Energy Savings: See What You’re Missing!

As of March 2007, there are 83 industrial energy assessments published on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website . These assessments are the product of a program called “Save Energy Now,” which the U.S. DOE launched in response to industry’s need for relief from high energy costs. The purpose of these assessments is to identify cost-effective ways that industrial facilities could reduce energy consumption while still meeting their production goals. So far, based on these assessments, the average facility presents just under $2.5 million in annual energy savings opportunities.

Keep in mind that the published reports have been “sanitized” per the direction of the recipients. This means that recipients withheld any information that they did not want their competitors to see. Consequently, the published assessments very widely in quality and format. Still, with dedicated review, readers will get some idea of the kinds of energy improvements—and dollar savings—that are most often available to industrial facilities.

These reports are also of great value to vendors of energy-efficient products and services. For example, at least one investor group is culling these records to size the market for mechanical insulation products.

The “Save Energy Now” program offered these assessments to industry at little or no cost. While some companies jumped at the opportunity, there were many others who ignored the opportunity, if only because they are wary of “government” programs. These companies can at least look at the published assessments to get some idea of the savings potential that they’re missing.