Energy audits were completed for six Southern Queensland meat processors that process mainly beef cattle as well as pigs, sheep, goats and deer.
The main energy consumption at each site is for refrigeration with multiple cool rooms and refrigerators. Hot water is generated on the sites for washdown and sterilisation using either LPG instantaneous burners, boilers or heat pumps.
One site also includes a processing facility for the manufacture of pet foods from the by-products.
The accumulated annual electricity consumption of the six processors during the 2015-2016 period was 2,736,000 kWh at the cost of $482,900. The annual gas consumption for the group was estimated at 2,330 GJ with a cost of $97,500. The energy consumption on the sites consists mainly of:
Energy audits showed how improving the current systems can lead to energy and cost savings. The main recommendations from the audits include:
Table 1. Costs and energy savings from audit recommendations.
| Farm | Recommendation | Annual Energy Savings (kWh) | Annual Gas Savings (GJ) | Annual Costs Savings ($) | Capital Cost ($) | Payback Period (Years) |
| PLAINLAND | PFC | – | – | 5,062 | 15,000 | 3 |
| MACLAGAN | Evaporator fan speed control | 11,700 | – | 2,556 | 15,000 | 5.9 |
| Lift compressor suction pressure | 13,250 | – | 2,895 | 13,000 | 4.5 | |
| WARWICK | Evaporator fan speed control | 90,000 | – | 19,330 | 76,000 | 3.9 |
| Solar PV | 138,500 | – | 21,080 | 122,000 | 5.8 | |
| BIGGENDEN | CO2 heat pump | -81,424 | 1,173 (325,833 kWh) | 32,881 | 138,000 | 4.2 |
| ESK | PFC | – | – | 4,300 | 6,500 | 1.5 |
| CO2 heat pump | -12,046 | 244 (67,778 kWh) | 11,633 | 37,000 | 3.2 | |
| CHINCHILLA | Evaporator fan speed control | 6,215 | – | 1,392 | 5,000 | 3.6 |
| CO2 heat pump | -2,025 | 36 (10,000 kWh) | 1,432 | 7,000 | 4.9 | |
| Solar PV | 20,529 | – | 4,600 | 21,000 | 4.6 |
By implementing recommendations in the audit, the processors could reduce total energy consumption by 17% and costs by 19%, with Carbon emission savings of 541 t/CO2-e per year.
Table 2. Pre and post audit energy and cost savings.
| Metric | Pre-audit | Post-audit | Reduction (%) |
| Energy Consumption (kWh) including GAS | 3,383,222 | 2,794,912 | 17 |
| Cost ($) | 580,400 | 473,239 | 19 |
For more detail about the heat pump recommendations at these meat processors, visit HERE.
For more detail about the evaporator fan recommendations at these meat processors, visit HERE.
An energy audit is a good investment.
An energy audit is a great first step in moving a business towards a more efficient future by reducing energy use, costs and carbon emissions.
An energy auditor will review your past energy bills, your equipment and the way your business operates. They’ll show you where you’re using excess energy and explain what you can do about it. Find out about what’s involved in an energy audit HERE.
See the rest of the agricultural energy efficiency case studies HERE and Subscribe to our bi-monthly energy e-news HERE.
If you have any energy efficiency related questions for the team get in touch at energysavers@qff.org.au.
The Energy Savers Plus Program is delivered by the Queensland Farmers Federation with support and funding from the Queensland Department of Energy and Water Supply.
