Less Carbon, More Innovation
Improving the energy efficiency of U.S. manufacturing plants will boost their competitiveness. It will also create jobs now for the engineers, construction workers, and manufacturing workers building these energy-saving solutions.
Learn about the untapped opportunities for energy and cost savings in these industries:
Cement industry
Cement fact sheet [PDF] and citations [PDF]
Chemicals industry
Chemicals fact sheet [PDF] and citations [PDF]
Iron and steel industry
Iron and steel fact sheet [PDF] and citations [PDF]
Pulp, paper and wood industry
Pulp, paper and wood fact sheet [PDF] and citations [PDF]
Refineries industry
Refineries fact sheet [PDF] and citations [PDF]
All industry fact sheets [PDF]
U.S. companies can save energy and money
A range of respected private, academic and government analyses show that U.S. companies can start saving money by taking advantage of these untapped energy-efficiency opportunities:
For example, McKinsey & Company's Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy shows the U.S. industrial sector can reduce annual energy consumption 18% by 2020 and save more than $442 billion in energy costs with an upfront investment of $113 billion.
McKinsey's estimate is actually conservative as it focuses only on existing technologies and those that pay for themselves, leaving out the industrial sector's own technical potential to reduce energy consumption.
U.S. companies leaving money on the table
The cost savings being missed are seen in the low participation in DOE's Save Energy Now program. To date, less than 15% of large U.S. industrial plants have participated in this program to improve energy performance. Even for the plants that have participated, considerable opportunity still exists to implement low-cost energy efficiency solutions.
| DOE Save Energy Now Program | Cement | Chemicals | Iron & Steel | Paper | Refineries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating U.S. Plants | 16 | 100 | 62 | 79 | 22 |
| Total Energy Savings Identified (mil/year) | $14.0 | $218.3 | $233.3 | $247 | $53.5 |
| Total Energy Savings Implemented (mil/year) | $0.3 | $57.4 | $31.1 | $18 | $6.1 |
| Untapped Savings (mil/year) | $13.7 | $160.9 | $202.2 | $229 | $47.4 |
| Opportunities with Less than 2 Years Payback | 71% | 74% | 72% | 67% | 74% |
Source: DOE, Save Energy Now, as of 2/1/2009
U.S. industry can be more competitive by saving energy and cutting costs and thrive with strong national clean energy and climate policy.
McKinsey & Company's chart shows the energy efficiency potential in 2020 for the U.S. industrial sector.
Full graphic »
