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    Veolia, SmartParc Partnering on Clean Energy Technologies at new Food Manufacturing Site in UK

    Nov. 8, 2023
    The combined work of the renewable and energy efficiency projects reportedly will help SmartParc eliminate close to 30,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually compared to food manufacturing sites with similar footprints.
    Image credit Roman Zaiets. Shutterstock.com
    Veolia 654c08d85f073

    A food manufacturing site in Derby, United Kingdom is focusing on drastically reducing on-site carbon emissions via power from wind and solar power as well as installment of next-gen district heating and cooling technologies.

    The SmartParc SEGRO facility will utilize a variety of energy efficiency and clean energy tools for the approximately 2-million-square-foot food manufacturing operation. Veolia is working with SmartParc and designing the pipe network and will operate the entire heating, cooling and high voltage distribution network across the 155-acre site.

    The combined work of the renewable and energy efficiency projects will help SmartParc eliminate close to 30,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually compared to food manufacturing sites with similar footprints, according to the company release by Veolia.

    "Reducing the carbon footprint of food production is important as we advance to net zero,” John Abraham, chief operating officer for Veolia UK & Ireland—Industrial, Water and Energy, said in a statement. “By collaborating with food manufacturers, we can identify and implement new innovative solutions that support essential food production and deliver major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.”

    In addition to utilizing solar, wind and energy balancing technology, SmartParc aims to achieve additional energy efficiencies through its 9.8-kilometer district cooling infrastructure, designed to achieve 11 MW in cold glycol cooling duty and using waste heat from the refrigeration plant to provide up to 10 MW in hot water capacity across the food manufacturing park.

    “We are excited to deliver this pioneering energy solution at SmartParc SEGRO Derby, the first of its kind in the food industry,” Phil Lovell, COO-Europe for SmartParc, said. “The heating and cooling network is a critical part of SmartParc’s sustainable, collaborative model for food production. The pipe network and energy center we have completed will benefit all tenants at the park, ensuring significant carbon reductions and cost savings.”

    SmartParc and SEGRO announced the partnership to build on the brownfield site in 2021. The development of energy sharing infrastructure to utilize nearby solar and wind will aid in driving down carbon emissions across the food manufacturing park design to include companies of various sizes, according to the release.

    The UK government is striving to reduce carbon emissions in its industrial sector at least two-thirds by 2035 and 90% by 2050. The decarbonization goals include some 20 TWh of energy switching to low carbon fuels this decade and about 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide removed via capture, utilization and storage. 

    Track news about industrial microgrids, decarbonization and more. Subscribe to the free Microgrid Knowledge newsletter.

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, Managing Editor | Managing Editor

    For Microgrid Knowledge editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023. 

    I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 33-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future. 

    Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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    The Virginia-class attack submarine USS California (SSN 781) transits the Thames River during a change-of-command ceremony near Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. (Source: U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten)
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