Farm energy planning calculator

Transcription

1 The farm energy planning calculator is a decision support tool designed to assist farmers and their advisors in identifying, prioritising and implementing energy-saving solutions. It serves several functions, starting with basic energy data management and ending with the generation of content for a farm energy plan. While the calculator can be used in isolation, it is designed to support the broader farm energy planning process developed by NSW Farmers. How can I access the tool? The energy planning calculator tool is available free of charge and requires a computer capable of opening Excel files. It can be downloaded by clicking on the following link: aginnovators/energy/tools/calculator Tip: Gather relevant information beforehand Before diving into the tool, try to obtain as much of the following information as possible: What does the tool do? The tool supports you making key steps in the farm energy planning process and is designed to work hand in hand with the farm energy planning template document available at aginnovators/energy/tools/plan template. For background information on the farm energy planning process, refer to paper available at aginnovators/energy/farm energy planning. The key steps outlined are: a list of the equipment used on the farm, preferably with a log of on-farm fuel/electricity use for the past year, your electricity bills or other record of on-farm electricity use for the past year, your bills for natural gas or other record of on-farm gas use for the past year, logs of fuels purchased/used for the past year (e.g. LPG, petrol, diesel), and a list of measures implemented already (e.g. installed solar panels, installed variable speed drives on fans). logging and analysing on-farm energy data, identifying and prioritising opportunities, evaluating selected measures (return on investment); preparing quotation templates for suppliers, refining your analysis on the basis of data gathered from suppliers, generating tables and other content for your farm energy plan document, and tracking outcomes. Limits of the energy planning calculator tool The tool provides decision-making support only and is not intended to make decisions for you or to generate absolute answers. Your preferences and judgements are critical inputs into the broader energy planning process. In addition, energy planning has to occur in the broader context of the farm. The tool can assist with return on investment around specific energy measures, but results will still need to be analysed in the context of your broader farm planning and business strategy. Logging and analysing energy data The first step outlined in the tool is logging information on your business-wide energy consumption and expenditure (as well as contextual information on the operation of your farm). Auditing energy use is an essential first step in farm energy planning. The tool is structured so as to guide farmers (and their audit contractors) in collecting the data needed to analyse farm energy use. This enables subsequent analytical and planning steps and provides a convenient energy recordkeeping system. Whether you hire a professional energy auditor or conduct a basic audit yourself, the tool provides a structure by which you can organise your energy data. Identifying and prioritising opportunities The tool then uses this data to suggest likely feasible opportunities for your farm. Evaluating selected measures The second part of the tool allows you to refine your estimates of the costs and savings, calculated in Part 1, with estimates that are more specific to your business. Quotation templates for suppliers The tool includes basic quotation templates to help you obtain pricing information from suppliers. This is useful in determining the real cost of implementing any suggested solution. You can then reprioritise the opportunities and select those you intend to implement. Page 1 of 7

