Energy transition case study: GLP

GLP, a regional logistics platform that makes private equity investments in ancillary businesses and technologies, has built up a portfolio of 77m square metres of warehouse space globally since 2007. Yet it didn’t get into the rooftop solar game until about four years ago.

The government subsidies for such programs – even in China which represents more than half of GLP’s footprint – represented only incremental value to the company. What’s more, the power generated would have been sold to the local grid, subject to the price fluctuations of electricity and the costs of long high-voltage cabling.

The investment only began to make sense when GLP’s warehouse tenants had to prove to their investors that their supply chains were clean. Rather than selling to the grid, GLP made sure as much as possible of its renewable energy production was fed back into the hosting logistics operation. This is part of the philosophy of holistic energy efficiency.

“The challenge to logistics as it relates to energy is multidimensional. Energy consumption and asset performance management are inextricably linked; improvement efforts in one area will impact the other,” said Victor Mok, CEO of GLP China’s Asset Service Platform. “Our goal is to make sure all elements – people and machines – work in a harmonised manner.”

GLP’s highest profile energy plays remain rooftop solar and vehicle fleet electrification in partnership with Chinese battery giant CATL. Related initiatives include wind turbines near some warehouses and on-site vehicle charging stations.

Energy conservation considerations in the warehouse include optimisation of air conditioning, humidity, and lighting, as well as a significant focus on cold storage. Modular refrigeration – such that no energy is wasted overchilling certain areas – is critical. If door opening is limited through robotics and the whole system is automated, power savings can be as much as 40%.

Energy conservation in vehicle fleets is mostly as simple as scheduling truck movements to remove congestion and idling time at the warehouse docks. Part of this involves robotic loading and unloading, as well as smart gates for truck entry. Only a few minutes are saved each time, but the time is precious in high volumes.

“We want to get them back on the road fast – but also with somewhere to go,” Mok added. “By utilising destination-agnostic fleet management technologies we can optimise route planning, job allocation and decision making for trucks.”

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• Topics
• Infrastructure
• Cleantech
• Greater China
• Asia
• China
• renewable energy
• energy
• Cleantech
• Logistics