A leader in the processing of pork and poultry meats, Olymel has significant energy needs for its heating and refrigeration operations. Since its founding in 1991, the company has stood out for its social responsibility, particularly with regard to environmental issues. Olymel is constantly striving to consume energy more wisely and reduce its GHG emissions. That’s why it called on Hydro-Québec for help.
Olymel was already an industry leader when it comes to energy efficiency but wanted to go even further.
Our team sat down with Hamid Ghannou, Energy Recovery Director at Olymel, to assess the company’s equipment and propose new energy efficiency measures. The solutions and support that were provided were convincing: Olymel replaced its outdated equipment and installed more efficient electrical models and expanded some of its plants.
‘‘ The Hydro-Québec team is fantastic and dedicated. Its experts facilitated our energy projects from both a technical and financial standpoint. ’’
— Hamid Ghannou, Energy Recovery Director at Olymel
In addition, seven of Olymel’s meat processing plants implemented efficiency initiatives to install controls on their refrigeration systems.
Since 2018, Olymel has benefited from nearly $5 million in financial assistance through the Efficient Solutions Program to achieve recurring annual savings.
In the spirit of continuity, Olymel will also lead similar projects in its plants located in Vallée-Jonction, Saint-Esprit and Sainte-Rosalie thanks to additional support of over $5 million under the program.
Olymel is also among the first in Québec’s agri-food industry to install efficient heat pumps powered by the heat released from its plant on such a large scale—an innovation our experts encouraged.
‘‘ For maximum energy savings in a refrigeration project, using high-efficiency compressors isn’t enough. It’s also important to have an efficient system in which each piece of equipment helps the others run smoothly. ’’
— Éric Phan, Sales Engineer at Hydro-Québec
The energy released by the cooling systems can be recovered and redirected for different uses. For instance, the heat can reduce water heating needs for meat and poultry processing. By relying on a constant supply of waste heat, recovery also ensures a certain level of operational security.
The entire project is the result of a collaborative effort between our experts and Olymel, which made progress on its GHG emissions targets. “The project implemented through Hydro-Québec’s financial assistance program is a shining example of how teamwork can lead to impressive results in terms of reducing the GHG emissions of Québec’s agri-food industry. We are proud to contribute to a sustainable and responsible economy,” said Hamid Ghannou.
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