In short
- A food or beverage plant uses more of its solar than most factories, because refrigeration runs through every shift and the weekend.
- In our example a 100kW system on a two-shift plant pays back in about 2.1 years. A single day shift stretches that to about 2.4.
- Washdowns, hot water and chilling can be moved into solar hours. That is where the second round of savings sits.
For a food or beverage processing plant in Australia, solar usually pays back in about two to two and a half years, and the plant's refrigeration is the reason. Unlike a metal shop that goes quiet at 4pm, a food plant keeps cool rooms, chillers and freezers running around the clock, so there is nearly always a load ready to use what the panels make. This page goes deeper than our manufacturing guide: the loads that make a food plant different, a worked example for a two-shift site, and how to get more of the bill into solar hours.
| Quick facts | Solar for a food or beverage plant |
|---|---|
| Typical size | 100kW to 500kW, set by daytime load and roof |
| Share of solar used on site | about 85% on a two-shift plant in our example |
| Payback in our example | about 2.1 years at 100kW |
| Loads worth moving | washdowns, hot water, batch chilling, ice-making |
| What to send | one recent bill; we get the interval data from it |
Why is a food plant's load different?
Three loads stack on top of each other, and two of them never stop.
- Refrigeration. Cool rooms, blast chillers, freezers and refrigerated dock areas run 24 hours. On a hot afternoon they work hardest, which is exactly when solar peaks. This is the same effect that makes cold storage one of the best fits for solar.
- Process heat and hot water. Cooking, pasteurising, bottle washing and clean-in-place (CIP) cycles need hot water. Where that is heated electrically or by heat pump, it is a large daytime load that can be timed. Where it is gas, solar does not touch it, and the electricity bill is smaller than the energy bill.
- Production and washdown. Mixers, conveyors, fillers and packaging lines run on shift. The end-of-shift washdown, often late afternoon or evening, uses pumps and hot water in a short, heavy block.
The result is a load that stays high from early morning to mid evening on production days and never falls to zero. That suits solar well, and it also means the demand charge is set by production, not by solar.
What's a realistic payback for a 100kW system on a food plant?
Here is a worked example with made-up figures. These are example figures, not our prices or a real site.
A Brisbane plant puts in a 100kW system, which makes about 145,000 kWh a year. Each kWh the plant uses itself saves $0.28. Each kWh sent to the grid earns $0.05. The example price is $73,000 after the STC discount.
| Shift pattern | Solar used on site | Yearly saving | Years to pay back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two shifts, six days, refrigeration 24/7 | 85% | $35,598 | 2.1 |
| One day shift, five days, refrigeration 24/7 | 70% | $30,595 | 2.4 |
The sums for the first row: 123,250 kWh × $0.28 = $34,510, plus 21,750 kWh × $0.05 = $1,088. Yearly saving $35,598. Divide $73,000 by that and the payback is about 2.1 years.
The two-shift plant sits between a 24/7 factory and a day-shift one on the manufacturing payback table because the refrigeration keeps using solar on Sunday when the lines are off. A plant that runs a Sunday clean or a seventh production day does a little better again.
Which loads can a food plant move into solar hours?
This is where a food plant has more room than most sites. Each of these runs on a timer or a schedule somebody sets.
- Hot water and CIP. Heat the storage tanks between 10am and 3pm instead of overnight on an off-peak timer. If the plant is on a flat commercial rate, overnight heating has no price advantage anyway.
- Batch chilling and ice. Pull cool rooms a degree or two lower in the early afternoon so compressors cycle less in the evening. Ice banks and glycol tanks do the same job on purpose.
- Compressed air. Receivers can be topped up in the afternoon before a late washdown.
- The washdown itself. Where the end of the first shift falls mid afternoon, the washdown already sits in solar hours. Where it falls at 10pm, it does not, and no panel changes that.
Each load moved into daylight turns a $0.05 export into a $0.28 saving. On the example above, lifting self-use from 85% to 92% is worth about $2,300 a year with no extra panels.
Does solar cut a food plant's demand charge?
Often a little, rarely a lot. A demand charge is set by the busiest half-hour in the month. On many food plants that falls on a hot afternoon when refrigeration, production and hot water all run at once, and solar is strong then, so a mid-afternoon peak can come down. If the peak is set at a 5am start-up or a late washdown, solar does nothing for it. Your interval data shows which. Ask for any demand charge saving on its own line in the proposal, and read demand charges explained before you weigh it.
For plants with short, sharp peaks, a battery can trim them. New South Wales gives an upfront discount on business batteries through the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, larger when new solar goes in within 90 days. See commercial solar batteries.
What size suits a food plant's roof?
Food plants tend to have long, low roofs with plenty of space, so the roof is rarely the limit. The daytime load is. On a plant drawing 150 kW to 250 kW through the afternoon, a 200kW to 300kW system uses most of its own output. Since 1 October 2026 a system between 100kW and 1MW can take the upfront STC discount, which changes the sums for roofs this size. The cost page gives the roof area and panel count for each size: about 1,250 to 1,550 m² and 450 panels at 250kW. See how STCs work for business and the 1MW change.
Two things to check first. Roof condition: a food plant's roof often carries exhaust stacks, evaporative units and condensers that shade or crowd panels. Hygiene: installers and cleaning crews need access that does not cross production areas, which affects where the system goes.
What does each state add for a food plant?
The federal STC discount is the main support in every state. The one state incentive that applies to a food plant's solar is Victoria's: Victorian Energy Upgrades gives an upfront discount on systems between 30kW and 200kW through an accredited provider. The full state table, including the New South Wales battery discount, is on the manufacturing guide.
What should a food plant send for a proposal?
Just one recent electricity bill, every page. Using the meter number on it, our team gets your interval data, which shows the refrigeration baseline, the shift pattern and when your demand peak lands. There is nothing to request from your retailer. If the plant has a separate meter for a cold store or a bottling hall, send one bill for each.
Already have a quote? Compare it line by line with our checklist. Otherwise send the bill and the proposal comes back with every assumption written down.
What should a food plant ask an installer?
- What share of the solar does your model say we use on site, and did it come from our interval data or a template?
- Is any demand charge saving shown on its own line, and in which months?
- Which roof areas are excluded for condensers, stacks or access, and does the output figure allow for their shade?
- Can the hot water and CIP timers be reset to solar hours, and did you count that in the saving?
- Who applies for the network connection, and is there an export limit on this feeder?