What makes a service station energy efficient

Service station energy demand has grown in line with the sector’s transition from fueling destinations to mobility hubs. New services and the rise of e-mobility require greater amounts of power and places a bigger focus on energy consumption. We talk to suppliers and retailers about how the industry is leveraging solutions for energy production, storage and management. 

The fuel retail sector’s transition is a primary example of how energy consumption has reached new heights in recent years. As retailers around the world are integrating new-to-industry services and infrastructure, energy demand keeps ramping up while the countdown to achieve global decarbonization goals gets closer.

This race against the clock is currently facing a varied landscape of solutions for operators to deploy, such as photovoltaic solar panels, smart lighting and water recycling systems. PetrolPlaza talked to international suppliers and retailers about the best practices and strategies to implement these sustainable solutions.

Dmytro Lukomskyi, CEO of Avenston | © Avenston

At dawn's end

Although photovoltaic solar panels are not a new solution for retailers – brands like TotalEnergies have equipped thousands of sites over the last couple of years – their deployment grows at a rapid pace. Installation costs have dropped driven by technological innovation, making them a reliable option for international and local companies to implement across their networks.

“One of the main reasons for installing a solar power plant today is to reduce electricity costs when energy tariffs are high. Both pure on-grid solar power plants and hybrid solutions with batteries are used to reduce costs,” explains Dmytro Lukomskyi, CEO of Avenston, a Ukrainian group of companies specialized in renewable energy technologies. 

Service stations have been identified as a good match for solar power due to the spacious areas, large canopies and additional land some have. Retailers search for ways to differentiate their solar strategies from the competition, such as using the visual appeal of solar arrays to reflect a brand’s environmental commitment. A good example of this is the installation of solar trackers. This large setup stands out as an eye-catching component that attracts customers' attention and helps underline the company’s environmental outlook, according to Lukomskyi.

What makes a service station energy efficient — © Avenston

With photovoltaic solutions becoming more common, the supplier is confident that the early stages of the technology’s deployment are coming to an end. “Global trends show that photovoltaic technologies development is alive, prospective and popular. Clean, cheap and useful solar electricity has a lot of appeal for commercial enterprises of any industry and size - from small stations to big plants,” states Lukomskyi. If this trend continues, it can pave the way for a new and affordable era for solar arrays across the sector.

To catch lighting in a bottle, water in a canopy 

While solar panels can directly tackle energy supply, smart lighting and water recycling systems can reduce power usage and help with maintenance tasks, respectively. At the same time, their effectiveness depends on retailers rethinking the construction process of a service station from the ground up.

Smart lighting systems increase functionality while reducing energy consumption. Shell Recharge’s first all-EV charging hub in the UK integrated smart lighting into its layout to help mitigate energy consumption and reduce stress on the grid.

Sebastián Serrano, Communication and Sustainability at Soluciones Hidropluviales | © Soluciones Hidropluviales

In the case of water recycling, service stations use rainwater from the canopy to supply different areas of the site. "Once the rainwater has been collected, it can be used for cleaning vehicles, common areas and restrooms. This will prevent rainwater from going into the drainage system alongside flooding mitigation as well as contributing to water reserves maintenance,” explains Sebastián Serrano, Communication and Sustainability representative from Soluciones Hidropluviales, a Mexican firm that manages and develops projects for water usage efficiency.

Although these solutions serve different purposes, both share the need to be part of the planning process to maximize their impact. In the case of water recycling systems, it would allow for the optimization of gathering, storage and maintenance processes if the equipment is designed during the station’s planning stages, Serrano describes. Both implementations also rely on how willing retailers are to rethink their expansion strategies amidst the sector’s transition. 

Andrzej Kondys, Operational Director and Member of the Board at Anwim | © Anwin

How a retailer can pick up the baton

Apart from the industry’s transformation and decarbonization goals, there is a third element that can drive retailers into addressing sustainability: customers' environmental awareness. A recent study by Polish research agency ARC Rynek i Opinia, titled “The Future of Fuel Stations”, found out that 95% of respondents in the country care about the environment and 60% of them are willing to pay more for sustainable products. The survey was conducted at the request of Anwin, operator of the MOYA brand of service stations and one of the largest independent fuel companies in Poland.

For some years now, the company has worked on improving its sustainability targets across 400 stations in line with the rising environmental concerns of its customers. “Pro-environmental activities are usually enthusiastically received. What's more, customers are sensitive to the green-washing phenomenon, which additionally mobilizes companies to adopt a rational approach to the implementation of eco-friendly efforts,” details Andrzej Kondys, Operational Director and Member of the Board at Anwim.

In addition to expanding its EV charging infrastructure, installing photovoltaic panels, smart lighting and sustainable heating solutions at its sites, the firm also looks to go one step beyond its operations. Recently, it has joined the Polish ESG Association, the country’s largest organization of leaders in sustainable transformation. The entity gathers representatives from companies, institutions and government units to actively implement ESG initiatives in the spirit of sustainability, social responsibility and corporate governance. This acts as a platform to access knowledge and potential partners to build and implement new sustainable projects that comply with the standards established by the parties involved. 

“The sustainable revolution is already underway, and its course depends on the involvement of each entity in the socio-economic space, as well as each of us. We are one of the leading companies on the Polish fuel market, and this also entails responsibility towards society, the natural environment, our customers and business partners,” says Kondys.

With companies changing their outlook on sustainable commitments, the transformation of the fueling sector will continue to pick up pace. Innovative, sustainable solutions will only grow as stations and c-stores continue to be more energy efficient.