Reducing Milk Spoilage through Solar Powered Milk Chilling
Introduction
In India, $10 billion worth of perishable foods are wasted annually because of unreliable cold-chain supply networks. A major obstacle in setting up cold chain networks is the lack of reliable electricity to run refrigeration systems in villages and farming areas. Diesel generators are often used to provide electricity for milk chilling, a non-ideal solution with high operating costs and negative environmental impact.
Clean Energy Systems
Promethean’s refrigeration solution uses a thermal energy battery pack that charges on solar power and/or a few hours of grid electricity. This provides cold storage around the clock despite inconsistent access to electricity. Dairy processors can collect raw milk from remote dairy farmers and keep it cold in a rapid milk cooler, reducing the time that milk is unchilled by 75 percent. Promethean will design and deploy the refrigeration systems in collaboration with India’s largest private dairy and one of India’s largest solar installers.
Impact
India is the largest producer and consumer of milk in the world. Increasing access to milk while decreasing bacteria and spoilage supports food security and consumer health in India, where 42 percent of children under the age of five are malnourished. This project will improve access to forward markets, higher income for the dairy farmers, and wealth creation through increase in herd size.
Organization
Promethean Power Systems designs and manufactures refrigeration systems coupled to their thermal batteries for agricultural commercial refrigeration applications in off-grid and partially electrified areas of developing countries. Promethean is working in partnership with the Hatsun Argo—India’s largest private dairy company, and Orb Energy—a leading solar energy system provider in India.
Further Links
To read more, please click:
- http://poweringag.org/2013-winners/promethean
- http://www.coolectrica.com/impact/
- Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development initiative - Winners
Reference
- Powering Agriculture. Retrieved from http://poweringag.org/2013-winners
