The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a nonprofit focused on advancing natural refrigerant adoption by retailers, is inviting applications for its Aggregated Incentives Program (AIP).
The pilot program aims to help retailers access funding from a variety of sources, both for new natural refrigerants projects and refurbishment of existing stores.
Eligible projects have to be for supermarkets or other food retail outlets, and use a natural refrigerant like CO2, propane or ammonia. For more details, and to apply, click here.
NASRC will act as a coordinator, streamlining the application process for the retailers, which will only have to apply once with NASRC to be considered by several funding sources. The pilot program will include retailers in California, but NASRC hopes to expand the program, making it nationwide, in the future.
Applying to the AIP is a two step process, where retailers first must submit an initial application to NASRC, which then reviews the application for eligibility and gives a funding estimate. If approved, the retailer will then be invited to submit an in-depth application. NASRC will then coordinate applications and agreements with funders, and will also coordinate post-installation reporting and other requirements.
“High upfront cost is the primary hurdle preventing the adoption of low-GWP technologies” said Danielle Wright, executive director of the NASRC, in a statement when the initiative was announced in April.
“Few retailers have the bandwidth to think about scoping new projects with everything going on right now,” Wright added. “But we want them to know we are preparing for the future and will ensure that the program provides retailers with as much support as possible when the timing is right.”
The pilot program services are offered for free thanks to sponsorship from Bitzer, Climate Pros, CoolSys and HillPhoenix.
