Month-to-date · April 2026
Saved $142,800
vs IPL TOU rates + avoided demand charges + avoided spoilage
Trend: $1.7M/yr · payback on your 15-yr PPA at month 26
All 7 skids online
Shift 2 load: 1.08 MW
TOU peak · 3h left
Site load right now
1.08 MW
Under peak demand cap (1.1 MW set)
Demand charge MTD
$14k
vs $67k counterfactual · 79% saved
TOU peak window
14:00 → 19:00
GX230 dispatching 74% of load
Unplanned downtime YTD
0 hrs
Power-related · 3 grid events absorbed
Today's dispatch — by the clock
GX230 (green) vs IPL import (blue). Amber band = TOU peak. Red band = super-peak.
Peak 14-18
Super 18-19
00
02
04
06
08
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
Today so far
9.4 MWh from GX230 · 74%
$820 fuel · $114 O&M
IPL import today
3.3 MWh · 26%
Held off-peak · avg $0.068/kWh
The math, today
TOU peak window · 14:00–19:00
If all 12.7 MWh on IPL peak
12,700 × $0.164
$2,083
Your actual today
GX230 $934 + IPL off-peak $224
$1,158
Saved today (energy only)
$925
Peak demand cap held at 0.28 MW
vs 1.08 MW without GX230
$33.6k/mo
less demand charge
less demand charge
Cold storage temperatures
What matters: USDA FSIS & HACCP compliance — never break −18°C for frozen, 4°C for refrigerated
Freezer A · 72,000 ft²
Setpoint −22.0°C · USDA frozen
−22.3°C
Freezer B · 48,000 ft²
Setpoint −22.0°C · finished goods
−21.8°C
Chill Room 1 · 18,000 ft²
Setpoint 3.0°C · incoming meat
2.8°C
Chill Room 2 · 18,000 ft²
Setpoint 3.0°C · in-process
3.1°C
Lines running right now
Shift 2 · 14:00–22:00 · primary lines L1, L2 · cleaning cycle CIP-3 on L3
L1
Receiving82 kW
L1
Grinding114 kW
L1
Forming96 kW
L1
Cooking188 kW
L1
Spiral frzr142 kW
L1
Packaging68 kW
L1
Palletize24 kW
L2
Receiving64 kW
L2
Dicing78 kW
L2
Blanching120 kW
L2
Blast frzr156 kW
L2
IQF sort42 kW
L2
Bagging58 kW
L2
Palletize22 kW
L3
CIP-338 kW
L3
CIP-3—
L3
CIP-3—
L3
CIP-3—
L3
CIP-3—
L3
CIP-3—
L3
CIP-3—
Shift patterns · production
How your shifts map to your power bill.
2 production shifts (06:00–22:00), 24/7 cold storage, and CIP cleaning 22:00–06:00. Your load pattern has a clean 4–6pm peak. That used to cost you $67k/mo in demand charges alone.
Shift 1 load · 06-14
1.24 MW avg
3 lines running · avg 90% util
Shift 2 load · 14-22
1.18 MW avg
Overlaps TOU peak (14-19)
CIP window · 22-06
420 kW avg
Off-peak · use IPL import heavily
Cold storage 24/7
280 kW
Baseline · 5 compressor banks
Weekly production schedule — 7 days
Shift-level plan · Mon–Fri full · Sat production Line 1 only · Sun CIP
| Day | Shift 1 · 06-14 | Shift 2 · 14-22 | Shift 3 · 22-06 | Peak load | TOU strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Apr 13 | L1·L2·L3 · full | L1·L2 · full | CIP-1,2 | 1.28 MW | GX230 +87% during peak |
| Tue Apr 14 | L1·L2·L3 | L1·L2 | CIP-2,3 | 1.24 MW | GX230 +84% |
| Wed Apr 15 | L1·L2·L3 | L1·L2 | CIP-1,3 | 1.22 MW | GX230 +86% |
| Thu Apr 16 | L1·L2·L3 | L1·L2 | CIP-2 | 1.26 MW | GX230 +83% |
| Fri Apr 17 | L1·L2·L3 | L1·L2 · early stop 20:00 | CIP-1,2,3 full | 1.18 MW | GX230 +82% |
| Sat Apr 18 | L1 only | — | CIP-1 | 0.72 MW | Light day · IPL dominant |
| Sun Apr 19 | Deep CIP (all lines) | L1·L2 startup @ 14 | L1·L2 full | 1.08 MW current | Peak active now |
Downtime cost — what it would take
If power drops during peak shift · North Star internal model
Production lines affected
L1 + L2 running simultaneously
