Business technology firm Kodak Alaris has made savings of 11% on the annual energy costs of its UK manufacturing site after utilising a new cloud-based energy-management product from DONG Energy.
The Site Optimisation product analyses half-hourly signals from the energy market and calculates the most cost-efficient operating schedules for a specific site.
The software also takes operating constraints and asset availability into account to create cost-efficient and practical schedules.
Kodak Alaris aligned its plant operation to within 3% of the schedules recommended by Site Optimisation. The changes enabled the business to reduce daily planning time and delivered energy cost savings which far exceeded expectations.
David Jeans, energy manager at Kodak Alaris, said: “Discovering this innovative product was a real ‘light bulb moment’ – it really does feel like a different plant now.
“We used to have a plan that didn’t change all week because it was built on averages. Now we have a plan that changes from hour to hour, and that really optimises what the plant is doing each day.”
DONG Energy’s technical team were heavily involved in the project to assess a rage of requirements, including the consumption of gas and electricity, export potential and any other site requirements, such as the variable need for steam.
This allowed the Site Optimisation software to create daily run schedules detailing the optimal way to operate equipment, schedule production and generate electricity on-site or export to the grid.
Jeff Whittingham, managing director at DONG Energy for Business, said: “Whilst the primary benefit of Site Optimisation is the difference it can make to a business’ bottom line, for some manufacturers it may also represent a first foray into energy flexibility.
“As the energy system evolves and the UK is focused on a more sustainable approach, flexibility will take centre stage. It’s key to a green agenda, which is why DONG Energy is investing in flexibility and working so hard to develop innovative solutions, which will help businesses take part.
“Realising flexibility potential opens the door for businesses to participate in more formal demand side response schemes and ensure a better energy future for the UK as a whole.”
Demand response is rapidly becoming an important revenue consideration for energy intensive businesses as technological developments, particularly in batteries and energy storage, create greater opportunities to provide ancillary services to the grid.
Upside Energy recently announced plans to launch its commercial service later this quarter which will use predictive algorithms and artificial intelligence to manage a portfolio of commercial and domestic storage assets and provide real-time energy reserves to the grid.
