LifeScan and ENER-G combine forces to win green energy CHP award
(PRWEB UK) 29 November 2013 -- Medical device manufacturer LifeScan and combined heat and power specialist ENER-G have been awarded a top prize for industrial low-carbon energy generation.
Partners LifeScan and ENER-G Combined Power Ltd beat off strong competition to win the industrial and commercial category at the Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) annual awards, presented at a gala ceremony as part of the CHPA's Heat 2013 conference.
An independent panel of judges applied rigorous criteria, such as carbon reduction, enhanced security of energy supply and lower energy costs, with the ENER-G CHP installation at LifeScan delivering on all counts to win the prestigious accolade.
Since installing the state-of-the-art, gas-fired ENER-G cogeneration system in April 2012, LifeScan’s Inverness site has reduced its carbon footprint by 625 tonnes per year. This is equivalent to the environmental benefit of removing more than 200 cars from the road or of the carbon dioxide sequestered annually by 512 acres of forest.
LifeScan Scotland, a Johnson & Johnson-owned company, manufactures blood glucose monitoring devices and the Inverness facility is a key research and development location for the global group. In a bid to boost its sustainability rating and meet key green objectives, LifeScan considered several options to reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills. After evaluation, the company decided CHP would be the most viable option, in terms of cost and carbon savings.
LifeScan approached ENER-G to deliver a CHP installation for the site. After analysis and detailed specification, ENER-G designed, manufactured and installed a 230 kWe CHP system, which has been integrated with site's boiler network system to supply the manufacturing facility with low-temperature hot water, as well as power. The system is fully containerised and includes roof-mounted dry air coolers.
Carbon emissions at the site have reduced by 21%, and electricity consumption is down by more than half (53%), lowering the energy bill by 27%. As a large site, LifeScan is subject to the CRC Energy Efficiency scheme and the CHP system is making a substantial contribution towards its CRC performance.
LifeScan purchased the CHP system outright and will achieve a return on investment in just over two years. This first installation has been so successful that LifeScan has already decided to purchase another CHP unit from ENER-G, to further reduce carbon emissions. The second unit is due to be operational in the first quarter of 2014.
ENER-G worked with Hulley & Kirwood Consultants and Merritt Merrill Technologies to deliver the project.
Alan Barlow, Managing Director of ENER-G Combined Power Ltd, said: "We are delighted to share this award with LifeScan, who have demonstrated environmental leadership in becoming a low carbon distributed power generator. This success follows our triple success in the 2012 CHPA Awards, where we won two out of five categories for our projects with Tesco and Loughborough University, and received high commendation in a third category for multiple projects across GlaxoSmithKline sites."
Jason Whitley, LifeScan’s Facilities Senior Project Engineer, added: “We are continually seeking ways to raise our environmental performance and this move to on-site generation of power is a key element of our carbon-cutting strategy. We are very pleased to be partnering with ENER-G, which is able to provide us with a total service – from initial design to long-term care of the systems – ensuring our commitment to a sustainable future.”
CHPA Director Tim Rotheray said: “These awards are a tangible recognition of the industry’s successes at transforming the way consumers’ energy needs are met. When so much discussion centres on the challenges of making projects work in an uncertain world, it is fantastic to see these exemplars delivering tangible benefits to consumers.”
Combined heat and power – the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heat – is almost twice as efficient as conventional power generation as the majority of heat is recovered and used on site, rather than wasted into the atmosphere.
ENER-G delivers small-scale 10kW to 10MW CHP solutions to customers around the world and it offers the broadest product range on the market, incorporating more than 1,400 installed cogeneration systems across the globe – powered by natural gas, biogas, diesel, biogas, propane or biodiesel.
Its UK-designed and manufactured systems are used in hospitals, hotels, leisure centres, supermarkets and factories worldwide. Systems up to 2MWe capacity units can be delivered and packaged as a single unit – with the controls, heat recovery units and engine housed in compact, acoustically-insulated enclosures. These are suitable for either internal or external installation. Above 1MWe, every ENER-G cogeneration unit is bespoke, with the engine and system designed to meet each application.
Further information: http://www.energ.co.uk/chp
Caption: Pictured (l-r) are Tim Rotheray, CHPA Director; Ian Hopkins and Heather Foster of ENER-G Combined Power and Award sponsor Phil Hindley, Industrial Sales Manager, Total UK Lubricants.
Clare Burns, ENER-G Combined Power Ltd, +44 1617457450, [email protected]
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