Strategies to Increase California Food Processing Industry Demand Response Participation: A Scoping Study

State energy planners and electric utilities are interested in opportunities to reduce peak electric demand in the food processing sector using Demand Response (DR) programs and technologies. However, the industrial sector and food processing, in particular, pose unique challenges for DR implementation. The feasibility of DR depends on plant operating schedules and supply chain needs, and plant operators have been reluctant to adjust production schedules where productivity and economics may suffer. Hence DR for the industrial sector does not fit the "buildings model" for which DR has been successfully demonstrated and implemented. However, the results of this scoping study indicate that significant potential for DR can be realized in this sector given coordination, tools and incentives planned from a perspective of plant operations. These findings may also apply to other areas of California’s industrial sector.