Certifying Industrial Energy Efficiency Performance: AligningManagement, Measurement, and Practice to Create Market Value

More than fifteen years after the launch of programs in theU.K. and U.S., industry still offers one of the largest opportunities forenergy savings worldwide. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimatesthe savings potential from cost-optimization of industrial motor-drivensystems alone at 7 percent of global electricity use. The U.S. Departmentof Energy (USDOE) Industrial Technologies Program estimates 7 percentsavings potential in total US industrial energy use through theapplication of proven best practice. Simple paybacks for these types ofprojects are frequently two years or less. The technology required toachieve these savings is widely available; the technical skills requiredto identify energy saving opportunities are known and transferable.Although programs like USDOE's Best Practices have been highlysuccessful, most plants, as supported by 2002 MECS data, remain eitherunaware or unmotivated to improve their energy efficiency--as evidencedby the 98 percent of US industrial facilities reporting to MECS say thatthey lack a full-time energy manager. With the renewed interest in energyefficiency worldwide and the emergence of carbon trading and newfinancial instruments such as white certificates1, there is a need tointroduce greater transparency into the way that industrial facilitiesidentify, develop, and document energy efficiency projects. Historically,industrial energy efficiency projects have been developed by plantengineers, frequently with assistance from consultants and/or supplierswith highly specialized technical skills. Under this scenario,implementation of energy efficiency improvements is dependent onindividuals. These individuals typically include "champions" within anindustrial facility or corporation, working in cooperation withconsultants or suppliers who have substantial knowledge based on years ofexperience. This approach is not easily understood by others without thisspecialized technical knowledge, penetrates the market fairly slowly, andhas no assurance of persistence, since champions may leave the company orbe reassigned after project completion.This paper presents an alternatescenario that builds on the body of expert knowledge concerning energymanagement best practices and the experience of industrial champions toengage industry in continuous energy efficiency improvement at thefacility rather than the individual level. Under this scenario,standardized methodologies for applying and validating energy managementbest practices in industrial facilities will be developed through aconsensus process involving both plant personnel and specializedconsultants and suppliers. The resulting protocols will describe aprocess or framework for conducting an energy savings assessment andverifying the results that will be transparent to policymakers, managers,and the financial community, and validated by a third-party organization.Additionally, a global dialogue is being initiated by the United NationsIndustrial Development Organization (UNIDO) concerning the development ofan international industrial energy management standard that would be ISOcompatible. The proposed scenario will combine the resulting standardwith the best practice protocols for specific energy systems (i.e.,steam, process heating, compressed air, pumping systems, etc.) to formthe foundation of a third party, performance-based certification programfor the overall industrial facility that is compatible with existingmanagement systems, including ISO 9001:2000, 14001:2004 and 6 Sigma. Thelong term goal of this voluntary, industry designed certification programis to develop a transparent, globally accepted system for validatingenergy efficiency projects and management practices. This system wouldcreate a verified record of energy savings with potential market valuethat could be recognized among sectors and countries

