Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations Offer Tailored Strategies for Promoting Energy Efficiency

By: Julia Sendor

Due in part to history and geography, different regions of the United States have developed different industrial bases. Close to many iron ore deposits, the Midwest developed a robust iron and steel sector and concomitant sectors such as automobiles and fabricated metal parts. The Northwest is home to industrial sub-sectors such as paper and food processing, which derive from the area’s vast timber and agricultural resources. Longer growing seasons and ample water resources have contributed to the Southeast’s strong food processing, paper and textile industries. As a result, each region has grown economically based in part on existing competitive advantages.

 Today, some industrial stakeholders are aware that energy efficiency strategies are critical for maintaining levels of competitiveness in a global market and for keeping production energy costs low.  For guidance and resources to effectively manage energy and install energy efficient technologies, manufacturers can work with regional energy efficiency organizations (REEO). These REEOs are familiar with regional nuances in policy and market barriers, and can help industries in their respective regions navigate the regulatory environment to access resources to effectively adopt best practices in energy efficiency. Three of these REEOs are profiled below:

SEEA

In part due to the relatively low cost of electricity, the Southeast has one of the highest rates of energy consumption to GDP in the United States. To reduce the need for new power generation and to maintain a competitive edge that can support job creation and retention in the area, the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) is focused on positioning energy efficiency as a viable tool to strengthen the regional economy.  

Through its unique Industrial Coalition program, SEEA brings together regional manufacturers, utilities, state energy offices, and other stakeholders with the goal of helping manufacturers achieve a higher degree of energy efficiency.  Roughly once per quarter, the SEEA Industrial Coalition group meets to offer manufacturing participants a unique opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer dialogues with fellow energy managers. 

The result is identification of new project opportunities and implementation guidance; qualification of vendors and technologies; and adoption of energy efficiency into corporate culture – each of which is leading to faster deployment of energy saving measures in the manufacturing sector.  By also uniting all of the relevant stakeholders at once, SEEA is able to facilitate broad, market-transforming discussions which are raising awareness about the opportunities to support energy efficiency in manufacturing.

“A wealth of energy efficiency knowledge exists among the manufacturers in the Southeast, and the SEEA Industrial Coalition provides a platform for the firms’ energy teams to network with one another and exchange ideas about successful management of energy,” says Rick Marsh, Industrial Program Manager for SEEA.  “Additionally, the Coalition has created a conduit for manufacturers to express hurdles and related needs to organizations that can directly help.  This feedback is helping to guide the development of new resources which will drive energy efficiency improvements and strengthen the manufacturing sector.”

MEEA

With a more entrenched set of state and utility policies oriented towards improving industrial energy efficiency, navigating the various state policies and accessing financial and technical resources remains a significant challenge for Midwestern industrial stakeholders who are  interested in improving energy efficiency in their plants.  The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) focuses on bridging the gap between state and local policymakers and raising awareness on opportunities for energy efficiency among the region’s industrial sub-sectors.

Recognizing that energy efficiency is a critical component in driving sustainable economic development and addressing environmental preservation, MEEA is developing a regional energy efficiency steering committee that will develop a roadmap for industrial plants in the region. With the industrial sector in particular, MEEA seeks to engage more companies to participate in voluntary federal programs such as Energy Star for Industry and Superior Energy Performance, to create an inventory of the region’s available resources and to encourage the greater adoption of low-cost, off-the-shelf technologies.

NEEA

In another part of the country, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is focused on building regional market capability through energy efficiency.  Under its Industrial Initiative, NEEA’s strategy for increasing demand for energy efficient products, practices and services is based on three central activities:

• Generating demand for energy efficiency through goal setting and partnerships;
• Creating strategic energy management know-how that is scaled to small, medium and large manufacturers;
• Fostering supply of energy efficiency consultants who can support industrial end users on standards such as ISO 50001, as well as energy-efficient best practices and emerging technologies.

NEEA’s Industrial Initiative is working with the region’s dominant industrial cluster groups:

• Food Processing
• Small- to Medium-Sized Manufacturing Business (SMB)
• Nurseries

NEEA places particular emphasis on its Continuous Energy Improvement (CEI) initiative which underscores the permanent integration of energy management as an input into both business systems and manufacturing processes. CEI’s approach to market transformation is designed to be holistic, targeting utilities, trade allies and end users.

CEI is changing the way executives value strategic energy management.  According to its website, “more than 15 percent of the Northwest’s large food processing companies implemented CEI by the end of 2010.” In addition, NEEA is actively supporting SEP demonstrations in 4 plants in the Northwest.