February 10, 2003—A California natural-food processor will use a new on-site power system to reduce its electric bill by 20 percent and incorporate the power systems excess heat into its manufacturing process. The new combined-heat-and-power system at California Natural Products in Lathrop, Calif., which features technology provided by Encorp Inc., will be more efficient than conventional on-site power systems.
The system will turn excess engine heat—often considered an unusable byproduct of an on-site power system—into a tool that helps process rice and other ingredients in the companys round-the-clock manufacturing process.
Officials at California Natural Products made the decision last year to install the combined-heat-and-power system after learning about a State of California incentive program that covers nearly a third of total costs for such projects. The company, which employs 250 people, saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in up-front costs through the state incentive program.
Powered by a 1350kW Deutz natural-gas engine, the combined-heat-and-power will run 24/7. Encorp expects the system to produce more than 9.4 million kilowatt hours each year—enough electrical energy to power 135,000 100-watt light bulbs for a year.
A key service Encorp is providing California Natural Products is Encorps new Energy Management Center, a monitoring, alarming and reporting service that ensures gensets, engines and other distributed energy assets used for standby, peak shaving or co-generation applications run at peak efficiency.
For more information, contact Encorp at 888/295-4141.
