California Dairies Turlock and Visalia Heat Recovery Systems

California Dairies Inc., (CDI) is the largest milk and dairy co-op in the state of California, and has made a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050. To make strides toward their carbon neutrality goal, CDI partnered with Skyven Technologies to install condensing economizers and steam traps at their dairy facilities in Turlock and Visalia, both in California. The systems are backed by funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC) and address key elements of California’s clean energy and climate goals including public health, environmental, and economic needs.

The condensing economizers recover waste heat from boiler exhaust to preheat water, reducing the amount of natural gas required for steam generation. The steam traps, equipped with monitoring technology, prevent steam loss by automatically discharging condensate and identifying failing traps for timely replacement. Together, these technologies improve boiler performance, reduce energy waste, and extend equipment life while cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and criteria air pollutants. Measurement and verification data were collected and analyzed from the condensing economizer and steam trap systems. The data show that the annual natural gas savings from the condensing economizers at Turlock and Visalia were 25,832 million metric British thermal units per year (MMBTU/year) and 41,713 MMBTU/year, respectively. This translates to an annual emissions reduction of 1,372 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e)/year for Turlock and 2,216 MTCO2e/year for Visalia. The data shows that the annual natural gas saved from the steam traps at Turlock and Visalia is 7,665 MMBTU/year and 42,050 MMBTU/year, respectively. This translates to an annual carbon dioxide emissions reduction of 407 MTCO2e/year for Turlock and 2,234 MTCO2e/year for Visalia.