Eight fruit and vegetable cooperatives will share their information for the first time in an energy cluster. It is an initiative framed within the European SCOoPE project, coordinated by Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain. This group, a pioneer in the use of real-time energy data to improve its efficiency through comparison or “benchmarking”, is made up of the Valencian cooperatives Vinícola de Lliria, Coopego, Coabe (Bétera), Rural San Vicente Ferrer de Benaguasil, Agrícola San José de Alcàsser, Copal (Algemesí), Anecoop y Alzicoop (Alzira).
In recent years, the use of energy monitoring tools has become a reality in large companies with several headquarters or production centers.
The EMS, or energy management systems, cause direct savings by improving efficiency, but also warn of malfunctioning in production or allow to evaluate in their planning the usefulness of good practices
The EMS follow the philosophy of ISO 50.001 for energy management. This horticultural cluster is a pioneering initiative, since in this case it is not about installations in the same company, but of different cooperative companies that believe in collaboration to improve the way they produce.
The installation of electric consumption measurement devices at the sub-process level, Pre-calibration-Confection-Cold storage-Compressed air and other consumptions will allow the comparison through indicators of the energy behavior of the cooperatives. Cooperatives can access their information at any time and in real time, thanks to the remote connection of the analyzers with a centralized system developed by the SCOoPE project. These cooperatives will receive monthly an individual and collective analysis of their situation, as well as proposals for improvement and savings.
This cluster is the first planned within the SCOoPE project, which in the coming weeks will also launch in Spain another in the feed manufacturing sector
The project will also coordinate another four in Greece, Italy, Portugal and France, in the sectors of cereal and fruit and vegetable drying.
The launch of the cluster took place in Valencia in a meeting in which the eight cooperatives participated together with the coordinators of the Agro-alimentary Cooperatives of Spain project, Agro-alimentary Cooperatives of the Valencian Community and the technical experts of CIRCE and MANAR Consulting. Although different companies, all of them have a relevant role in the processing of citrus fruits in particular, and horticultural products, in general.
Source: Agro-alimentary Cooperatives of Spain
