December 4, 2009
Manufacturers Implore Obama to Require Utilities to Buy CHP Energy
The adoption of combined heat and power, or cogeneration, facilities would gain a boost if the Obama Administration grants manufacturers their wish.
The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), which is made up of manufacturers and other industrial energy users, delivered to the Obama Administration a number of policy changes its members would like to see enacted. See the letter here.
One of the policy changes would be to require electric utilities to purchase electricity produced by manufacturers who add CHP, recycled energy and cogeneration plants.
CHP electricity generation works at 80 percent energy efficiency, compared to 32 percent efficiency at a power utility, according to the IECA.
The IECA is banking on a Department of Energy statement that increasing the U.S. CHP and recycled energy power supply from 9 percent to 20 percent of the grid by 2020 would stall U.S. GHG growth by 60 percent.
The IECA also is asking for a 30 percent tax credit for five years on equipment, technologies and services that boost energy efficiency and productivity at their plants.
Other requests include low-cost loans and cost-sharing grants.
In addition to President Obama, House and Senate Majority Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were copied, along with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.
More and more, industrial firms are looking to the advantages of cogeneration.
Amalgamated Sugar Co., Idaho’s Office of Energy Resources and Idaho Power plan to jointly study the feasibility of a facility that would generate both steam for sugar beet processing and electricity for Idaho Power.
Frito-Lay added a cogeneration system at its Killingly, Conn., plant.
Environmental management & energy news delivered daily to your inbox
Advertisers
Trends in Sustainability Performance Management
Take the lead on sustainability. - Take the lead in your industry. >>
Sustainable Agricultural Partnerships Summit
Aug 10-11, San Francisco - Measure & Reduce Water & Carbon Impacts. >>
Can you take the pain out of carbon reporting?
See how with CA ecoSoftware. >>
Recent Daily News [ see all ]
- 07/29/2010
- 07/28/2010
- 07/27/2010
- CEC Throws Out Edison’s Claim to RECs from Mountain View Wind Projects
- Arizona’s Energy-Efficiency Ruling to Save Utility Customers $9B over Next Decade
- IBM Partnerships to Boost Energy Efficiency in Buildings
- Brea to Cut City’s Energy Use 40%
- Zotos Mfg Plant Gets Nod to Build 3.3-MW Wind Power Project
- Roundup – Porsche, UL Environment, EPA
- Green Rating Systems: Which One is Right for You?
- Russian City Saves $26,000 Annually with LED Street Lighting
- Robert Brunner On Solar Power For Handheld Devices
- HVAC Energy Reduction SW Saves Six NY Buildings 9.9M kWh Annually
- Roundup – Hormel Foods, BMW, Microsoft
- Green Marketing: How It Works and When to Use It
- Wind Power Installations Drop to 2007 levels
- EV Roundup: Nissan, Chevrolet, Enterprise, PG&E, Schneider Electric, Raser
- No Renewable Electricity Standard in Reid Energy Bill
- Vermont Resort Cuts Carbon Footprint with ‘Cow Power’
- CCS Technologies to Capture 65% and 90% of CO2 Emissions at Coal Power Plants
- Fuel Cell Power Plant Installed at Frozen Food Processing Plant
- Green Building Talked Up By Perkins & Will’s Peter Busby
- Large Wind Projects Get Ready to Roll in Arizona, California
- Why the BP Oil Spill is a Tragedy of the Commons, Part II
- Senators Push for a Renewable Energy Standard
- Roundup – GM, Seventh Generation, Wal-Mart
- Consumers Prefer to Charge their EVs at Home
- UPS Sustainability Report: Sets Goal to Improve Fuel Efficiency by 20%
- IT Sector Reduces Energy Costs by $2B, CO2 Emissions by 32 Million Tons
- Naval Base Lighting Retrofits Save Nearly $60,000 Annually
- TIAA-CREF CEO On Building Energy Efficiency
Charts [ see all ]
White Papers [ see all ]
- Your Customers Want Green!
- Eco-Competitiveness: Safeguarding Profitability and the World's Natural Resources
- Global Trends In Sustainability Performance Management
- The EPA's Mandatory Reporting Rule
- A Business Framework for Excelling at Enterprise Carbon Management
- Your Customers Want Green!
- What's On Your Sustainability Dashboard?
- 9 Ways to Reduce Energy Costs
Comments and Discussions
Matt Perry on Green Marketing: How It Works and When to Use It
"Hi Emily, Thank you for your article. Your background in science really comes through...."
Girard Gurgick on No Renewable Electricity Standard in Reid Energy Bill
"Does any one know why just passing a simple carbon tax is not the primary..."
Baltazar Perez on Green Marketing: How It Works and When to Use It
"Great article Emily and certainly environmental issues should be at the forefront..."
Tony Nocito on EPA Supports Superfund Tax Reinstatement
"Each one of the industries mentioned in this article are laden with asbestos. All of the..."
Terrence Murray on Wind Power Installations Drop to 2007 levels
"We had been hearing for a couple of months now from our project finance banking..."
Martyn on Green Marketing: How It Works and When to Use It
"There’s one area of corporate Greenwash that really irks me and that’s the..."
sandee loeffler on Green Marketing: How It Works and When to Use It
"We have just released a new packaging item for our plants to replace the 15 tons..."
Reader Comments
This is excellent news, given the huge opportunities to cut global warming pollution while reducing manufacturers’ energy costs. Government estimates suggest there’s enough recoverable waste heat at power plants, manufacturing facilities, etc., to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. That’s as much as if we took every passenger vehicle off the road. Meanwhile, costs would fall due to increased efficiency.
Disclosure: I’m associated with Recycled Energy Development, which does this kind of work, so I’m not entirely neutral. But the reason I’m involved is the massive potential. We should be doing much more of this.
miggs | December 13th, 2009