California Expo to Showcase Under-150-GWP Refrigeration for Supermarkets

In an effort to prepare food retailers in California (U.S.) for impending state regulations requiring low-GWP refrigeration, the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) and Southern California Edison (SCE) will co-host a Low-GWP & Energy Efficiency Expo in Los Angeles on January 15-16. 

As part of an effort to cut HFC emissions by 40% below 2013 levels by 2030, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is planning, among other things, to require the GWP of refrigerants in new stationary refrigeration systems to be less than 150 GWP starting in 2022. This has prompted many California grocers and food retailers to explore natural refrigerant technologies and solutions. Raley’s, for example, is planning to open a new Sacramento store in March using an ammonia/CO2 system.

The Expo will showcase commercial refrigeration technologies and solutions that offer both low-GWP and energy efficiency benefitsin new and existing facilities, said NASRC.

This event will build on a workshop NASRC co-hosted with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in July, which sought to align the goals of California food retailers, California utilities, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) by optimizing for energy efficiency with natural refrigerants.

“After our July workshop, it became clear that food retailers, service contractors, government agencies, and utilities were looking for an easy way to identify technologies that are both energy efficient and compatible with refrigerants below 150 GWP,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of the NASRC. “Our goal with this event is to provide a platform to showcase these technologies in the context of California regulations.”

California utilities offer a variety of programs that can help finance the adoption of energy efficient refrigerant technologies, such as on-bill financing, emerging technologies funding, and custom incentive programs, noted NASRC. 

“Utility incentives and other funding sources that offset the upfront costs of these technologies have the power to increase volumes of adoption and drive us closer to reaching economies of scale where we see the costs of these technologies fall,” said Wright. “But for that to happen, utilities, government agencies, and supermarkets need to have a better understanding of which technologies below 150 GWP also offer energy efficiency benefits in both new and existing facilities.”

The free event, which will take place at the Southern California Edison Energy Education Center in Los Angeles, will include product expo, technomercials, case studies, and an emerging technologies “Shark Tank” session. Attendees will also hear updates on California refrigerant regulations, current and future offerings from California utilities, and 2022 Title 24 energy code impacts.