2 of 4
Throughput lost · per hour
12,400 lbs finished goods
$38,400
Labor idle · 62 workers on shift
Fully burdened @ $58/hr
$3,596
In-process material loss
Cooker charge + blast freezer
$14,200
Restart sequence & CIP
USDA requires pre-operational
$22,000
Cost per hour of unplanned outage
$78,196
You've avoided this · YTD
3 grid events × ~1 hr each = $234k protected
Skid status — 7 × GX230
Running · maintenance cycle Skid #3 · May 8 during Sat CIP
74%
Skid 1
78%
Skid 2
71%
Skid 3 ⚠
76%
Skid 4
75%
Skid 5
73%
Skid 6
0%
Skid 7 N+1
Fuel source
Alliant · CNG @ $4.20/MMBtu
Run hours avg
1,720 hrs · minor @ 2,000
Heat rejection
→ absorption chiller · free cold
N+1 config
1 skid always available
HACCP · USDA FSIS
Cold storage — the failure case you cannot have.
Freezer A alone holds $2.1M in finished goods. A temperature excursion triggers a USDA recall investigation. So we treat the cold chain as tier-1 load.
Temperature excursions YTD
0
USDA reportable threshold: 3 min > setpoint
Inventory on-site
$6.8M
Finished + in-process + raw
Refrigeration load avg
280 kW
5 compressor banks · 2 on baseload
Waste heat recovered
680 kW-th
→ absorption chiller → cold offset
Cold zones · live
| Zone | Setpoint | Actual | Compressor | Last 24h max Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freezer A (main) | −22.0°C | −22.3°C | Banks 1, 2 | 0.4°C |
| Freezer B (finished) | −22.0°C | −21.8°C | Bank 3 | 0.3°C |
| Chill Room 1 | 3.0°C | 2.8°C | Bank 4 | 0.5°C |
| Chill Room 2 | 3.0°C | 3.1°C | Bank 4 | 0.4°C |
| Blast Freezer (Line 2) | −35.0°C | −35.4°C | Bank 5 (dedicated) | 0.6°C |
| Spiral Freezer (Line 1) | −28.0°C | −28.1°C | Bank 5 (shared) | 0.4°C |
| Dry / Ingredient | 12°C ± 3 | 11.6°C | HVAC only | 1.2°C |
Waste-heat → cold loop
GX230 engine jacket + exhaust → LiBr absorption chiller
The CHP story at Cedar Rapids isn't just electrons. Each GX230 rejects ~350 kW of heat — 200 kW jacket water at 90°C, 150 kW exhaust at 400°C.
We route that to a single-stage lithium-bromide absorption chiller. COP ~0.7. So 680 kW-thermal in → 476 kW of 7°C chilled water out.
That offsets ~140 kW of electrical refrigeration compressor duty — half of Bank 4's usual pull. Which means your effective CHP efficiency isn't 36.5% — it's closer to 76% when you count the cold.
Chiller capacity
600 kW-th / 170 TR
Tie-in
Compressor Bank 4
Demand charge offset
~$3,400/mo
Commissioned
Jan 2025
HACCP plan — power as a CCP
Critical control point 4.2 · "Refrigeration power continuity"
| CCP | Threshold | Your system | Validation · YTD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freezer interior ≤ −18°C | Must not exceed for > 15 min | Grid-forming GX230 · 48ms transfer · compressors never drop | 0 excursions · 9 grid events absorbed |
| Chill Room ≤ 4°C | Must not exceed for > 30 min | Same bus · plus absorption chiller redundancy | 0 excursions |
| Blast freezer −35°C during IQF | Spec for product quality | Bank 5 on UPS-backed feeder + GX230 | 100% pull-down time met |
| Backup supply on outage | Must be operational within 10 min | GX230 is the primary — no "backup" required | Continuous self-supply · <50 ms |
| Temperature logging | Continuous · 15-min granularity | OS logs at 10-sec · auto-export to QA | 34,560 records/day · clean |
Load orchestration
Your load curve, annotated.
