SAN FRANCISCO — On July 18, the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) will co-host an educational workshop to help the supermarket industry prepare for California’s refrigerant regulations. Expert presenters will share insights on commercial refrigeration market trends, the latest technology solutions, and strategies to optimize energy efficiency in the context of new regulatory requirements. The workshop will bring together stakeholders from the commercial refrigeration, government, and utility sectors to discuss goals, define challenges, and identify solutions that meet the needs of supermarkets, comply with regulations, and increase energy savings.
“This workshop will provide a platform to align the goals of various stakeholders and develop actionable solutions to the challenges faced by each group,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. “Bringing all stakeholders to the table is key to overcoming barriers to natural refrigerant adoption and making measureable industry progress.”
California is one of a growing number of states who have committed to phase down HFCs. But for California supermarkets and grocery stores, the transition to low-GWP refrigerants is anything but easy. Natural refrigerants are technically viable and “future-proof” solutions to all existing refrigerant regulations, but these new technologies often come at an upfront cost premium when compared to traditional refrigeration technologies. Furthermore, it can be difficult to assess the return on investment as the ongoing costs of maintenance and operations can also be higher for natural refrigerant-based technologies.
“Optimizing natural refrigerants technologies to be energy efficient represents a win for all stakeholders,” said Wright. “Not only will this help offset upfront costs through opportunities for utility incentives, but it will also provide supermarkets with a return on their upfront investments through energy savings. This has the power to increase the adoption of low-GWP technologies and contribute to both direct and indirect state emissions reduction goals. We see this workshop as a critical step towards accomplishing all of these goals.”
Publication date: 7/3/2019
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