HOUSTON, Texas -- Texas Industries of the Future, a component of The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering, honored 15 Texas plants Wednesday in Houston for their energy-saving efforts as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Save Energy Now initiative.
“Seeing progress in energy efficiency is important for the environment, the Texas economy, and U.S. industrial competitiveness” said Kathey Ferland, project manager for Texas Industries of the Future, which seeks to reduce industrial energy usage and emissions. “All types of sites participated in the assessment program, which demonstrates that industry, large and small and from sectors as diverse as food processing to medical appliances to chemicals, are looking at how to improve their energy performance.”
The plants were recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Texas State Energy Conservation Office. This recognition coincided with the 500th Save Energy Now Assessment completed by the U.S. Department of Energy under the energy-saving program. The 500th assessment site, the Dow Chemical Company site in Freeport, received a special acknowledgement for the milestone distinction.
The 15 sites combined saved 1.1 trillion Btus per year from their actions. Twelve were classified as “Savers,” meaning they saved greater than 7.5 percent of their total energy or 75,000 million Btus, and three were designated as “Champions,” plants that saved greater than 15 percent of their total energy or 250,000 million Btus.
“Programs like these will reduce the demand for natural gas by industry, which can result in lower demand for natural gas overall, which benefits all consumers,” said Dub Taylor, director of the Texas State Energy Conservation Office. Other speakers at the event included Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson and Fred Moore, Dow Chemical’s global director of manufacturing and technology.
Texas Industries of the Future recruited plants for the assessments and continues to partner with the U.S. Department of Energy on developing new energy-saving programs for manufacturers, Ferland said.
The plants classified as “Savers” include: Custom Rubber Products, Inc., Flexible Foam Products, Groth Corporation, Hampson, Honeywell, the Houston Chronicle, MeadWestvaco, Osteomed, Sunoco-Bayport, Texas Petrochemicals LP – Houston Plant, Trelleborg CRP and Tyson Foods, Inc. The three “Champions” are: Dow Chemical Company-Power 6, the Houston Chronicle – SW Printing Plant and NBGS International.