Three distinct load shapes stack. Baseload refrigeration (flat). Process lines (2-shift rectangle). CIP (nightly). GX230 carries the middle; IPL fills the cheap hours.
Peak demand cap · contracted
0.35 MW
from IPL · GX230 carries the rest
Demand billed MTD
0.28 MW
Under cap · single peak Apr 11 · 17:45
Site max ever
1.42 MW
If it happened on IPL: $67k/mo demand
Load factor
0.78
Above industry avg (0.63 for cold-chain food)
24-hour load stack
Cold baseline · process lines · CIP · office. Amber band = TOU peak.
Refrigeration baseline
Blast / spiral freezer
Process lines
Office / lighting / CIP
Dispatch logic — today
What the OS did, hour by hour
00:00 → 05:30CIP window · 420 kW flat
Ran on 40% IPL import ($0.053/kWh off-peak) · GX230 at idle-warm 60%.
05:45Pre-ramp for Shift 1 · 06:00 start
Spooled all 6 skids to 70% · verified cold zone readiness · blast freezer pull-down.
06:00Shift 1 start · L1 + L2 + L3
Site load jumped 0.42 → 1.28 MW in 8 min · GX230 absorbed 94% of the ramp.
09:45IPL renewable excess signal
MISO grid was 62% wind · auto-shifted reserve headroom to import · saved $340.
14:00TOU peak begins · L3 → CIP
IPL import capped at 0.28 MW · GX230 delivering 74% of site load · demand charge held.
16:22Cooker demand spike · L1
Cooker Zone 3 elements drew 280 kW extra for 7 min · GX230 followed · no IPL breach.
18:00 → 19:00Super-peak · GX230 to 92%
Maximum self-supply hour · IPL import 0.12 MW (safety only) · all 6 running skids high.
IPL TOU ladder
Your Alliant/IPL rate · CP-GS-3 Large Demand
Off-peak
22:00–06:00 · weekends
$0.053/kWh
Import 94%
Mid-peak
06:00–14:00 · 19:00–22:00
$0.098/kWh
Import 48%
Peak
14:00–18:00 summer M-F
$0.164/kWh
Import 14%
Super-peak
18:00–19:00 summer M-F
$0.218/kWh
Import 6%
Demand charge$42/kW of monthly peak (15-min)
Your peak cap (contracted)0.35 MW · costs ~$14,700/mo
If unmanaged (1.42 MW peak)$59,640/mo · 4.1× higher
Monthly savings · demand only$44,940
Cost · $/kWh + demand
Two savings, stacked: energy and demand.
On energy alone the win is ~45%. The bigger win is the demand charge — a spiky process load on IPL's rate structure is punishing. You're holding your billable peak at a fraction of your actual peak.
Your blended rate
$0.087/kWh
All-in · fuel + O&M + import
IPL blended alternative
$0.149/kWh
Energy + demand weighted
Total savings MTD
$142k
Energy $59k + demand $45k + other $38k
Payback on install
Mo 26
Ahead of 32-month IRR model
April 2026 bill · side-by-side
IPL-only counterfactual vs what you actually paid
| Energy (860 MWh @ $0.128 wgt avg) | $110,080 |
| Demand charge (1.42 MW × $42) | $59,640 |
| Transmission / distribution | $9,800 |
| Capacity charge | $6,400 |
| IPL-only bill | $185,920 |
| GX230 OPEX (fuel $21k + O&M $7k) | $28,000 |
| IPL energy (off-peak import 190 MWh) | $10,700 |
| Demand charge (0.28 MW × $42) | $11,760 |
| Fixed charges + grid services | $3,660 |
| Your actual bill | $54,120 |
| Saved vs IPL-only | $131,800 |
| Plus: avoided downtime coverage (0 × $78k) | included above |
12-month trajectory
Monthly savings vs IPL-only · actual through April
$96k
$108k
$114k
$124k
$138k
$148k
$156k
$160k
$132k
$110k
$116k
$142k*
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr*
Summer months show highest savings: IPL peak rates + demand charges hit hardest. Winter is still material — cold storage carries all year.
