Energy efficiency, emissions, and carbon impact in manufacturing are no longer niche, one-dimensional concerns. As automation and robotics become central across industries, the cost and reliability of power are significant pressures, as are tightening regulations on energy usage and initiatives to reduce environmental footprints. The industrial sector is responsible for 35% of US energy consumption annually, and manufacturing accounts for about ¾ of that.
There’s a big push to move away from non-renewable energy sources like oil, coal, and gas to clean sources like wind, solar, and water. And the transition is often viewed as an all-or-nothing, black-and-white measure, like flipping a very expensive and complicated switch into sustainable energy. Combined with the inherent unknown of making big changes, a broad-scale resistance to adopting these alternate energy sources has resulted.
However, research and experience indicate that a complete transition to renewable energy sources might not actually be the most cost-effective or environmentally friendly way for manufacturers to approach energy optimization. But we already know traditional energy sources aren’t the best approach, either. If those things are both true, what’s the best solution to cut costs, improve reliability, and reduce emissions?
Opportunities & Pitfalls in the Transition to Clean Energy Sources
Integrating alternative energy sources into industrial facilities is unquestionably beneficial from an operational perspective:
- Incentives: Many local, state, and federal agencies offer incentives to transitioning to renewable energy sources. These might include subsidies, tax breaks, low-interest loans, etc. This makes the upfront cost of adoption less of a burden for manufacturers.
- Reputation: Companies that make efforts to improve sustainability are viewed positively by the public, as clean energy sources are viewed as ethically, environmentally, and socially conscious.
- Independence: The more reliance a facility has on cleaner, on-site sources like solar power or gas-powered microturbines, the less subject they are to the grid, which helps avoid failures associated with surges and outages.
However, there are obstacles to this transition, such as:
- Reliability: There is no way to ensure that it will always be windy, sunny, or that the river feeding the hydro plant will always flow at the required level, and energy storage solutions are still not adequate for industrial levels of power usage.
- Cost: The upfront cost of the transition can be preclusive for small companies or for large ones with multiple facilities. This is especially true if there isn’t access to incentives.
- Integration: You can’t just decide to switch 20% of your operations to wind and just do it. Older and/or outdated automation systems will need their control system upgraded, which requires planning and the strategic eye of an automation partner to properly integrate the new solar grid with the existing energy system.
The Problem with How We View Traditional vs New Energy
Part of the problem with the “old vs new” energy conundrum is that it doesn’t address (1) that not all non-renewable energy is created equal, or (2) that the carbon impact of an energy source from cradle to grave. Most discussions focus only on the end-use and don’t consider everything that comes before.
1. The Spectrum of Impacts of Traditional Energy
There are reasons, besides supply vs demand, that we have transitioned between reliance on the three traditional sources of energy:
- Coal is abundant and cheap and offers highly available and consistent energy. However, it emits the most GHGs of the fossil fuels, and the ecological and health effects of coal mining have caused major damage across coal country.
- Oil is the highest energy density of the fossil fuels and can be refined into several other types of fuels (e.g., gasoline, petrochemicals, diesel). However, oil prices are volatile, CO2 emissions are high, and major spills are disastrous ecologically and economically.
- Natural gas emissions are 50% less than coal and 25% less than oil, emits far less particulates than both, is cheap, reliable, high-efficiency, and has the flexibility needed to integrate with renewables. However, methane leaks can easily offset the reduced emissions, and gas requires major infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, compressor stations).
2. Failing to Look at the Whole Power Lifecycle
The surface view of solar vs natural gas is that solar is better on all levels:
- Solar: No emissions, infinitely renewable, clean, quiet, doesn’t require extraction
- Natural gas: GHG emissions, non-renewable, hazardous (flammability, fumes, leaks), extraction and wastewater injection concerns
But when you look at the lifecycle of solar energy, a different picture emerges, because solar panels and their batteries require:
- Mining of metals and rare earth elements
- High-energy manufacturing processes
- Transport from foreign manufacturers
- Large-scale infrastructure (i.e., a lot of space)
Also, after equipment dies, there is currently no efficient or eco-friendly way to recycle or dispose of panels and batteries that contain toxic materials. So, while during operations solar is no-emissions vs gas’ harmful CO2 emissions, the front end of solar energy certainly requires emissions, and the waste from spent panels and batteries isn’t exactly better than the wastewater injections from natural gas extraction.
Is Nuclear Power Underutilized?
