Our 2022 Top Supply Projects award’s mission is to celebrate projects the most transformative and successful cases from the past year. And, this is certainly true for the project featured in this interview.
The editors of Supply and Demand Chain Executive sit down with Ndustrial executives to learn how the company is able to accurately forecast electric grid peaks to save on power costs. The project was selected as one of SDCE's Top Supply Chain Projects of 2022.
Supply and Demand Chain Executive: Pease describe the project.
Ndustrial: Lineage Logistics leverages Ndustrial’s Coincident Peak (CP) solution to forecast electric grid peaks – allowing them to avoid expensive power consumption periods. The local utility charges Coincident Peak, which applies an unpredictable cost to large energy users during periods of high demand on the grid.
Without our program, they could have been charged up to 5x more its normal demand charge during the one-hour each month when the utility grid peaks.
Reducing or adjusting energy use at the right time requires a comprehensive understanding of the facilities operational and energy patterns. Ndustrial makes the process simple:
- We let Lineage know when their monthly peak hour is going to occur – allowing them to reduce energy usage during the predicted window.
- This process enables Lineage to proactively adjust their production schedules, cooling set points, and other energy consuming functions during the window effectively turning their site into a multi-megawatt battery.
- At the end of each month, we validate their savings – matching the savings prediction against the results of their load control to calculate savings and produce a monthly report.
Supply and Demand Chain Executive: What was the inspiration for this project?
Ndustrial: Lineage originally contacted Ndustrial through our www.coincidentpeak.com site to help manage high energy bills in their Tar Heel, NC facility. The local utility charges Coincident Peak, which applies an unpredictable penalty to large energy users during periods of high demand on the grid.
Lineage and other facilities face increasing pressure to maintain quality production standards while simultaneously reducing their energy costs and operating at the lowest possible cost per-unit of production.
Supply and Demand Chain Executive: How did it make a difference for the company?
Ndustrial: To date, Ndustrial has been able to predict Coincident Peak periods with 85% accuracy, giving Lineage enough time to adjust their production accordingly – and see significant savings using basic communication protocols and process controls.
Supply and Demand Chain Executive: How does this project provide innovation during the supply chain crisis and disruptions seen this past year?
Ndustrial: Coincident Peak charges account for the utility’s periods of highest stress on the grid. Our Coincident Peak solution can predict periods of grid stress 2-3 days in advance, giving Lineage and other providers a chance to shift their energy usage accordingly. Doing so can save up to 30% on a user’s bill, plus it helps keep the grid stable for everyone else. It’s critical to make sure the amount of electricity fed into the grid is equal to the amount of electricity consumed, otherwise blackouts can happen.
Supply and Demand Chain Executive: What makes this project different than others in the industry?
Ndustrial: Accuracy, speed, and deep knowledge of cold chain operations. As a result of our accuracy, we’ve been able to remove 2MW of energy off the utility grid and save millions in energy spend. Combining operational and energy expertise we enable Lineage ample time to adjust their production in time to take advantage of CP.
Supply and Demand Chain Executive: How did/does this project fit into the overall operations of the company?
Ndustrial: Since the company’s inception, Lineage has focused on reimagining the food logistics industry, including their approach to technology and energy management. Key to those efforts has been their partnership with Ndustrial.
“Ndustrial is one of our closest technology partners and is integral to our technology vision including our data, engineering and energy management strategies” says Eric Ristow, VP of Product Management at Lineage. “They help us ensure that our programs are running efficiently across the world.”
Supply and Demand Chain Executive: What do you think the future holds for this project?
Ndustrial: Ndustrial is committed to helping Lineage Logistics reach its net-zero carbon emissions targets by 2040. Reaching these goals will requires constant energy monitoring and management, which Ndustrial enables by equipping facilities around the world with real- time, auditable data that can serve the reporting needs of Lineage and its investors, customers and suppliers.
This content was created in partnership with Ndustrial.
