The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released the final funding guidelines for the F-gas Reduction Incentive Program (FRIP) for Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration.
FRIP will be open for submissions from October 14 to January 31, 2025, and will target three primary sectors: retail food refrigeration, industrial process refrigeration, and cold storage and other refrigeration.
A total of $65 million (€58.2 million) has been allocated to the program, of which $38.5 million (€34.5 million) is dedicated to replacing refrigeration systems with more than 50 pounds (22.6kg) of refrigerant in existing commercial and industrial facilities.
Of the rest, $2 million (€1.7 million) will go toward commercial and industrial refrigeration facilities with systems using less than or equal to 50lb of refrigerant, $18 million (€16.1 million) is earmarked for sectors to be determined and $6.5 million (€5.8 million) is budgeted for the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council’s (NASRC) administration of the program.
To be eligible for an award, a store or facility must have equipment using f-gas that meets the minimum GWP and refrigerant charge requirements:
- For retail food refrigeration, all existing systems being replaced must have a GWP greater than 1,300, with no minimum charge requirement.
- For industrial process refrigeration, all existing systems being replaced must have a GWP of more than 1,800 and a minimum sum refrigerant charge of 2,000lb (907kg).
- For cold storage and other refrigeration, all existing systems being replaced must have a GWP of more than 1,800 and a minimum sum refrigerant charge of 1,000lb (453kg).
FRIP provides funding to replace these systems with ones using ultra-low-GWP refrigerants, defined as those with a GWP of less than 10. With GWPs of 3, 1 and 0, CO2 (R744), propane (R290) and ammonia (R717) all easily meet the program requirements.
Funding award conditions
Of the $65-million total, $18.2 million (€16.3 million) has been set aside for companies operating large retail food chains, defined as those with 20 or more locations. A total of $12.3 million (€11 million) is being made available to retail stores with fewer than 20 locations, while $5 million (€4.4 million) will be available for industrial process refrigeration facilities and $3 million (€2.6 million) for cold storage and other refrigeration.
FRIP awards differ depending on the type of system replacement: full system replacements receive larger awards, while partial replacements receive less. In addition, incentive awards vary depending on the project type and sector.
For retail food refrigeration, awards are based on the linear feet of high-GWP refrigerated case removed or square footage of high-GWP walk-in cooler or freezer space removed.
- For full system replacements, stores are awarded $700 (€627) per linear foot (30.5cm) of refrigerated case they remove and $10 (€9) per square foot (93mm2) of walk-in space removed.
- For partial replacements at retail facilities, the award is $350 (€313) per linear foot of refrigerated case removed and $7 (€6) per ft2 of walk-in space removed.
- “Other facilities” undertaking full system replacements receive $600 (€537) per linear foot of case removed and $8 (€7) per ft2 of walk-in space removed. Partial replacements receive $300 (€268) per linear foot and of case removed and $5 (€4) per ft2 of walk-in space removed.
- For island cases, the perimeter of the unit will be used to measure the linear feet of the case.
For industrial process refrigeration and cold storage, awards are based on the high-GWP cooling load tons replaced with ultra-low-GWP refrigerants. According to CARB, a cooling ton is defined as “the refrigeration system’s applied rate of heat transfer measured in tons at the cooling coils and heat exchangers or the system capacity at applied conditions, whichever is less.”
Full replacement of such systems brings an award of $1,500 (€1,344) per cooling load ton while a partial system replacement is worth $900 (€806) per cooling load ton.
Cold storage and other refrigeration facilities will have awards calculated by linear feet of high-GWP case removed, the square footage of high-GWP walk-in space removed or the high-GWP cooling load ton removed.
- Full replacements for refrigerated cases are priced at $700 per linear feet of case with partial replacements set at $350.
- Full replacements for walk-in coolers or freezers are $10 per ft2 of walk-in with partial replacements set at $7 per ft2.
- Cooling load tonnage is priced at $1,500 per cooling load ton in a full system replacement and $900 per cooling load ton in a partial system replacement.
- For island cases, the perimeter of the unit will be used to measure the linear feet of the case.
In addition to the minimum GWP and refrigerant charge requirements, eligible projects must demonstrate significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and meet CARB’s HFC regulation standards.
Next steps
Applications are handled on a first-come first-served basis, with two funding windows: from October 2024 to January 2025 and from March to May 2025. The process requires applicants to provide detailed information about their existing systems and proposed replacements. Awardees must complete installations by December 2026. The NASRC is offering technical assistance available to help applicants through the process.
