Eight Wisconsin companies sign Save Energy Now LEADER pledgeFW

From a news release issued by Focus on Energy, the Gold Sponsor of the Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Pavilion:

Initiative reduces energy use of companies by 25 percent over next 10 years

DETROIT, Mich. (September 14, 2009)—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) and Focus on Energy, along with more than 300 industry, state and federal leaders, gathered September 9–10, 2009 to accelerate industrial energy efficiency at the Midwest Industrial Energy Efficiency Exchange.

During this event, corporate executives from eleven companies, eight of which were from Wisconsin, were recognized for signing a pledge with the DOE to reduce the energy intensity (energy use per unit of output) of their respective companies by 25 percent or more over the next 10 years.

These businesses are among the first to commit to the ambitious and forward-looking Save Energy Now LEADER initiative—a public-private partnership that aims to catalyze significant energy and carbon reductions across the industrial sector.

Through bold commitments to reduce energy use, collaborative research and development, and the mobilization of technical resources across the country, the partnership aims to establish U.S. industry as a global leader in energy efficiency. Wisconsin companies signing the Save Energy Now LEADER pledge include:

· Briggs & Stratton of Wauwatosa
· Didion Milling of Johnson Creek
· Flambeau River Papers of Park Falls
· Neenah Foundry of Neenah
· Manitowoc Grey Iron Foundry of Manitowoc
· Quad/Graphics, Incorporated of Sussex
· Thilmany Papers of Kaukana
· ThyssenKrupp Waupaca of Waupaca

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Study: Energy efficiency can reshape Wisconsin’s energy future

From a news release issued by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin:

MADISON - A report, commissioned by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) and prepared by the Energy Center of Wisconsin (Energy Center), shows that by 2012 the state could generate $900 million in net energy cost savings for each year energy efficiency program investments are made. The report addresses opportunities for electricity and natural gas savings across the residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors. . . .

The report states that annual reductions in electricity usage could reach 1.6 percent per year by 2012 while meeting needs of economic growth. Electricity usage in the state has grown roughly 1.2 percent per year since 2000. Annual reductions in natural gas usage could reach 1.0 percent by 2012. Natural gas consumption has declined since 2000 by 0.1 percent per year.

Savings from efficiency efforts for both electricity and natural gas would generate between 7,000 and 9,000 net jobs in Wisconsin. Susan Stratton, executive director of the Energy Center, agrees. Most important, she noted is the compounding effect of the economic benefits over time. “Each year that we invest in efficiency programs the dollars saved continue to accrue, economic development and job opportunities grow and greenhouse gas emissions drop further.”

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Presentations set for Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing, Oct. 6-8

The energy track presentations have been release for the Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Pavilion at the Wisconisn Machine Tool Show, October 6-8, at State Fair Park:

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2009
9:00am Green and Lean
Presented by Dr. Joe Jacobsen of MATC

11:00am Controlling Your Energy Costs – An Overview Of Focus On Energy
Presented by Nate Altfeather of Focus on Energy

1:00pm Opportunities To Supply The US Wind Industry
Presented by Jeffrey Anthony of American Wind Energy Association

3:00pm Energy Efficiency In Manufacturing Facilities
Presented by Orion Energy Systems

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2009
10:00am A Case Study On Energy Efficiency
Presented by Nate Altfeather of Focus On Energy

11:30am Starve The Beast! Revolutionary Ideas On How To Save Money Operating Your Ventilation Systems
Presented by DuWayne Bohrer of iVEC™ Systems and Kevin Rohde of Hastings Air Energy Control Inc

1:00pm New Manufacturing Opportunities In Stimulus Funding
Presented by Maria Redmond of Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence

3:00pm Opportunities For Cooperation In The Renewable Supply Chain
Presented by Mark Tomkins of GermanAmerican Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2009
10:00am Sociable Responsibility In Industry
Presented by American Society for Quality

12:00pm Save Energy, Save Money
Presented by Alex Dodd of Focus on Energy

Energy track seminars sponsored by Focus on Energy.

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Businesses work with Focus on Energy to conserve

From an article by Pete Bach in the Appleton Post-Crescent about Focus on Energy, the Gold Sponsor of the Energy Efficiency in Manufacuring Pavilion:

Hardware store owner Brian Webb remembers well the telephone call from We Energies.

"We need to send a technician to look at your meters. We've seen a precipitous drop in consumption and we think there's something wrong," the caller stated.

