WASHINGTON, DC— Energy Secretary Steven
Chu announced today that the Department of Energy is awarding more
than $155 million in funding under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act for 41 industrial energy efficiency projects
across the country. These awards include funding for
industrial combined heat and power systems, district energy systems
for industrial facilities, and grants to support technical and
financial assistance to local industry. The industrial sector
uses more than 30 percent of U.S. energy and is responsible for
nearly 30 percent of U.S. carbon emissions.
"To remain globally competitive, American industry needs to be
energy efficient. The funding for industrial energy efficiency
technologies announced today will support a robust American
industrial sector and help to usher in a clean energy economy,"
said Secretary Chu. "Many companies already realize that
improving efficiency saves money while helping the
environment. These projects will make energy efficiency
technologies more widely available, cutting energy use and reducing
carbon pollution across the country."
Nine projects announced today will promote the use of combined
heat and power, district energy systems, waste energy recovery
systems, and energy efficiency initiatives in hospitals, utilities,
and industrial sites. Combined Heat and Power and District
Energy Systems generate both the heat and power needed for
industrial processes on-site, instead of using electricity from the
grid, and can be nearly twice as efficient as conventional heat and
power production. These 9 awards – totaling approximately
$150 million – will be leveraged with $634 million in private
industry cost share for a total project value of up to $785
million. These industrial efficiency projects will result in
almost 14 trillion Btu in estimated energy savings, which is
equivalent to over 112 million gallons of gasoline per year.
The remaining 32 awards will provide local technical support for
the industrial sector through university-based Industrial
Assessment Centers, state agencies, regional partnerships, and a
national technical assistance provider. This funding will
enable DOE's Industrial Technologies Program to provide technical
and financial support for local businesses and manufacturing
facilities to save energy and reduce their energy costs, obtain
financing to realize significant gains in efficiency and
productivity, and save and create manufacturing and industrial
sector jobs across the country.
These 32 projects are an extension of DOE's successful Save Energy
Now initiative, which provides plant energy assessments and
technical assistance to energy intensive industrial
facilities. Since the program's inception in 2006, more than
2,300 assessments have been completed. Over 1,500 industrial
facilities implemented the identified energy measures, which have
saved $218 million, 35 trillion Btu and 2.3 million metric tons of
carbon dioxide each year.
The projects announced today are selections for financial award.
The final details for each project award are subject to final
contract negotiations between DOE and the grantee.
Today's awards include:
Industrial Technologies ($149.3 million
total)
- Texas Medical Center Central Heating and Cooling Services
Company
- Seattle Steam Company
- Rhode Island LFG Genco, LLC
- Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
- Ridgewood Renewable Power, LLC
- ArcelorMittal USA
- Verso Paper Corporation
- The Dow Chemical Company
- Clean Tech Partners
Industrial Assessment Centers ($1.87 million
total)
- Bradley University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Lehigh University
- Mississippi State University
- North Carolina State University
- Oklahoma State University
- San Diego State
- Tennessee Technological University
- Texas A&M University
- University of Alabama
- University of Dayton
- University of Delaware
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- University of Michigan
- West Virginia University
State Agencies ($3.84 million total, approximately
$350,000 awarded to each state)
- Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
- Idaho Office of Energy Resources
- Kentucky Department for Energy Development and
Independence
- Louisiana State Energy
- Maryland Energy Administration
- Minnesota Department of Commerce
- Mississippi Development Authority-Energy Division
- New Jersey Industrial Energy Program
- Ohio Energy Office, Ohio Department of Development
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
- Wisconsin's Office of Energy Independence
Regional Partnerships ($2.5 million total, $500,000
awarded per region)
- Energy Resources Division of the Georgia Environmental
Facilities Authority along with Georgia, Tennessee, and North
Carolina
- Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the Center for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the University of
Massachusetts (CEERE)
- Illinois State Energy Office
- Washington Department of Community Trade and Economic
Development
- West Virginia Department of Energy
National Technical Assistance Provider ($1.4
million)
- Oak Ridge Partnership for Industrial Energy Efficiency
Read more information about the
grant selections.
To learn more about industrial energy efficiency efforts at the
DOE, visit the Industrial
Technologies Program Web site.
SOURCE
