Ben E. Keith announced its partnership with Enchanted Rock to develop a natural gas-powered microgrid in its Dallas facility. The Houston-based energy company will set up a dual-purpose resiliency microgrid via Enchanted Rock’s Integrated Resiliency on Call (iROC) service.
The National Food and beverage distributor seeks to ensure uninterrupted energy supply during planned or unplanned grid outages. The company, which has been a beverage distributor since 1906, operating throughout Texas, requires cold storage temperatures for its products. Also, they need steady power generation because of the increased automation of their operations.
The Vice President of Operations for the Beverage company, Jon Thompson, stated that efforts have been made towards improving the quality and reliability of our electric utility. ‘We want to be prepared for any future outage that may occur at this location and protect ourselves against potential business shut-downs due to utility loss. We were attracted to Enchanted Rock by its track record of helping other major Texas operations maintain power while others experienced outages and operational interruptions. In addition to increased resilience, we are excited by the cleaner and quieter performance of these natural gas generators.’
About Enchanted Rock
Enchanted Rock, a renewable energy producer in Houston, Texas, has delivered electrical resiliency-as-a-service since 2006. The company provides microgrids powered by natural gas for several companies. Enchanted Rock will provide power resiliency and reliable backup energy for Ben E. Keith’s largest distribution center.
Asides from producing energy during outages, the dual-purpose microgrids will yield little to zero net carbon emission by using natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG) as fuel. The iROC model offers a full-facility resiliency with little to zero net carbon, at a cost lower than a standard backup system powered by diesel.
Enchanted Rock also has a software solution, GraniteEcosystem, that provides real-time monitoring and optimization. It will analyze electricity market conditions and function accordingly, ensuring reliability to customers.
The company’s microgrids are the first reciprocating engine technology to attain the California Air Resources Board Distributed Generation (CARB DG) certification, with the strictest emissions requirements in the US.
In Texas and Dallas-Fort Worth, unplanned grid outages have risen in recent years. The state is currently experiencing a scorching summer, leading to possible planned outages. The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas system operator (ERCOT) asked for voluntary customer power conservation to avoid outage situations as energy demand is overwhelming grid capacity.
‘We want to make sure this iconic company can focus on their nationally-respected distribution operations without having to worry about power outages,’ said Ken Cowan, Senior Vice President of Sales at Enchanted Rock. ‘Our electrical resiliency-as-a-service model ensures peace of mind for Ben E. Keith, especially with their impressive focus on automating their complex operations. We’re proud to ensure that our services are not only reliable but also more sustainable.’
Enchanted Rock has delivered microgrids for commercial and industrial sites such as municipal water treatment facilities and a Microsoft data center in California. They will provide Microsoft’s new data center with ultra-low emission generators for resiliency services in San Jose, CA. A net-zero carbon renewable natural gas will offset the effect of fossil gas.
The microgrid is expected to be ready for operation by the first quarter of 2023.
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