DOE Secretary Chu: $155 Million for Industrial Energy Efficiency Projects

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November 3, 2009 -- 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

Source: DOE