Strengthening manufacturing competitiveness through energy efficiency has been a hot topic in industry, and companies are setting internal goals to meet the challenge of manufacturing more with less energy.
The Better Plants program, part of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Better Buildings initiative, started in 2011 and aims to help provide the resources and support companies need to achieve this vision. With over 200 partners, the program is a voluntary partnership, and partner companies set their own goals -- typically a 25-percent reduction in energy intensity over 10 years across all their U.S. operations. Through Better Plants, DOE helps each company establish energy baselines, develop energy management plans, identify energy savings and energy recovery opportunities, and then adopt the appropriate technology. To date, Better Plants partners have realized more than $4 billion in cumulative energy cost savings.
Each Better Plants partner receives its own technical account manager (TAM), a trained engineer who guides the company through setting baselines, exploring available resources and reporting data. These TAMs can also help partners identify and borrow the right tools, and leverage the extraordinary innovation and capabilities at the DOE National Labs to better achieve their aims.
"Having access to industry expertise is a great resource to realize what opportunities are out there and manage energy use even more strategically," said Eli Levine, technical program manager of Better Plants.
The Better Plants program provides a valuable resource for companies and the industry as a whole. Partners share their successful strategies at the annual conference and throughout the year as case studies on the program's Better Buildings Solutions Center website. Knowledge sharing is invaluable for companies trying to identify energy savings opportunities. Better Plants has also facilitated Energy Treasure Hunt Exchanges, where two companies work together in cross-functional teams to identify opportunities to save energy at each other's facilities. In addition, partners can play a valuable "field validation" role, partnering with and informing DOE's early-stage research and development.
The program also offers competitively selected, rigorous in-plant training workshops with world-class experts. These workshops train participants on how to identify, implement and replicate energy- saving projects. Technical expertise gained through the in-plant trainings helps companies overcome common, critical barriers to adopting energy management practices and technologies, such as lack of technical expertise and insufficient senior management buy-in for implementing energy-saving projects.
"We're at an important moment where American manufacturers seek out every opportunity to improve their competitiveness," Levine said. "A strong manufacturing base is incredibly important for our economy. All across the country, manufacturers are stepping up to reap significant cost savings through energy efficiency."
So far, more than a quarter of Better Plants partners have achieved their initial goals, most ahead of schedule. Some partners have even gone on to set and meet their second and third goals. The cumulative energy savings reported from partners in 2017 is equivalent to the amount of energy used by the entire state of Arkansas.
The Better Plants program, which is voluntary and free to participate in, is always looking for new partners.
For more information, visit https://betterbuildingsinitiative.energy.gov/better-plants.
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