2 Transfer to energy plan document Planning tables are provided at the end of Part 2 to help you with the implementation of opportunities and to track consequent energy reductions. In addition, the results and solutions presented by the tool are tailored for easy insertion into the Farm Energy Plan template document (Refer to supplementary paper, Farm energy planning: Overview). How do I use the tool? A full instructional walkthrough video on how to use the tool is available through the following link: aginnovators/energy/tools/calculator guide Alternatively, you may prefer to follow the steps provided below to become familiarised with it. 1. Read the disclaimer and instructions Open the tool and begin by reading the disclaimer and user instructions. These provide valuable information about the workings and purpose of the tool. The tool also contains explanatory text as well as visual cues, as shown in the following table: Black font, light green background These are the cells in which you provide information. You may be required to enter data, select from a dropdown list, or tick a box. Figure 1: Example data entered under the Registration tab for a hypothetical farm producing apples, beef and pork. 3. Log equipment being used on your farm Use the Equipment register tab to provide a log of the tractors, machinery, heaters, lights, appliances and any other energy-using equipment that contributes to your farm s energy use. An example is shown below: Black font, clear background These cells are not to be changed by you. They contain either text to be displayed, or calculations and results. Bold, underlined red font, clear background Black font, light grey background Table 1: Colour coding of cells. These cells contain alerts or error messages. These cells contain guidance, information and directions to help you in using the tool. 2. Enter your farm s details and usage data Click on the Registration tab and follow the instructions to provide the details for your farm and its energy use. Figure 2: Example equipment register. Be sure to scroll down and check that the equipment s combined energy use is reasonably close to that of the energy consumption you ve logged for the whole farm under the Registration tab. Otherwise you may receive an error message (such as that shown in Figure 3). Since many farm businesses involve several properties, the tool allows you to provide details for up to three operations (Farm 1, Farm 2 and Farm 3). This is why there are separate tabs for entering additional information for each one (i.e. Part 1 F1, Part 1 F2 and Part 1 F3 ). Figure 3: Example in which energy use information from the equipment register does not match the information entered in the main registration page (for the whole farm). Page 2 of 7

3 4. Select equipment types and specific areas to investigate Move on to the tabs Part 1 F1, Part 1 F2 and Part 1 F3 to select up to four equipment types for investigation 1. Figure 4: Example instancing 'Tractors' and 'Motors, pumps and drives' selected for investigation. Subsequently, tick the practices you have already implemented in relation to each equipment type: sure to complete all the tabs if they apply (e.g. Part 1 F1, Part 1 F2 and Part 1 F3 ). 5. Estimate the viability of whole-business opportunities (e.g. solar PV, wind power, biogas systems) After completing tabs Part 1 F1, Part 1 F2 and Part 1 F3, visit the tab Part 1 Whole Bus Opps and complete the details that are requested. This section will help identify whether some renewable energy technologies are appropriate solutions for your farm and will produce some preliminary numbers regarding the expected savings they could entail. 6. Revise the opportunities and estimated savings presented After appropriately completing the tab Part 1 Whole Bus Opps and other required tabs before it, the tab Part 1 All Opps should be populated with a list of suggested measures to implement for your farm and their expected energy savings (based on industry rules-of-thumb). An example of this is shown in the figure below. Figure 5: Example selection of energy-saving measures that have been implemented already. Then, pick the measures you would like to investigate further 2 : Figure 8: Example summary of candidate energy-efficiency measures and preliminary cost and savings estimates. Figure 6: Example selection of measures to investigate further. After this, the tool will provide you with some preliminary rule-of-thumb-based costing and savings estimates for each measure (see Figure 7, below). Figure 7: Example preliminary calculated savings form energy efficiency measures Be sure to scroll down and complete the selection of measures for all the equipment types that you are investigating. Also, be NSW Farmers suggests that you revise this list of measures to make sure that they are relevant to conditions on your farm. You may wish to revisit previous tabs if some of these entries seem out of whack. 7. Prioritise and select opportunities to pursue Visit the tab Part 1 Prioritise & Select Opps. The first section permits you to enter the cost thresholds that your business considers to be low, medium and high. This is an optional requirement, so if you leave this section blank, the Excel tool will invoke its own default thresholds. Scroll down to continue to the prioritisation matrix... 1 Note that only equipment types that, combined, amount to more than 20 percent of the farm s energy use can be selected for investigation. Equipment entailing energy use below the 20 percent threshold is considered too small in the context of the farm to pursue at the moment. 2 Measures that provide significant reductions in energy use for little to no financial outlay are deemed quick wins (QW) and selected automatically. Page 3 of 7

