Cogeneration system fires up Geelong brewery

The soon-to-be-completed Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong will feature a 1200 kWe natural gas fired cogeneration system, which will significantly reduce the brewery’s energy use and carbon emissions. Simons Green Energy has been awarded the contract to supply and install the system.

The system’s heat waste will provide hot water for the brewery’s process heating applications. The units will be configured to run parallel to the grid, so the brewery will only purchase energy over and above what the engines can supply, which is expected to be very little.

Signage outside the Geelong brewery. [Image: Simons Green Energy]

The system will provide up to 1200 kWe of electrical power and 1282 kWt of thermal power.

“The cogeneration system to be installed at the Little Creatures Brewery will be a great platform for other breweries and food and beverage manufacturers to follow,” said Simons Green Energy CEO Derek Simons. “The system is technologically advanced and very efficient at about 85% conversion efficiency, compared with 30% efficiency for conventional grid-supplied electricity.”

The system in place at the brewery. [Image: Simons Green Energy]

The Simons Green Energy cogeneration plant comprises two off-sized units, which allow for greater modulation of output. They consist of an 800 and 400 kWe system with reciprocating gas engines from MWM. The system is supplied as complete factory-tested packaged units made up of engine and generator sets housed inside purpose-built containers.

“We knew that we wanted to do something special for this project, in particular implement an environmental technology that would be a step change for us,” said Alex Troncoso, Head of Brewing Development for Little Creatures. “Cogeneration seemed to be a natural fit as breweries have a high thermal energy demand - we knew that we could use the waste heat effectively for a number of applications.”

Installation of the system. [Image: Simons Green Energy]

Other energy-efficient equipment will also be installed, such as energy recovery systems in the brewhouse, as well as automated cleaning regimes and variable speed drives on motors.

Brewery owners Little Creatures, plant suppliers Krones AG and Simons Green Energy’s engineering team are working together to ensure a smooth installation. Brewery production is due to commence mid-2013.