Commercial refrigeration to ease pressure on the grid

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $3.7 million in federal government funding to Enel X to demonstrate and scale flexible demand solutions in the commercial and industrial refrigeration sector.

The Unlocking Flexible Demand in the Commercial Refrigeration Sector project is seeking to recruit 440 supermarkets and 13 refrigerated warehouses to aggregate 20.9 MW of flexible demand across the National Electricity Market.

The supermarkets and warehouses will participate within Enel X’s virtual power plant (VPP), to provide services in support of Australia’s electricity system. In doing so, the facilities will help alleviate grid constraints and support the safe and reliable supply of electricity to all consumers while being financially rewarded via Enel X’s VPP.

Flexible demand is the coordinated orchestration of electrical load to ease pressure on the grid. As variable renewable sources like wind and solar produce an increasing share of Australia’s electricity generation, solutions are required to help match up supply and demand.

Storage is one part of the equation, but shifting demand away from peak times and reducing demand at critical times can complement this, reducing the overall cost of energy and supporting integration of renewables into the grid.

The project is targeting commercial and industrial refrigeration because it provides an ideal source of flexible demand on a large scale, with an estimated 500 MW of potential flexible demand in refrigeration across Australia’s supermarkets, grocery stores, beverage shops and warehouses.

“The energy market needs new ways to balance renewables and businesses need new ways to reduce energy costs,” said Jeff Renaud, Managing Director of Enel X APAC.

“With ARENA’s support, we will prove that small-scale refrigeration systems, when plugged into a virtual power plant, can make a large-scale contribution to the renewable energy transition.”

Enel X has engaged a tier 1 grocery chain as an initial supermarket partner, with a 20-store pilot extending to up to 250 stores participating in the VPP. Lineage Logistics will also take part in the project with 13 refrigerated warehouse sites. Enel X is actively recruiting commercial refrigeration businesses across supermarket, grocery, beverage, convenience and last-mile logistics to fulfil ARENA’s 440-store funding support.

The project aims to demonstrate the business case for flexible demand solutions in refrigeration and to de-risk the uptake of new technology for prospective demand response providers.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the project could pave the way for further investment in flexible demand.

“Our electricity grid is changing, and a more variable supply requires more flexible demand,” Miller said.

“Commercial refrigeration can unlock this opportunity at a material scale, so we’re excited to see the Enel X project rolled out across Australian supermarkets and other businesses with refrigeration.”

ARENA has previously supported Shell Energy Australia with a $9.1 million grant to trial flexible demand solutions across shopping centres, supermarkets and distribution centres.

The Unlocking Flexible Demand in the Commercial Refrigeration Sector project is due to be completed in 2027.

Image credit: iStock.com/VLG