Southern California Dairy Goes Green with Installation of CO2-Charged Chiller System
South Creek Dairy worked directly with San Joaquin Valley Dairy Equipment and PRO Refrigeration to modernize their farm for more environmentally conscious milk cooling and water heating.
L-R : John Vandergiessen, PRO Refrigeration, with Josh, Ben, and Sergio from San Joaquin Valley Dairy Equipment
After months of hard work from the teams at PRO Refrigeration and San Joaquin Valley Dairy Equipment, South Creek Dairy is now producing milk with the climate in mind. The project culminated with the commissioning of another PROGreen Solutions 100 HP Chiller System that eliminates harmful chemical-based refrigerant, replacing it with a natural CO2-based solution without any harmful impact on the climate.
“Field commissioning always starts off with a group training session, even with many of the same technicians previously involved in the first CO2 project. The group training allowed everyone the chance to get their questions answered and set the stage for a smooth commissioning this week,” commented Damon Reed, leader of the PROGreen Solutions team.
South Creek Dairy’s owner, Christopher Jongsma, with his grandfather John, traveled to PRO’s production facility in Mocksville, NC back in July. Damon introduced them to transcritical and subcritical CO2 (R744) refrigeration and provided hands-on equipment training that included CO2 safety training. Chris also made several visits to his uncle Bill’s farm, where the first PROGreen System was installed in Pixley, CA, last August.
“Damon and I talked about the value of the training sessions (in North Carolina) many times this week” added Chris Jongsma. “To be involved as an owner and have an understanding of how the system operates and the fine-tuning, it has been a great experience.”
The first phase of the installation included switching from their old chiller system to the new R744-based system. They closed out the first 3 milking sessions, with over 3,900 Cows milked per session, with final milk temperatures of 37.5 F (3 C).
L-R : Chris Jongsma, Jacob (SJVDE), John Vandergiessen (PRO), Cameron (SJVDE), and Bill Jongsma
The second phase included setting up the PROHeat2o Onboard Heat Recovery System. The teams worked together on an updated hot water piping strategy and are excited to share that they are now heating water to 170 F (77 C) without using any propane or natural gas!
“We owe a big thanks to both the Jongsma Family and the team at San Joaquin Valley Dairy Equipment for stepping up and partnering on these initial projects,” provided Jim VanderGiessen, PRO’s CEO. “They are helping us prove that CO2, or R744, is a real solution that dairy producers need to consider today.”
Ben Anders, Installation Manager for SJVDE, stated “the installation and startup of this chiller system went very smooth this week. Really, there were no major obstacles to overcome, and overall, this week has gone extremely well.”
All indications are that the dairy producers also see the value. After Ben’s team completes the South Creek Project, they will shift their focus towards two more scheduled PROGreen projects in the San Joaquin Valley region.
About Pro Refrigeration
About Pro RefrigerationAuburn, WA, based PRO Refrigeration, Inc., is the leading cooling technology and equipment company for craft beverages and dairy in the US. The company provides innovative solutions for delivering chilled fluid from –45° F to +45° F. In 2020, PRO created their PROGreen Solution Team focused on natural refrigerants and shifting away from PRO’s usage of chemical-based refrigerants. Visit www.prochiller.com/progreen for more information on their shift to natural refrigerants.
Contact: Jim Vandergiessen – jimvgjr@prorefrigeration.com, (253) 732-9402
About South Creek Dairy
About South Creek DairyChris Jongsma serves almost 4,000 animals on his Dairy Farm where he continues an extended family history of dairy farming that began 65 years ago. Located in Earlmart, California, this farm has been in the business of milk production since 2004.
About San Joaquin Valley Dairy Equipment
About San Joaquin Valley Dairy EquipmentSan Joaquin Valley Dairy Equipment has been providing wholesale machinery and equipment for dairy farms since 1992. They are based in Tulare, California with a secondary location in Bakersfield.
Contact: Rick Mayo – Rick@sjvdemilk.com, (559) 358-0244