4 The prioritisation matrix This matrix plots various energy-saving measures that can be implemented, based on two parameters: the level of energy reduction that they ll achieve, and the financial up-front cost of their implementation. Plotting energy-efficiency measures in this way allows farmers to identify quickly which measures they should pursue as high priorities, which should be implemented as strategic, medium- to long-term goals, and which should be abandoned for the time being (possibly to consider in the future when they may be more attractive financially). Figure 9 illustrates the prioritisation matrix and according regions. This will help you to put a plan of implementation together. 8. Review the preliminary energy innovation plan, and fill in the details and action steps for selected projects Continue to the Part 1 Report tab. This tab will show you a rough skeleton of the energy plan but will be based on the tools default rules-of-thumb to estimate the expected savings from any measure. You have the option to populate some details about your business in this tab (e.g. overview of business activities, production volumes, and current income flows), but these are for your own benefit and the final energy plan will not hinge on them being filled out. It is important, however, that you scroll down and complete the table at the bottom in which you outline, for each project: target implementation start and end dates, any implementation partners that apply (e.g. consultants, suppliers and installers of equipment); a list of actions to follow up to ensure the successful implementation of the project, and any other considerations. Figure 9: Prioritisation matrix. Scroll down the menu under this tab and, with the help of the prioritisation matrix in the tool, select up to 10 measures to pursue this year, next year and in two years time. Figure 11: Example details filled out for a new PV system project. 9. Substitute rule-of-thumb measures with more accurate information If you have more accurate cost and savings estimates for certain energy efficiency measures than what the tool has provided, you can go to the Part 2 Firm up costs and saving tab and substitute any default calculations. Simply provide your own estimate of savings or costs in the adjacent green columns (see Figure 12) and the tool will use the custom estimate for that entry automatically. Figure 10: Example selection of measures to pursue, based on the prioritisation matrix. Figure 12: Use your own estimates by populating the green columns under the 'Part 2 Firm up costs and saving' tab. Page 4 of 7

5 This tab will also allow you to: substitute default electricity rates, add financial co-benefits to the implementation of projects, and establish the discount rate to evaluate the net present value (NPV) of any opportunity. At the bottom of this tab you should find a refined estimate of the energy-efficiency opportunities available to you, based on any modifications to the rules of thumb and default values you may have made. You should review this table and ensure that it is reasonable and without errors. 10. Create quotation templates Move on to the Part 2 Required quote info tab. Under this tab, you will find a large table that includes some default quote information for the projects you ve selected. Relevant purchasing considerations will also self-populate, as seen in Figure 13. We recommend that you revise these before approaching suppliers and/or evaluating quotes. Figure 14: Example details, filled out to produce a quote for a voltage optimisation system. Figure 13: Example purchasing considerations for voltage optimisation systems. Fill in the additional details that are needed in this table to produce a quote of the products or information required to complete your selected energy-efficiency projects. The figure below shows an example of the details filled in for a voltage optimisation project. 11. Print out quotation templates and obtain more accurate information from suppliers Once you have filled in the details for all your projects, open the Part 2 Quotation template tab. Use the dropdown menu located at the top of the sheet (next to Which project do you want a quote for? ) to select the quote details to populate. Then complete the final supplier details: company name, contact name, address and so on. You may add any additional comments pertaining to this quote at the bottom. An example of a filled-in quote for a voltage optimisation system is shown in the following table. Page 5 of 7

