Energy publication Distributed Energy has published an article authored by our CEO, James Bell, describing how Thermal Energy Storage provides backup resiliency to cold storage warehouses, adds efficiency to commercial and industrial refrigeration applications, and provides the grid a storage technology that can now manage the high energy demand of the cold storage industry.

This article on MicrogridKnowledge.com highlights the growing application of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) in refrigeration applications to lower the energy demand and the energy consumption of commercial and industrial refrigerated facilities. A number of Viking Cold projects are referenced including a California Energy Commission program inside a Whole Foods store with the goal of a Net Zero grocery store, pairing TES with onsite solar generation, and a demand management program with Massachusettes’ largest utility – Eversource.

Installation of thermal energy storage system allows the Food Bank to provide 10,500 more meals every year

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Greater Boston Food Bank is starting the year off with a 75 percent reduction in energy use during targeted peak hours and substantial cost savings thanks to a partnership with Eversource and the installation of a new Viking Cold Solutions thermal energy storage (TES) system. The TES system for the Food Bank’s refrigeration units was installed at its 117,000 square-foot, high-efficiency Yawkey Distribution Center in South Boston.

Power providers are looking for new distributed energy resources to help with demand management across the grid.  Some offer flexibility and some offer efficiency.  This article on Utility Dive explains how Viking Cold’s  TES provides both energy storage for flexibility and added efficiency to C&I refrigeration applications.

HOUSTON (Business Wire) – Viking Cold Solutions, the leading Thermal Energy Storage (TES) provider, will work with Constellation, an Exelon (NYSE:EXC) company and a leading competitive energy provider, to offer its commercial and industrial refrigeration customers access to Constellation’s unique Efficiency Made Easy® (EME) program. The EME program helps businesses implement optimal energy conservation measures, such as Viking Cold’s TES systems, with no upfront capital expenditure. The cost for the upgrades is included in the monthly charges that appear on their Constellation power and gas supply bills.

The commercial and industrial application of our thermal energy storage (TES) technology has shown tremendous results in an ammonia-refrigerated frozen food warehouse in California. By storing energy in the form of cold and delivering discharge times up to 13 hours per day TES provides utilities a behind-the-meter distributed energy resource (DER) to help manage the inflexible and difficult demand profile of the cold storage industry. Utility Dive has posted an article outlining the temperature, peak demand, and consumption benefits of TES in cold storage facilities outlined in our case study.

Arizona State University has published an article describing a research experiment of Viking Cold’s Thermal Energy Storage system in a large ice cream storage warehouse in Arizona.  The experiment is a partnership between the utility provider Salt River Project, grocery retailer Basha’s Family of Stores, Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, and Viking Cold Solutions.

Sustainability is a growing priority in the grocery and cold-storage worlds, and new technology implementations require investment.  Progressive Grocer has posted a blog article that outlines how grocers and operators can add thermal energy storage with no upfront investment and be cash-flow positive from day one. They can now expand their green initiatives, lower energy costs, protect their food, and reduce their carbon footprint without capital expenditures or tying up credit.

Study Confirms 43% Decrease in Energy Consumption in an Ammonia-Refrigerated Warehouse with Viking Cold Solutions’ Thermal Energy Storage Technology – Significant Benefits for Cold Storage and Grid Operators

Richmond, CA and Houston, TX (Business Wire) — Viking Cold Solutions, the leading Thermal Energy Storage (TES) provider for the low-temperature cold storage industry, announced that its measurement and verification (M&V) study on Viking Cold’s TES technology at Dreisbach Enterprises’ 93,000 square foot frozen food distribution center in Richmond, CA  shows significant operational and financial benefits for utilities and the cold storage industry. The study demonstrated the ability of TES to mitigate the facility’s 13-hour peak period by simultaneously:

• reducing peak period energy consumption by up to 43 percent
• reducing peak demand within this peak period by up to 29 percent
• maintaining 50 percent more stable temperatures

Refrigeration is the third highest electricity consuming utility category, and the cold storage industry is a prime target for load distribution management solutions. Cold storage operators, the grocery industry, and utilities challenged with managing peak loads on the electrical grid can all benefit from the refrigeration efficiency and load shift capabilities of TES.

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Did you know that one-third of all food produced is lost or wasted before it’s consumed? Leading grocery publication Progressive Grocer has published a guest blog by Viking Cold’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Collin Coker that demonstrates how grocers and cold storage operators can limit the amount of food wasted around the globe…all while saving on energy costs.