The energy used in processing is responsible for approximately 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the total life cycle of milk. These emissions come from electricity use (about 75 percent), fuel use (about 23 percent) and refrigerant leakage (2 percent). Energy efficiency best practices exist that can help plants reduce energy use, emissions and operating costs. One of the biggest challenges to implementation among processors is lack of verified information for better decision-making by processors on the appropriate energy efficiency practices and technologies for adoption in their plants.
Opportunity: develop resources for analysis of energy efficiency practices
Processing plants share very similar standards, so there are many common measures that can be collected and published to help individual plants analyze their potential for energy efficiency. Dairy Plant Smart™ is a pre-competitive effort to develop benchmarks, provide modeling tools and identify case studies to share with processing plants in support of the widespread implementation of energy efficiency best practices.
Solution: encourage adoption of proven best practices
Several case studies have already been published for the industry that demonstrate sizable cost-savings potential and reduction in GHG emissions with just small changes to lighting, refrigeration or steam systems.
At one processing plant, the installation of a solar thermal and a hot water recovery system is resulting in 20 years of free energy after an eight-year payback period. Even a simple upgrade to the air compressor controls in one plant is helping reduce energy use and saves $54,000 annually.1
Collaborators: industry + government + producers
+ processors + academia
The Dairy Plant Smart team is composed of more than 75 team members. This includes 26 of the country’s largest milk processors and more than 20 companies serving the industry in the areas of packaging, cleaning and energy use. There is involvement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its ENERGY STAR® program, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, and researchers from major universities.
Project goals and milestones
The dairy processing segment of the U.S. dairy supply chain contributes 5.7 percent to the fluid milk carbon footprint. Dairy Plant Smart will help achieve the Dairy 2020 goal to reduce this by 25 percent.
The goal of the Dairy Plant Smart program is to increase awareness among fluid milk processors of the economic feasibility of energy efficiency projects, and encourage their adoption through access to benchmarking and other decision support tools.
In early 2010, the dairy industry entered into a partnership with the EPA and its ENERGY STAR program to further promote energy efficiency among U.S. dairy processors.
Join the IDFA-sponsored "Dairy ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry.” Download an application or visit the IDFA website for more information.
Phase 1: Gather and Disseminate Best Practices and Case Studies With Associated Economic Feasibility
The team provides plants with technical data and examples of energy efficiency upgrades that have been successful for other fluid milk processing plants. These examples include identification of critical control points for energy efficiency. 2009 and ongoing
Phase 2: Encourage Processors to Set Individual Company-level Targets and Adopt Relevant Best Practices
Processors can use the case studies and benchmarking tools to set appropriate energy efficiency and GHG reduction targets, and create a customized road map for implementing energy efficiency projects in their plants. 2010 and ongoing
Phase 3: Develop a Validated Plant Process Simulation Model
This model will provide the fluid milk industry with high temperature short time (HTST) processing and ultra high temperature (UHT) plant performance indices, benchmarks and industry statistics. Researchers will develop the model, which will then be used to help identify fluid milk plants with the greatest potential for significant energy and GHG reductions. 2011
1www.USDairy.com/Sustainability/bestpractices