Food and beverage (F&B) manufacturing is the largest and most prominent industry in regions across the country and includes businesses in agriculture, food processing, cold storage, transportation, and retail. Naturally, F&B is critical to the U.S. economy and to our society as a whole, responsible for transforming livestock and agricultural products into intermediate and final food and beverage products, as well as the distribution and retail of those products.
Today, food production accounts for ~30% of global carbon emissions, providing a significant opportunity for the industry to reduce its environmental footprint. A majority of industries are focused on how to operate more sustainably, without negatively impacting the bottom line. Many have company-wide or industry-wide sustainability targets and/or a focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance.
One solution quickly gaining traction within the F&B industry, and among manufacturing more broadly, is on-site renewable energy solutions, including energy storage systems.
Energy storage systems allow electricity to be stored—and then discharged—at the most strategic times. Today, Lithium-ion batteries, the same batteries that are used in cell phones and electric vehicles, are the most commonly used type of energy storage. Like the batteries in your cell phone, commercial-, industrial-, and utility-scale battery energy storage systems can be charged with electricity from the grid, stored, and discharged when there is a deficit in supply or when energy is most expensive. Increasingly, battery energy storage is being paired with solar PV, which maximizes the value of solar energy to the grid (i.e., storing solar-generated electricity for when it is cloudy or after the sun sets).
In this blog, we will cover the benefits of energy storage to the F&B industry and how it can help cut costs and reduce environmental impact without impacting operations or growth.
Energy Usage in F&B Manufacturing: The Case for On-Site Renewable Energy
The F&B sector is one of the top five consumers of fuels and power in U.S. manufacturing. Manufacturing F&B typically requires large amounts of thermal energy to transform raw materials to products for customers. Yet, the F&B sector ranks among the top five in nearly every energy and loss category. This leaves room for improvement—and solutions! Specifically, F&B businesses can generate—or store—more energy on-site.
Because a majority of F&B businesses are energy-intensive, they are particularly exposed to the current volatility of global energy markets. Today’s volatile and increasing energy costs are leading businesses to look for ways to insulate themselves and lock in lower, fixed rates for energy. This is especially true in certain subsectors of F&B, where profit margins can be narrow.
Projections suggest that by 2030, the industry will require 45% more energy compared to its 2021 demand, attributed to population growth and the effects of climate change.
Why Energy Storage Makes “Cents” for F&B Facilities
On-site battery energy storage systems are an effective way to reduce F&B facilities’ electricity costs while also reducing carbon footprints. Battery storage can shave peak demand charges by charging the batteries when electricity is cheapest and discharging the batteries when electricity is most expensive. When paired with solar PV (known as solar-plus-storage), industrial-scale batteries can discharge solar energy whether or not the sun is shining.
Battery storage or solar-plus-storage does not replace a utility provider. Rather, it locks in a fixed, lower price for more sustainable electricity through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This CapEx-free partnership structure allows businesses to reduce their carbon footprint with no impact on operations.
Further, as the F&B industry looks for GHG-free ways to dramatically lower electricity costs and reach sustainability goals, on-site renewables provide a win-win opportunity. This “win-win” is one of the reasons people are calling this “The Battery Decade,” and the U.S. energy storage market is projected to grow to more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.
As the world increasingly looks to renewable resources and away from fossil fuels, battery storage can help bridge this energy transition. Again, the more renewable energy on the grid, the better—but these resources only produce power when the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing. Battery storage can “firm up” renewable resources, maximizing their value to the grid—and to you.
Conclusion: Reducing Costs and Carbon Emissions with Battery Storage
If your business is considering a battery storage or solar-plus-storage solution to help meet your ESG goals and lower your energy bill and hedge against rising energy costs, you are in good company. Businesses like Shell, Ford, and National Grid have done just that with a development partner (spoiler alert: that partner is Convergent Energy and Power).
Convergent Energy and Power (Convergent) is a leading provider of energy storage and solar-plus-storage systems across North America. For over a decade, Convergent has gained deep expertise by working closely with industrial businesses to take the hassle out of on-site renewable solutions by building, owning, and operating systems on customers’ behalf. Once again, we finance the system, so there is no interruption to operations and no CapEx required on the part of our customers.
The substantial power demands inherent in F&B production highlight the potential value of battery storage and solar PV. On-site renewables provide an opportunity for businesses to lower energy bills, enhance grid stability, and contribute to the clean energy transition. With the projected growth of the F&B industry and increasing focus on corporate sustainability targets, adopting energy storage solutions presents a strategic, cost-effective, and cleaner path forward.
If you’re ready to lower your energy bill and carbon footprint, schedule a free, no-obligation introductory call with our team today.