Sources of savings · April 2026
Broken down so your CFO can trust the number
| Bucket | Driver | MTD | FY pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy arbitrage | 860 MWh shifted · 74% from GX230 vs IPL weighted | $59,200 | $710,000 |
| Demand charge avoided | Held at 0.28 MW billable vs 1.42 MW uncontrolled | $44,940 | $540,000 |
| Waste-heat → chiller offset | 680 kW-th → 140 kW compressor reduction | $9,800 | $118,000 |
| CIP-window arbitrage | Pre-scheduled to off-peak $0.053/kWh | $11,200 | $135,000 |
| Grid services (MISO capacity) | 10 kW ICAP sold back · firm capacity tag | $3,400 | $40,800 |
| Avoided downtime (risk-adjusted) | 3 grid events absorbed · $78k/hr x 0.35 hrs avg | $14,200 | $170,000 |
| Total | $142,740 | $1.71M |
gCO₂e/kWh · honest framing
MISO is 60% coal. You're beating it.
Unlike CAISO, the MISO grid is still carbon-heavy. Your CHP with waste-heat recovery comes in materially cleaner on a full lifecycle basis — and dramatically cleaner when we burn the RNG blend you're stepping up.
Emissions comparison — your food plant electrons
Full lifecycle gCO₂e/kWh · considering CHP cold-offset credit
Diesel backup (what you used to run)
Pre-GX230 · gensets on outage plus demand-response calls
1,040 g
MISO grid · today's mix
60% coal · 18% nat gas · 14% wind · 8% other
745 g
MISO + diesel backup blended
What your site would average without GX230
812 g
Your GX230 · CNG · no CHP credit
Raw engine emissions
487 g
Your GX230 · CNG + absorption-chiller credit
Full CHP accounting · 140 kW refrigeration offset
398 g
GX230 · 30% RNG blend
2027 contract step-up with Alliant/SoCalGas BioMethane partnership
270 g
GX230 · 100% RNG
2029 pathway · dairy cluster digester offtake
85 g
GX230 · 20% H₂ blend
2030+ roadmap · IP roadmap to hydrogen-ready multi-fuel
58 g
Your Scope 2 reporting
For your SBTi / CDP submission · FY 2025 → YTD 2026
| Baseline (FY2024 · pre-GX230) | 18,400 tCO₂e |
| FY 2025 actual | 9,800 tCO₂e |
| Δ vs baseline | −46.7% |
| YTD 2026 | 2,980 tCO₂e · on track for 8,900 |
| 2030 commitment (SBTi) | −50% vs baseline |
| With 30% RNG step | −70% achievable |
| With 100% RNG | −89% achievable |
Air permit — Alliant / IDNR
Minor source permit · NOx/CO/VOC compliance · YTD
| Pollutant | Limit · tpy | YTD actual | Headroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOx | 12.0 | 3.2 | 73% ↓ |
| CO | 18.0 | 4.8 | 73% ↓ |
| VOC | 4.5 | 1.1 | 76% ↓ |
| PM10 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 80% ↓ |
| SOx | 0.4 | 0.01 | 97% ↓ |
Plenty of runway to scale — no permit amendment needed for 2x production expansion.
Uptime · events · downtime avoided
Zero power-related production loss · YTD.
A grid outage during Shift 1 would cost you $78k for the first hour. You've had 3 grid events so far this year — each ~20-40 minutes. The plant kept running through every one.
Power-related production loss YTD
0 hrs
3 grid events · all absorbed
Cold storage excursions
0
USDA reportable · 0
Fastest transfer
39ms
Grid-forming inverter
Downtime cost avoided
$234k
YTD at $78k/hr blended rate
Grid events · 2026 YTD
MISO-initiated + Alliant distribution events · all transitioned on-island
| Date | Event | Cause | Duration | Transfer | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30 · 17:48 | Alliant SCADA isolation · feeder fault | Tornado warning tripped upstream breaker | 42 min | 39 ms | L1 & L2 never stopped |
| Feb 18 · 04:12 | MISO frequency excursion · 59.82 Hz | Polar vortex load spike | 2.4 s | 45 ms | Ride-through · CIP uninterrupted |
| Jan 22 · 11:06 | Alliant voltage sag · substation xfmr | Scheduled LTC maintenance | 18 min | 48 ms | Plant self-supplied |
What the OS does in the first second
t+0 msGrid disturbance detected
Frequency or voltage crosses protection setpoint · GX230 grid-forming inverter takes over voltage/freq reference.
t+39 msMain breaker opens · site is islanded
Sub-50ms transfer · zero flicker to compressors · no torque excursion on motor loads.
t+400 msSkid ramp-up
Running skids increase output · standby skid #7 begins warm-sync · OS notifies plant controller.
t+12 sDarnell receives alert
Slack DM · "Grid event. Plant on island. 7 skids online. ETA 0 minutes. No action needed." Plant keeps running.
t+42 minGrid clear · soft re-sync
Phase-matched re-close · no load transient · routine close-loop integration test passes.
