Huge electricity savings claimed for US food processing plant

Gill Onions is to install a Vanadium Redox Battery (VRB) energy storage system from Prudent Energy at its site at Oxnard, California. In addition to processing onions, the 5.6ha (14-acre) site turns onion waste into biogas, which in turn feeds into two 300-kilowatt fuel cells to produce clean heat and power.

Lowest cost​

“The Vanadium Redox Battery is a patented advanced energy storage system that is safe, environmentally-friendly and operates at the lowest cost of any flow battery technology​,” according to a statement from Prudent Energy.

Prudent's VRB Energy Storage System (VRB-ESS) will improve the efficiency of Gill’s existing Advanced Energy Recovery System (AERS), said the company.

Energy savings will accrue as avoided charges, costs and fees that would otherwise be paid by Gills to the local utility. These charges are high due to Gill's energy-intensive, round-the-clock operation.

The energy storage system is designed to provide clean power on demand for maximum periods of six hours, equivalent to 3.6 megawatt-hours of capacity.

Unlike other flow battery systems, the energy-holding electrolyte in Prudent's VRB systems operates at room temperature and never wears out, claimed the company. Customers buy only the capacity they need and can add energy and power in modular fashion, it added.

Steve Gill, the onion processing company’s president said: "Energy storage has become an absolutely essential part of integrating renewables into the electricity grid reliably and efficiently, and Prudent Energy's system does this very well. Prudent has also shown it will stand behind its product and share the financial risk of putting these projects into the field, so their commercial and environmental benefits can be realized as quickly as possible​."

Energy savings​

Prudent Energy Services Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudent Energy, based in Bethesda, Maryland, will build, own and operate the energy storage system in return for a share of the energy savings resulting from the project. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Jeff Pierson, Prudent Energy’s senior vice president , told FoodProductionDaily.com: “Prudent is interested in discussions with other large companies in the food and packaging industry, especially those with onsite generation, who should benefit from the energy cost savings and reduced carbon footprint similar to what our VRB-ESS will do at Gills Onions. ​

“We have a formula for those savings that we will eventually make public​.”