Power August 2023 - 20

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL GENERATION AWARD
Pairing Solar with Linear
Generators Yields a Revolutionary
C&I Energy Solution
Courtesy: Lineage Logistics
A unique hybrid energy solution that ties in a rooftop solar array and a novel linear
generator technology produces all power consumed at a Lineage Logistics cold warehousing
facility in Colton, California. Showcasing a modern approach to evolving commercial
and industrial (C&I) energy needs, the project can also provide dispatchability
and fuel-flexibility. These and other attributes make it a 2023 POWER award winner.
Sonal Patel
C
old storage warehousing is highly
energy intensive, and for Lineage
Logistics-the world's largest temperature-controlled
real-estate investment
trust (REIT) and logistics solution
provider-finding new and innovative
technologies that could reshape its energy
profile had long been an ambition.
" We own and operate over 400 locations
throughout the world, " Chris Thurston,
director of Energy and Sustainability at
Lineage, told POWER.
But while Lineage's facilities are integral
end-to-end logistical solutions, they
represent a combined 2 billion cubic feet
of capacity. Their consumption of power
is a " big cost for us, " Thurston said, noting
that most of the company's facilities
pull power from the grid. Meanwhile, Lineage
has long been conscious of its carbon
footprint. While the company in 2015
set out to reduce its energy intensity by
25% over 10 years, it met that target in
just two years. In November 2021, the
Novi, Michigan-headquartered company
became a signatory to the corporate
community-driven Climate Pledge, committing
to achieve net-zero carbon emissions
across its business operations by
2040. " And so, we had been on a journey
to develop a self-sustaining warehouse
where we could generate 100% of our
power needs through clean technology, "
Thurston said.
The company chose its Agua Mansa
facility in Colton, California's Inland Empire
for the first-of-the-kind installation
effort. According to Thurston, the site
20
presented an ideal study. The warehouse,
which serves as a cross-docking facility,
is utilized to consolidate and redistribute
shipments for a large grocery firm.
It had the ideal square footage of roof
space, and uniquely, " it doesn't operate
at our normal freezing temperatures, "
he noted. " It's closer to being a cooler
at 30F, so using less energy per square
foot overall. It was the perfect combination
where we could solve for the 100%
self-generation with a generator backup
unit, " he said.
A Novel Generation Technology
Lineage tapped PowerFlex, a long-time
distributed generation commercial solar
partner, to install a 3.3-MW rooftop solar
array on the warehouse comprising
8,426 individual solar panels (Figure 1).
" Lineage and PowerFlex have formed a
strong partnership over the past eight
years, successfully developing more
than 25 onsite solar PV projects across
the U.S., " PowerFlex Director Danny Ptak
told POWER. However, Lineage also
chose to pair the rooftop solar arrays with
linear generators, a breakthrough new
power generation technology launched in
March 2021 by Mainspring Energy. Lineage
estimated that while the 3.3-MW
rooftop array could provide up to 73% of
the facility's needs, if two 230-kW Mainspring
Energy Linear Generators were integrated
onsite, they could firm the solar
arrays for the additional 27% of the load,
Thurston said.
While novel (see sidebar), linear generation
technology was recommended
www.powermag.com
1. Lineage Logistics installed a 3.3-MW solar
array and 460-kW of linear generators at
its Colton Agua Mansa facility in California's
Inland Empire. Combined, the solar array and
linear generators produce 100% of the facility's
energy consumption on a net basis. Courtesy:
PowerFlex
by Lineage's research team based in
San Francisco. " We loved the technology
because the emissions were just so
low from natural gas generation, it was
a unique unit, and it was already built
out to support clean fuels in the future, "
Thurston said. Linear generators were
also " the only technology able to provide
both dispatchability and fuel-flexibility
for grid parallel operation and protection
against long-duration grid outages, " he
said. " I like to think of it as a better version
of a battery. "
Quick Development, Quick
Completion
After Lineage separately awarded PowerFlex
and Mainspring Energy turnkey contracts
for delivery and construction of the
rooftop solar and generator installments,
the project took roughly 18 months to
complete. That included three months to
POWER | August 2023
http://www.powermag.com
Power August 2023

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