Insurance & business continuity
✓ Zurich food-mfg policy — reduced premium 12% based on GX230 continuity record (Q2 '25 renewal).
✓ USDA FSIS — power reliability now in HACCP plan · 0 excursions simplifies audit.
✓ Customer SLA (Walmart distro · major buyer) — on-time delivery > 99% tied to unbroken production.
✓ MISO capacity participation — ICAP firm-capacity credits of 10 kW registered · small but new revenue.
✓ IPL Demand Response — 0.8 MW curtailable · bid monthly · avg $1,800/mo.
Records & exports
Reports
For your CFO, QA, sustainability team, and your insurance carrier.
Monthly bill reconciliation
IPL invoice matching · savings calc · CFO-ready
Period: April 2026
IPL bill actual: $54,120
Counterfactual: $185,920
Saved: $131,800
FY run-rate: $1.71M
Download PDF Download XLSX
Scope 2 · SBTi / CDP
tCO₂e · methodology per GHG Protocol
Baseline FY24: 18,400 tCO₂e
FY25 actual: 9,800 (−47%)
YTD 2026: 2,980
2030 SBTi target: −50% met · early
Download PDF Download XLSX
HACCP cold-chain log
10-sec temperature records · all zones · QA-ready
Period: April 2026
Total datapoints: 1,036,800
Excursions: 0
Max Δsetpoint: 0.6°C
Download CSV Download PDF summary
IDNR air permit compliance
NOx · CO · VOC · PM10 · SOx
Permit: PE-23-074 · minor
All pollutants: <30% of limit
Stack test date: Feb 2, 2026
Result: PASS (all species)
Download PDF
Grid event log
Disturbances · transfers · recoveries
Window: YTD 2026
Events: 3
Plant outages: 0
Cost avoided: $234,000
Download PDF Download CSV
Custom export
Any table · any range · CSV or XLSX
▸ Shift-level production vs. kWh
▸ Compressor runtime by bank
▸ Line energy intensity (kWh/lb)
▸ CIP cycle energy
▸ Fuel burn & LCFS
Open builder →
Contract · utility · service
Account
Your PPA, fuel contract, demand response participation, and your service team.
Facility
Company
North Star Foods Inc.
Facility
Cedar Rapids Plant · 428,000 ft²
Address
3500 E Industrial Dr, Cedar Rapids IA 52404
Operations
24/7 cold chain · 2-shift processing
Peak throughput
112M lbs/yr finished goods
Installed
7 × GX230 · 1.4 MW · N+1
Commissioned
Jan 18, 2025
Permit
IDNR PE-23-074 (minor)
Power agreements
GX230 PPA term
15 years · through Jan 2040
PPA rate
$0.087/kWh · 2.0% esc.
Utility
Alliant / IPL · CP-GS-3 Large Demand
Peak rate
$0.164/kWh · 14-18 M-F
Demand charge
$42/kW monthly 15-min peak
CNG contract
Alliant gas · $4.20/MMBtu locked
RNG blend
0% today → 30% in 2027 → 100% 2029
MISO ICAP
10 kW firm capacity registered
Demand response participation
IPL DR program
Interruptible Service Rider
Capacity offered
0.8 MW · curtailable 15 min notice
Events YTD
2 · both successful
Revenue YTD
$7,200
MISO capacity mkt
10 kW ICAP · $3,400 YTD
Your team
BM
Beverly Mathers
Immedia Power · Account Director · Central region
AR
Arman Rezaei
24/7 ops center · Midwest · +1 (319) 555-0224
KL
Kenji Laurent
Field service · Cedar Rapids · on-site <2 hrs
SN
Sarah Nkansah
Emissions & sustainability lead · SBTi reporting