6 Request for quotation Business name ABC Food Contact details Contact name John Smith Contact title Analyst Contact address Contact phone number Supplier details Company Voltage R' Us Contact name John Doe Contact title Business Development Manager Contact address Contact phone number Details of project ABC Food is seeking a quote for Project type Voltage optimisation Farm project relates to Business-wide Equipment project relates to Business-wide electricity use Energy source for equipment project relates to Electricity (kwh) Annual energy consumption of equipment project relates to 2,500,000 1 Voltage optimiser for each shed, totalling 3 optimisers. Equipment description 300 kva rating each Drawings and other materials relating to this equipment are attached Need voltage optimiser solution for three large coldstorage facilities using refrigeration and climate control Required solution and scope (nitrogen production) systems. Halogen and other incandescent lights are also being used. Estimated power use of each shed is around 700,000 kwh a year. Please provide any suggestions for alternative solutions which could be more cost-effective or provide a better return on investment. Please include details of the energy-efficiency specific features of your solution in your quotation. Commissioning requirements Require Environmental IS and Quality Assurance Commissioning requirements ISO9001 accreditation Please confirm that equipment and installation procedures meet with all appropriate Australian standards. Please also provide your site safety procedures. In your quotation, please include a training program to train our staff for operating the new equipment. Please include the following costs in your quotation Equipment cost Installation costs, including costs for additional equipment such as wiring and conduits etc. and make good costs such as painting walls etc. Delivery costs Cost for disposal of old equipment Cost of a turnkey solution Cost for training our staff for operating the new equipment Contingency allowance Total commissioning cost, including the above Cost of replacement parts, including frequency of when replacement parts are needed Additional comments / requests Need to know the time required for installation and the associated restrictions to our operations. Table 2: Example quote produced to obtain prices and information about a voltage optimisation system. You can now export (e.g. save as a PDF document) or print the finalised quote to send to prospective suppliers. 12. Revisit step 9 if required Once you have contacted all relevant candidate partners and suppliers, you will have the opportunity to analyse real prices, costs and quoted savings, using the quotes these partners and suppliers have returned. At this point you should revisit stage 9 of this guide and open the Part 2 Firm up costs and saving tab. If possible, substitute any expected costs or savings with the more realistic figures provided by suppliers, partners and/or a consulting service. This step is a pivotal part of the process, enabling you to continually improve the accuracy and relevancy of your energy innovation plan. This will, in turn, allow you to make better decisions about which projects and efficiency measures to pursue in what order. 13. Select final list of efficiency measures to pursue immediately Once you have populated the Part 2 Firm up costs and saving tab with your final costs and savings information, proceed to the Part 2 Prioritise & Select tab. Evaluate the position of all candidate energyefficiency projects in the final prioritisation matrix. And finally, select the ones you intend to implement this year by ticking the boxes accordingly (as in the figure below). Figure 15: Conduct your final evaluation of the prioritisation matrix, then select the projects you intend to implement this year. 14. Complete a revised energy innovation plan You are nearly done! Visit the Part 2 Energy Innovation Plan section. Your business details should show up here, as they were inputted in the previous steps (if they don t, go back to the Part 1 Report tab and fill in the details there, as described in step 8). Here, you are given the chance to re-input other production details (such as production volume, incomes and machinery costs) as typically, your estimates of these will have improved after further analysis. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and fill in the table with details for each of the projects you ve selected for implementation over the coming year. (See Step 8: Review the preliminary energy innovation plan, and fill in the details and action steps for selected projects for an example of what kind of information to provide). Page 6 of 7

7 Ideally, you should revisit this table at the end of the year and record the following information: Figure 16: Try to revisit the table at the end of the year to fill in information that will allow you evaluate the effectiveness of the energy-saving project. 15. Use the information to populate the farm energy plan template The Excel tool works in conjunction with the farm energy plan template. Use the outcomes and savings, as produced under the Part 2 Energy Innovation Plan tab, to provide the information required in the Word template available at aginnovators/energy/tools/plan template. It is important that you complete this step as it will provide a concrete and readable plan, and a list of actions that can be referenced by farm managers and staff. Further information The technology and measures covered in the calculator are described and discussed in the suite of information papers that has been produced as part of the Farm Energy Innovation Program. These are available at aginnovators/energy. NSW Farm Energy Innovation Program NSW Farmers Association 2013 NSW Farmers gives no warranty regarding this publication s accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose and to the extent permitted by law, does not accept any liability for loss or damages incurred as a result of reliance placed upon the content of this publication. This publication is provided on the basis that all persons accessing it undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. The mention of any specific product in this paper is for example only and is not intended as an endorsement. This activity received funding from the Department of Industry as part of the Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein. Head Office: Energy Info Line: Content produced with assistance from Energetics Page 7 of 7