Not so, Webb advised. It was 2006, and the Krueger True Value Hardware store in Neenah had just undergone a sweeping retrofit in overhead lighting.

"We saw a 25 to 30 percent saving on energy consumption right off," he said.
Workplaces have been reaping the benefits of Focus on Energy, the Madison-based organization that provides cash incentives to companies large and small that implement ways to save electricity and curb natural gas consumption.

McCain Foods, a maker of frozen food products, will save an estimated $875,000 on its energy bills annually at four Wisconsin plants, including one in Grand Chute, thanks to steps it took to reduce power consumption.

Since 2008, the firm had received $485,000 in cash incentives, said Amanda Wollin, marketing manager for FOE in Madison. Employees at the Grand Chute plant upgraded lighting and motors, variable frequency motor drives and completed feasibility studies on compressed air and refrigeration systems, she said.

More and more of Menasha-based Faith Technologies' field work is devoted to lighting retrofits and new installations.

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IRS & DOE provide guidance on advance energy manufacturing credit

From the law firm of Michael, Best & Friedrich, an exhibitor in the Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing Pavilion at the Wisconsin Machine Tool Show:

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 created a new program to issue up to $2.3 billion in federal income tax credits to projects which expend funds to newly construct, expand, or re-equip a manufacturing facility that builds renewable energy property. On August 13, 2009, guidance for this program was issued.

Manufacturing Tax Credit Generally:
The tax credit equals 30% of the tax basis of depreciable tangible property (i.e., excluding a building or its structural components) used to re-equip, expand or establish a manufacturing facility for the production of any of the following:

+ property designed to be used to produce energy from the sun, wind, geothermal deposits or other renewable resources;
+ fuel cells, microturbines or other energy storage systems used in electric motor vehicles;
+ electric grids to support the transmission of intermittent sources of renewable energy, including property for the storage of such energy;
+ property designed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions;
+ property designed to refine or blend renewable fuels or to produce energy conservation technologies (including energy-conserving lighting and smart grid technologies);
+ plug-in electric vehicles and vehicle components (motors and generators);
+ or other property designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A manufacturing facility is any facility that makes or processes raw materials into finished products (or accomplishes any intermediate stage in that process). Thus, in contrast to other renewable energy tax incentives, this manufacturing credit is designed to stimulate the construction/expansion of manufacturing plants, rather than the actual generation of electricity or fuels.

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Oak Creek company transitions from small shop to major energy saver

From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:

(August 12, 2009) - Like many Wisconsin businesses, Columbia Grinding, Inc. started out with a dream, a lot of hard work and limited resources. In 1953 the business opened as a 1,800-square-foot one-man shop in South Milwaukee. By 1978, the production workload grew and the first employee was hired. Today, Columbia Grinding has grown to 35 employees and a 43,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Oak Creek Industrial Park.

Although the company's values remain the same, over the years Columbia Grinding has enhanced its energy efficiency and high-performance standards to power its state-of-the-art equipment, processes and services.

With the help of Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, Columbia Grinding's Oak Creek, Wis. plant has reduced energy consumption by more than 230,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 14,000 therms of natural gas - enough energy to power 40 houses for a year. The company will also save $33,500 on its energy bills each year.

Since 2008, Columbia Grinding has received $13,500 in cash incentives from Focus on Energy to boost its efforts toward becoming more energy efficient. The biggest energy saver was an innovative air filtration system installed last month that will significantly reduce the facility's heating and air conditioning loads. The system connects with the existing energy management system to provide automated control of the make-up air and exhaust in the main production area.

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Study reveals U.S. could reduce energy costs by $1.2 trillion

From an article posted on Environmental Leader:

McKinsey & Company released a new research report that shows how the United States can save more than $1.2 trillion in energy costs, which is well above the $520 billion investment needed to implement energy-efficiency measures through 2020. According to the report, the U.S. could reduce annual non-transportation energy consumption by roughly 23 percent by 2020 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions annually by 1.1 gigatons.

The report, Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy, covers several strategies for energy savings across residential, industrial and commercial sectors, along with a significant set of barriers, which include incentives and financing, codes and standards and deployment resources.

According to the report, the residential sector accounts for 35 percent of end-use efficiency (33 percent of primary energy potential); the industrial sector accounts for 40 percent (32 percent of primary energy potential), and the commercial sector accounts for 25 percent (35 percent of primary energy potential).

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