RESULTS FROM THE U.S. DOE 2006 SAVE ENERGY NOW ASSESSMENT INITIATIVE: DOE's Partnership with U.S. Industry to Reduce Energy Consumption, Energy Costs, and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other severe storms in 2005, natural gas supplies were restricted, prices rose, and industry sought ways to reduce its natural gas use and costs. In October 2005, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Secretary Bodman launched his Easy Ways to Save Energy campaign with a promise to provide energy assessments to 200 of the largest U.S. manufacturing plants. A major thrust of the campaign was to ensure that the nation's natural gas supplies would be adequate for all Americans, especially during home heating seasons. In a presentation to the National Press Club on October 3, 2005, Secretary Bodman said: 'America's businesses, factories, and manufacturing facilities use massive amounts of energy. To help them during this period of tightening supply and rising costs, our Department is sending teams of qualified efficiency experts to 200 of the nation's most energy-intensive factories. Our Energy Saving Teams will work with on-site managers on ways to conserve energy and use it more efficiently.' DOE's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) responded to the Secretary's campaign with its Save Energy Now initiative, featuring a new and highly cost-effective form of energy assessments. The approach for these assessments drew heavily on the existing resources of ITP's Technology Delivery component. Over the years, ITP-Technology Delivery had worked with industry partners to assemble a suite of respected software decision tools, proven assessment protocols, training curricula, certified experts, and strong partnerships for deployment. Because of the program's earlier activities and the resources that had been developed, ITP was prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to the sudden need to promote improved industrial energy efficiency. Because of anticipated supply issues in the natural gas sector, the Save Energy Now initiative strategically focused on natural gas savings and targeted the nation's largest manufacturing plants--those that consume a total of 1 trillion British thermal units (Btu) or more annually. The approximately 6800 U.S. facilities that fall into this category collectively account for about 53% of all energy consumed by industry in the United States. The 2006 Save Energy Now energy assessments departed from earlier DOE plant assessments by concentrating solely on steam and process heating systems, which are estimated to account for approximately 74% of all natural gas use for manufacturing. The assessments also integrated a strong training component designed to teach industrial plant personnel how to use DOE's steam or process heating opportunity assessment software tools. This approach had the advantages of promoting strong buy-in of plant personnel for the assessment and its outcomes and preparing them better to independently replicate the assessment process at the company's other facilities. The Save Energy Now initiative also included provisions to help plants that applied for but did not qualify for assessments (based on the 1 trillion Btu criterion). Services offered to these plants included (1) an assessment by one of DOE's 26 university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs), (2) a telephone consultation with a systems expert at the DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Center, or (3) other technical materials and services available through ITP (e.g., the Save Energy Now CD). By the end of 2006, DOE had completed all 200 of the promised assessments, identifying potential natural gas savings of more than 50 trillion Btu and energy cost savings of about $500 million. These savings, if fully implemented, could reduce CO2 emissions by 4.04 million metric tons annually. These results, along with the fact that a large percentage of U.S. energy is used by a relatively small number of very large plants, clearly suggest that assessments are an expedient and cost-effective way to significantly affect large amounts of energy use. Building on the success of the 2006 initiative, ITP has expanded the effort in 2007 with the goal of conducting 250 more assessments in large U.S. industrial plants. The 2007 assessments are addressing not only steam and process heating, but also pumping, compressed air, and fan systems. The full report reviews the tools and resources developed by the DOE ITP program before 2006, which are the foundation and catalyst for the Save Energy Now assessment efforts. The report describes the process by which industrial plants applied to obtain assessments in 2006 and the overall process and philosophy of conducting assessments. A comprehensive review of the results from the 2006 assessments is presented, along with a summary of key accomplishments and findings

Assessing Energy Efficiency Opportunities in US Industrial and Commercial Building Motor Systems:

In 2002, the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) published an energy efficiency assessment of U.S. industrial sector motor systems titled United States Industrial Electric Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment. The assessment advanced motor system efficiency by providing a greater understanding of the energy consumption, use characteristics, and energy efficiency improvement potential of industrial sector motor systems in the U.S. Since 2002, regulations such as Minimum Energy Performance Standards, cost reductions for motor system components such as variable frequency drives, system-integrated motor-driven equipment, and awareness programs for motor system energy efficiency have changed the landscape of U.S. motor system energy consumption. To capture the new landscape, the USDOE has initiated a three-year Motor System Market Assessment (MSMA), led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The MSMA will assess the energy consumption, operational and maintenance characteristics, and efficiency improvement opportunity of U.S. industrial sector and commercial building motor systems. As part of the MSMA, a significant effort is currently underway to conduct field assessments of motor systems from a sample of facilities representative of U.S. commercial and industrial motor system energy consumption. The Field Assessment Plan used for these assessments builds on recent LBNL research presented at EEMODS 2011 and EEMODS 2013 using methods for characterizing and determining regional motor system energy efficiency opportunities. This paper provides an update on the development and progress of the MSMA, focusing on the Field Assessment Plan and the framework for assessing the global supply chain for emerging motors and drive technologies

An overview of the LALA project

The LALA project (“Building Capacity to Use Learning Analytics to Improve Higher Education in Latin America”) is a project that aims at building capacity about the use of data in education for improving education in Latin America. This article presents a general overview of the LALA project including the LALA framework (as a set of guidelines, recommendations and patterns for enabling adoption of learning analytics), the adaptation of learning analytics tools (mainly three different tools used in Europe) and the pilots with learning analytics experiences. The results of this project could serve as an example for other institutions in the Latin American region or other under-represented regions to adopt Learning Analytics as part of their processes.Heidelber