The Green Edge

Energy-Efficient Facilities Are Seeing Stars

The EPA’s Energy Star Challenge for Industry recognizes facilities that cut energy use. Could there be stars in your site’s future?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized the first manufacturing sites in the nation to meet the Energy Star Challenge for Industry. Operating in a variety of industries, these facilities reached the program’s goal to reduce energy use by 10% within five years or less. Under the program, the EPA works with individual sites and their parent companies to fight climate change and save money through improvements in energy efficiency.

Meeting this Energy Star Challenge is straightforward: Industrial operations must establish an energy-intensity baseline, set a 10% reduction goal, implement energy-efficiency projects, track energy use and be able to verify their savings. Any U.S. manufacturing site may participate.

The first facilities to achieve these goals are owned by Energy Star Partners Kodak, Shearer’s Foods (Shearer’s), Detroit Diesel, John B. Sanfilippo & Son (Sanfilippo) and FetterGroup. The results of these companies’ efforts are impressive.

Kodak’s Manitou plant in Rochester, NY, and GCG site in Columbus, GA, achieved energy reductions of 25% and 10%, respectively. Shearer’s facility in Lubbock, TX, had a 15% reduction. Detroit Diesel’s Redford Component Manufacturing Center in Detroit, MI, reduced energy consumption by 17%. Three Sanfilippo plants (Elgin, IL, Selma, TX, and Garysburg, NC) made reductions ranging from 17% to 26%. FetterGroup’s Louisville, KY, headquarters saw a 23% reduction.

According to the EPA, these sites’ total annual energy savings equals nearly 177,315,000 kWh, or roughly the energy needed to power 11,000 homes for a year. Their annual carbon dioxide savings are nearly 34,000 metric tons—equal to the emissions from nearly 6500 cars.

Because manufacturing accounts for 30% of energy use in the United States, the EPA estimates that a 10% gain in the efficiency of industrial facilities would save nearly $10 billion and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions equal to about 12 million vehicles. Is your site up to the Challenge?

For details on what it takes to become an Energy Star Partner and how to participate in the Energy Star Challenge for Industry, visit www.energystar.gov/industrychallenge.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C.

S&C Keeps On Catching The Sun

S&C Electric has been awarded a contract to perform engineering services for Calico Solar, one of the largest solar plants in the world. Located near Barstow, CA, the new plant is being developed by Tessera Solar and EPC firm Mortenson Construction. According to S&C, the facility will be using Stirling Energy Systems (SES) SunCatcher™ solar dish technology to provide 850 MW of clean electricity to consumers.

Chicago-based, employee-owned S&C is racking up a significant track record in the solar energy arena. Calico Solar is the second Tessera Solar plant for which S&C’s Power Systems Services Division is providing engineering services. The company also is providing engineering services for the planned 27 MW Western Ranch Solar facility near Marfa, TX, and has supplied electrical switching and metering equipment for the 1.5 MW Maricopa Solar plant that is already operating in Peoria, AZ.

For the Calico Solar project, S&C engineers are charged with ensuring that the plant can be connected successfully to the grid without impacting stability or reliability of the utility’s transmission system. Services will include power-flow modeling of the SunCatcher system; stability, short-circuit coordination and dynamic simulation studies; and design of the collector system. S&C has also revised dynamic modeling of the SunCatcher, integrating control-system improvements by SES, manufacturer of the SunCatcher, into the electrical system model.

S&C Electric Co.
Chicago, IL

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Lighting Controller Can Cut Energy Costs

Cavet Technologies’ LumiSmart ILC™ reduces power consumed by fluorescent lighting systems without affecting occupant comfort. This Smart Grid-enabled controller provides microprocessor-driven adaptive control of lighting circuits to reduce power consumption by at least 30%. According to the manufacturer, the unit is easily installed with existing lamps, ballasts and fixtures, and can provide a return on investment in as little as 12 months.

Cavet Technologies
Toronto, ON

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Wind-Turbine Lubes

Klüber’s line of gear-oil products for wind-turbine drives includes the Klübersynth® GEM 4 N series (polyalphaolefin), the GH 6 series (polyglycol) and the GEM 2 series (rapidly biodegradable ester). Each provides wear protection and resistance to micro-pitting, foaming and residue formation. These products also have good resistance to aging, high load-carrying capacity and low friction values.

Klüber Lubrication
Londonberry, NH

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High-Efficiency Wall-Hung Boiler

The new AERCO Esteem 399 wall-hung, clean-combustion, condensing boiler delivers 3.6:1 turndown and 95% efficiency that helps improve system operation and reduce overall energy consumption in applications requiring 112,000 to 399,000 BTU/hr. Compact in size and simple to install, it’s designed for easy troubleshooting and optimum system performance with an intelligent, 4-digit interface module conveniently located on the boiler for quick monitoring of system statistics. Parameter values and diagnostic codes also can be fully adjusted using this module.

AERCO International
Northvale, NJ

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