Moy Park plugs into power efficiency with CHP

One of Europe’s leading producers of poultry, Moy Park are Northern Ireland’s largest private sector business and a top 15 UK food company. Their primary output is fresh, locally sourced chicken.

Moy Park’s Craigavon facility produces precooked and ready-to-cook meals. Currently undergoing an extensive infrastructural refurbishment, the site is aiming to save energy, reduce its carbon output and operate more efficiently as part of a wider initiative to become a cleaner, greener provider.

The Craigavon site is a mature and ever-growing site with ageing infrastructure. Central to its refurbishment project is a solution to handle the site’s high-power requirement, which includes the generation of steam to cook the chicken it produces.

Power, water, and steam

Centrica Business Solutions’ UK and Ireland businesses worked together for over a year to develop a solution that best matched Moy Park’s requirements. They proposed a highly efficient combined heat and power (CHP) generator that would supply the site with power, hot water and steam. An additional 100,000 litre water tank would also mitigate the site’s long-standing water-supply issues.

The project would be fully funded by Centrica Business Solutions, with Moy Park simply paying Centrica Business Solutions for the energy as it is used. Centrica Business Solutions would manage the project from conception through to delivery, and also provide maintenance and other services over a 10-year period.

Justin Jacober, Director of Centrica Business Solutions UK & Ireland, says: “CHP isn’t just an energy-efficient solution; it’s also a smart one. It allows businesses like Moy Park’s to produce heat and power from the same fuel, delivering cost savings, environmental benefits and energy security, all in one package.

“With net zero commitments driving change across Moy Park’s operations, the new CHP unit is a milestone on its journey to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. And, with the food and drink industry facing challenges from increased production costs and supply chain issues, improved energy efficiency is more important than ever. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Moy Park’s as the business realises the full benefits of this important investment.”

Reduced costs and carbon

Centrica Business Solutions’ CHP unit uses natural gas to generate electricity and hot water for the Craigavon factory. The unit’s exhaust gases also feed into a heat recovery generator to provide steam for the plant.

The unit’s annual output is estimated at 18,300MWh, enough to power 4,850 average homes each year. Over the same period, Moy Park can expect to save over £400,000 in operating costs, and offset 1,000t CO2, equivalent to taking 350 cars off the road.

A multifaceted team

Built in-house in Manchester and delivered and installed by Centrica Business Solutions’ projects team, Moy Park’s new CHP unit is highly effective, delivering 80% efficiency compared to 30-40% for a conventional power source.

The project also demonstrates the effectiveness of Centrica Business Solutions’ multifaceted team, with the UK business carrying out initial technical design, planning and application work, while the Irish operation handled on-site project management and collaboration to ensure the best possible client outcome.