As the grid transitions towards clean energy, there is a growing expectation, as well as financial incentives in the form of Climate Change Agreements, for energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing to follow. On-site generation and a switch to electric vehicle fleets both offer long-term cost savings and significant sustainability improvements, but both bring their own infrastructure and resilience challenges.
Many manufacturers have already implemented Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) backup to protect critical equipment in the case of a power disruption. However, as Industry 4.0 makes sites more interconnected and makes more equipment and infrastructure critical to a site operating properly, a site-wide solution is needed. With the pressure growing on manufacturers to reduce emissions, a UPS that actively adds to your consumption and net emissions, while only protecting specific critical equipment, may no longer be able to deliver the power management goals you need.
Instead, a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) offers the same instantaneous emergency power across your entire site, while also offering a host of additional functionality that can support your sustainability and cost reduction goals. Powerstar’s white paper outlines how a BESS can help to maximise your on-site generation, lower costs from grid, greater efficiency and allow you to unlock major new infrastructure projects such as rapid EV charging.
Many manufacturers are also vulnerable to minor power disruptions, such as sudden dips or spikes in voltage. These not only add to overall energy consumption and costs, which continue to soar at a record pace, but can also damage or disrupt sensitive equipment. Machine downtime already costs the UK manufacturing industry over £180 billion every year, and relatively minor power disruption can have a profound impact on productivity and profitability. Voltage regulation technology can be used to condition voltage behind the meter, ensuring that your equipment is supplied with a steady supply of power at the correct voltage for maximum efficiency and lifespan. This conditioning also typically reduces the total consumption by lowering voltages, reducing energy costs as well as contributing to sustainability.