Industrial Program Planning Committee

The industrial sector represents nearly one-third of total energy consumption in the U.S. and approximately 38 percent in Canada. Petroleum, natural gas and electricity are the most commonly used fuels in industry with a few sub-sectors dominating consumption, such as forest products, chemicals and oil refining. Common industrial processes and systems (e.g., steam, process heating and motors) consume most of the energy and offer the greatest opportunities for savings. Historically, a number of factors have made it difficult (or economically unattractive) to take a mass market approach to promote industrial energy-efficiency, including low energy prices, the variety of application-specific industrial equipment and processes, a lack of industry-accepted test procedures, and the clustering of industrial plants in different regions across the country.

In 2007 CEE launched a new committee to convene program administrators interested in identifying innovative industrial program approaches and promoting widespread adoption of energy-saving technologies. The committee's charge is to review industrial energy consumption by industrial sub-sector and across major industrial systems and processes in order to identify the most attractive opportunities that are the relevant for programs on a national basis. To help assure that the research results are relevant and accessible to program administrators nationally, the committee will identify the types of information that provide value to efficiency programs and develop a framework that structures the information for future reference.

Objectives

1. Increase the effectiveness of member industrial programs by facilitating consensus among program administrators on a standard energy management system report that targets specific industrial applications and meets program requirements.
   
   
2. Leverage federal industrial efficiency program resources and activities to enhance member program objectives through the identification of specific opportunities to align federal energy management programs and member industrial programs.
   
   
3. Increase the availability of highly efficient industrial equipment by updating the CEE specification for low voltage distribution transformers, exploring the development of an in-field energy performance testing rocedure for industrial boilers, and identifying other industrial applications as candidates for the development of standard test procedures and reporting metrics that members can use to differentiate industrial products in the future.

Activities to Date

In 2011, the Committee will build upon its efforts to support member energy management programs by engaging with industrial energy management system providers to help members to understand the market and technical considerations of this equipment. The Committee will also seek to increase coordination between member programs and federal efforts underway at the Department of Energy and the ENERGY STAR program to improve the efficiency of industrial customers.

The Program Planning Committee will continue to assess industrial program needs and to identify opportunities. The Committee will explore how members currently structure their industrial programs, including identifying the industrial sub-sectors and processes members are currently focusing on as well as future program needs. Committee will use this information as a framework to identify new opportunities that are likely to provide value to programs on a national basis.

Committee Resources/Links

For further information about the Industrial Program Planning Committee, contact Ted Jones at 617-337-9276.