentive program is intended to promote adoption of new low-GWP refrigerant technologies throughout California. CARB announced that they are currently working to design the program and are looking for input from stakeholders.

In addition to state-level incentives, the workshop highlighted utility funding opportunities for projects that contribute to their energy efficiency targets. Workshop speakers discussed existing utility incentive opportunities that can apply to low-GWP refrigerant technologies, such as Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) custom incentive program and commercial whole buildings program. California supermarkets can participate in these programs to receive incentives for the energy and demand savings associated with projects using low-GWP refrigerant technologies. Customers of any investor-owned utility (IOU) can also take advantage of on-bill financing programs, which offer zero percent interest loans that are repaid through the customer’s utility bill.

A new financing mechanism that will leverage carbon offset credits for greenhouse gas emissions reductions from natural refrigerant projects was also discussed. In this scenario, the carbon offset credits would be purchased from a supermarket, reducing the upfront cost of a natural refrigerant project. The NASRC and Natural Capital Partners are partnering to pilot this carbon financing model with the hopes of scaling into a larger program. This funding source could then be coupled with state or utility incentives to make a low-GWP refrigerant project financially feasible.  

“Any one of these financial options may not be enough to allow a supermarket to move forward with a natural refrigerant system,” said Wright. “But combining a number of financial mechanisms may be the solution that allows supermarkets to adopt natural refrigerant systems that will not be subject to future regulations.”

NASRC intends to help drive each proposed solution forward with the goal of combining funding opportunities to minimize cost barriers and contribute to the goals of California supermarkets, California utilities, and CARB.

The worship was co-hosted by PG&E and took place at their Pacific Energy Center (PEC) facility in San Francisco. Sponsored by Climate Pros, Hillphoenix, AHT Cooling Systems, and Bitzer US, the workshop was attended by over 100 California stakeholders, including supermarket retailers, service contractors, equipment manufacturers & suppliers, government agencies, utilities, engineering & design firms, consultants, and NGOs.

Check out more upcoming NASRC events here.