Nuclear power is by far the cleanest, cheapest, and most reliable form of large-scale energy production. However, the cost and time it takes for a nuclear facility to be built and finally generate power is preclusive, especially when you consider the public wariness from the meltdowns at Chernobyl and Fukushima. Competition from cheap natural gas, lack of incentives, and inconsistent and/or unfriendly regulations have suppressed new plants being built and resulted in closures of some.
However, the potential of nuclear power is serious, and modern facilities are much safer than in the past, partially due to advancements in automation systems. Nuclear energy is:
- Near zero carbon emissions
- Able to provide consistent power 24/7 regardless of weather
- High energy density (1 uranium pellet = 1 ton of coal, 149 gallons of oil, or 17,000ft3 natural gas)
- Long-term cost efficient (cheap to operate, 60+ year lifespan)
Plus, newer reactors provide more flexibility and faster uptime for new plants. However, we can’t ignore the nuclear waste problem, or the astronomical upfront costs. Understanding all of these nuances, it’s easy to see that the power problem is much more complicated than the public view has made it.
How Integrating Non-Renewable & Renewable Energy Optimizes Power Usage
Manufacturers need power systems that offer reliable, high-density energy. As time passes, research continues, and technology improves, it’s becoming evident that a hybrid approach to energy systems is the smart way to address the goals of the clean energy transition but avoid some of the pitfalls. (Fun Fact: Texas automation integrators and researchers are at the forefront of this research.)
Smart energy system designs use the best of automation technology to optimize the use of non-renewable sources and integrate clean energy sources without becoming too dependent on them. The crux of a power system must be reliability, as power failures, whether fluctuations or outages, are a real risk to safety, security, operations, and equipment.
Automation and system integration can accomplish this marriage between old and new energy by facilitating an intuitive approach to energy usage at an industrial facility:
- Smart controllers can monitor energy supply, demand, and cost in real time and switch between sources as conditions change. This optimization reduces the overall cost of energy for the company.
- Automation software can use historical energy use to predict daily energy needs vs the capabilities of the renewable energy sources, which allows better planning for things like charging cycles, storage, and grid interaction.
- Control systems can distribute and prioritize different energy loads, choosing more reliable energy sources (e.g., natural gas) for mission critical systems and renewable sources (e.g., wind) for less critical systems like HVAC and ventilation.
Benefits of Integrated Energy Systems for Industrial Facilities
Let’s consider the benefits of integrating less expensive, no-emission, independent energy sources into an industrial power system with three use cases:
An Automated Food Processing Facility with Cold Storage
A food manufacturing facility with large cold storage and packing lines operates on a strict schedule; daily peak energy use stresses the power system. However, the addition of solar panels offsets grid reliance by 30% at peak hours, ensuring stress on the system isn’t so much that it overloads cold storage equipment and/or compromises the set temperature and humidity. When energy use is much lower in the evenings and early morning hours, a natural gas-powered microturbine kicks in.
The Results: less emissions, lower energy costs, better quality assurance, more resiliency to failures and downtime
A Power-Hungry Chemical Manufacturing Facility
The complex processes at a chemical production facility (e.g., distillation, separation, drying) requires substantial amounts of power, and some equipment must operate around the clock, making total reliance on renewables impossible. The company integrates solar thermal energy to preheat water to reduce the load on gas-powered boilers. An intelligent control system monitors weather, tank temperatures, and production demand, ramping up gas usage when needed. It also provides carbon reporting metrics, which the plant uses to maintain tax incentives and subsidies.
The Results: lower overhead, lower energy costs, less emissions
An OEM Equipment Manufacturer with Excess Energy
Heavy machinery and robotic automation during first and second shifts use huge amounts of power at an OEM manufacturer, but during third shift the energy system is underutilized. The cost of grid power is high. The company installs a solar and battery system supplemented by a natural gas generator to reduce grid reliance during high-cost periods. An AI-powered facility management system prioritizes the solar energy and its charging cycles, only integrating the gas when necessary.
The Results: reduced demand charges, less reliance on the grid, balanced power use that maintains reliability
How Automation System Integrators Support Sustainability
There’s no shortage to the beneficial applications of automation for manufacturing. This ability to hybridize power systems is another way control system integration can optimize operations without compromising needs and goals or going underwater to invest in a major switch from non-renewables to renewables.
Automation system integrators can streamline this transition and support fine-tuning of the system after it’s up and running. E Tech Group stays ahead of the technology curve, always keeping an eye on compliance, reliability, and security, which helps us support our clients to do the same with their facilities. We are committed to maximizing the potential of a sustainable, low-waste future in manufacturing.