Owens Corning – Anant Parikh – 2014

Goals

Owens Corning brought in Anant Parikh to identify energy management and efficiency opportunities and then implement them at its Waxahachie Insulation Systems plant in Texas. With three production lines and nearly 400 employees, this operation uses a lot of energy.

Solutions

Parikh’s portfolio of projects included ways to reduce energy costs, energy efficiency upgrades and an evaluation of renewable energy such as solar. Implementing a peak electricity load management strategy resulted in projected savings of approximately $73,000 and potential projected savings of $200,000 in its 2015 utility bill. Parikh also led a compressed air audit with an 8-person energy team and recommended solutions that could potentially save 1 million kilowatt hours per year and $61,000 annually. He organized a plant-wide lighting audit and recommended LED and T5 upgrades that could result in 3 million kWh in energy savings and $200,000 in annual cost savings. Through solar valuation, Parikh determined the value of adding onsite power generation. Lastly, he helped Owens Corning’s Waxahachie plant understand the potential of using data analytics to identify energy efficiency opportunities.

Potential Impact

Cumulatively, these projects could save 3,400 metric tons of carbon emissions annually. Parikh also developed plans for the Waxahachie team to move forward on all the opportunities he identified.