Viking Cold Solutions Bundles Thermal Storage and Rooftop Solar

Combination of solar and energy storage provides multiple advantages

HOUSTON — Viking Cold Solutions™, a provider of thermal energy storage solutions for cold storage facilities and supermarkets, announced the launch of Solar Energy Storage™, bundling its thermal energy storage with rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to deliver around-the-clock, cost-effective green energy for cold storage facilities, supermarkets, and utilities.

Viking Cold is combining thermal energy storage with renewable energy sources, such as PV systems, making it possible for cold-storage facilities, supermarkets, and utilities to intelligently store and deploy refrigeration to reduce energy costs. This environmentally friendly solution solves one of the biggest challenges to solar energy utilization by reducing renewable variability.

“Solar has proven to be a low-cost, reliable, and green generation resource, but it creates a new problem with utilities with its intermittent nature for customers that require around-the-clock refrigeration,” said James Bell, CEO of Viking Cold Solutions. “Until now, the missing piece has been cost-effective and reliable thermal energy storage. Our system will enable cold storage operators to sustainably protect their products, while lowering operating costs, making solar energy much more accessible to companies driven by green business practices.”

Thermal energy storage in combination with PV generation stores thermal energy and deploys it during peak demand, in the evening or any time of non-generation. As a result, electricity peak demand can be reduced by up to 90 percent, said the company.

Utilities benefit from Viking Cold’s Solar Energy Storage solution by providing a “buffer” of efficient and green on-demand energy storage at customer sites. The solution also helps stabilize the grid enabling more intermittent users and suppliers of electricity to safely interconnect and help achieve local mandatory energy storage targets.

Combining rooftop solar and energy storage provides multiple advantages:

• Increases the value of solar PV — Storing energy during the day and using it for refrigeration at night increases savings.

• Cost-effectiveness and system longevity — Viking Cold’s Solar Energy Storage coupled with rooftop solar is a cost-effective solution designed to last for at least 20 years or the life of the facility, with minimal maintenance or downtime.

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• Lower peak demand charges — Peak load shedding or shifting at any time of day increases savings during periods of renewable variability.

• Reduced operational risk — Thermal backup allows customers to maintain safe temperatures and food quality during power outages or equipment failure, reducing business interruption and perishable food loss

For more information, visit www.vikingcold.com.

Publication date: 5/9/2016

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