A breakthrough in the cold storage industry with ABB’s solar pump drives

A cold storage facility in Hardoi, a district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, has installed ABB’s solar pump drive to use clean energy reliably, saving energy costs by up to 65%.

India is the world’s second largest producer of vegetables. However, there is a significant opportunity to enhance per capita vegetable availability within the Indian population. With cold storage facilities, the fresh produce can be stored correctly to ensure timely availability and to help farmers get fair price at the market for their harvest. However, such facilities, located in rural areas, often struggle with unreliable power supply with frequent outages.

One solution to overcome this challenge is to switch to renewable sources of energy. But balancing the intermittent availability of renewable energy with the consistent demands of cold storage poses a unique challenge. For one such facility located in a remote area in Hardoi, ABB has provided its solar pump drive. Bala Ji Cold Storage, a 37-acre facility which primarily stores 8,800 tons of potatoes, was facing high electricity costs and significant amount of downtime due to frequent power cuts, especially during summers when there is high demand for electricity. This led the facility to rely on diesel generators as a backup source of power, resulting in higher costs and emissions.

To tackle these challenges, ABB provided its ACQ80 solar cabinet drive that has a unique feature of blending solar power (DC) and power from the grid (AC). This solution has helped the storage primarily harness solar power of 180kWp capacity to run its 110kW compressor with an additional provision to run it on grid power in blending mode. As the grid and photovoltaic array can be interconnected, the facility is using a mix of solar and grid power in case of solar power fluctuations, ensuring seamless and reliable operations, and reducing grid power consumption. When solar power is unavailable on a cloudy day or during late evening, the drive can automatically switch to mains connection (AC) to keep operating.

“Running cold storage facilities to keep the produce fresh in extreme weather conditions is very demanding. With ABB’s solar pump drive, we are not only ensuring round-the-clock uninterrupted operations but also efficiently using the solar energy with savings of up to 65 percent on energy bills,” said Nitin Bansal, the owner of Bala Ji Cold Storage in Hardoi.

ABB also collaborated with its engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner, BBN Solution, to modify the existing solar installation at the site to ensure compatibility with the drive. Previously, the facility had designated significant amount of space for storing stacks of solar-charged batteries as an auxiliary source to run the compressor. With the ABB drive’s compact design, the facility is now able to save most of that space.

“The drives empower users to harness solar power reliably, regardless of sunlight variations, in line with ABB India’s commitment to enabling a low-carbon society. This also provides much-needed flexibility and reliability to energy-intensive industries as both grid and PV can be connected to the drive,” said AR Madhusudan, President, Drive Products, ABB India.