DOE Awards Funding for Energy Efficiency

DOE Announces More than $155 Million for Industrial Energy Efficiency Projects

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced, in November 2009, 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

Nine projects announced 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.

Award #1: $31.6 million to ArcelorMittal USA

This project will install an efficient recovery boiler to use the waste blast furnace gas (BFG) generated during ironmaking operations to produce electricity and steam on-site at the ArcelorMittal East Chicago, Indiana steel mill. The plant currently wastes 46 billion cubic feet annually of BFG that must be flared. The project will save an estimated 3.66 trillion Btu annually from the waste gas.

Award #2: $30.0 million to AK Steel Corporation

The project will construct a combined cycle power generation plant at the Middletown, Ohio works of AK Steel that will capture and process the blast furnace gas (BFG). The BFG, generated in ironmaking operations, is either flared or used to make steam needed for industrial processes. Currently, over 50% of the BFG is flared. This project will utilize the waste gas generating over 100 MW of power and saving an estimated 2.7 trillion Btu annually.

Award #3: $18.8 million to the Seattle Steam Company

This project will deploy a combined hat and power (CHP) plant in downtown Seattle that is integrated into the existing electrical and thrmal energy distribution networks. It will increase the capacity and reliability of the electrical grid and district heating system in the downtown core, particularly in light of growing energy demand. The new CHP plant will generate 50 MW of electrical power and steam to offset existing, inefficient steam production equipment. The CHP plant will save an estimated 1.84 trillion Btu annually over the current, inefficient infrastructure.

Award #4: $15.0 million to Rhode Island LFG Genco

The project will construct and operate a combined cycle power plant facility at the Johnston, Rholde Island central landfill. The project will be the second-largest landfill gas-to-electricity generation facility in the United States. The project will generate 42 MW of power, and save an estimated 1.21 trillion Btu annually from the landfill gas that would otherwise be flared.

Award #5: $14.6 million to Clean Tech Partners

The project will implement a portfolio of 25 sub-projects to install energy-efficient equipment in facilities at nine different sites across the state of Wisconsin as part of the “Focus on Energy Program”. The companies include a diverse cross-section of Wisconsins’s industrial sector, including pulp and paper mills, printin, corn milling, plumbing and small engine manufacturing. The project will save an estimated 1.21 trillion Btu annually, increasing overall energy efficiency by 45%.

Award #6: $10.0 million to the Olinda Alpha Landfill

The project will modify and expand an existing landfill gas collection system and construct a combined cycle power generation facility at the Olinda Alpha Landfill in Brea, California. The project will generate 32 MW of power, and save an estimated 0.90 trillion Btu annually from the landfill gas that would otherwise be flared.

Award #7: $10.0 million to Texas Medical Center

The project will build a combined heat and power (CHP) facility at its existing district heating plant, serving the largest medical center in the world. The CHP system will increase electric and thermal efficiency, provide steam to the campus, and improve the overall reliability of the existing plant, enabling continued operations even in the event of a grid outage. The new CHP plant will generate 45 MW of power and provide steam to the district heating plant. The project will save an estimated 0.75 trillion Btu annually over separate electrical and steam generation.

Award #8: $9.4 million to Verso Paper Corporation

The project will implement a portfolio of 12 waste energy recovery sub-projects at Verso paper mills located in Jay, Maine; Bucksport, Maine; and Sartell, Minnesota. The sub-projects were chosen for their energy savings potential and potential for immediate implementation. The bundled project has an overall efficiency of 33%, and will save an estimated 1.28 trillion Btu annually.

Award #9: $7.1 million to The Dow Chemical Company

This project will replace an existing acetylene recovery system with an acetylene hydrogenation reactor system at Dow Chemical’s St. Charles, Louisiana ethylene plant. The existing system recovers the purified, highly energy-intesive acetylene. However, there is a lack of market demand for purified acetylene and the un-sold product must be flared. The project will save an estimated 0.85 trillion Btu annually.

Industrial Assessment Centers and State Agencies

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.

Industrial Assessment Centers ($1.87 million total)

The awards were given to the following institutions:

• 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)

The Oak Ridge (TN) Partnership for Industrial Energy Efficiency will perform 100 enhanced Save Energy Now assessments in large industrial plants and provide technical assistance to key large industrial plants in implementing identified assessment energy savings results. The Oak Ridge Partnership is one of two teams chosen by the DOE ITP to provide Save Energy Now Assessment Integrator support to key Industrial Technologies Program partners, with a priority to companies that have signed the Save Energy Now LEADER pledge. The Oak Ridge Partnership team is led by ORNL, and includes BCS In., Georgia Tech, FCS Consulting, and Rutgers University as team partners.

Sourced from web.