Are You Leaving Money on the Table?

By Walker Larsen, Program Manager Industrial Sector, Consortium for Energy Efficiency

Research shows that successful businesses routinely invest in high-efficiency equipment and processes because they see greater reliability, lower maintenance costs, less waste, and greater productivity—all in addition to lower energy bills. That’s good news for the bottom line and for the environment. Believe it or not, most utilities have good reasons to help their commercial and industrial customers use less energy. It reduces the need for additional generation, helps them comply with regulation, and adds value for consumers.

There’s more good news. Support for energy efficiency has never been stronger, particularly when it comes to commercial and industrial facilities. Currently, 24 states have resource standards that require long-term—more than three years—binding energy-savings targets for utilities or other energy-efficiency program administrators. Savings are achieved through energy-efficiency programs for customers.

Further out on the horizon is the Clean Power Plan, which allows states to comply with greenhouse-gas reduction requirements by reaching energy-reduction targets through efficiency programs. In this environment, states and utilities will likely be on the hunt for energy-efficiency projects. Thus, it will benefit facilities to know how to take advantage of the available support.

In 2014, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) reported that 347 program administrators in 50 states and nine Canadian provinces invested approximately $8 billion in energy-efficiency programs, 41% of which was designated for commercial and industrial programs. Across these initiatives, support is strong for energy savings in electric-motor systems.

CEE, in fact, recently released a separate report documenting more than 80 program administrators offering motor and motor-system efficiency programs in 37 states, the District of Columbia, and seven provinces. These programs include a broad range of support, including:

• financial incentives for high-efficiency equipment such as variable-frequency drives and motor-driven pumps, fans, and air compressors
• incentives for large, custom energy-efficiency projects
• incentives and technical support for energy assessments and engineering studies
• training to help improve industrial-facility energy efficiency.

The bottom line? Your utility probably offers incentives designed to help reduce your operation’s power bills and increase its competitiveness. Don’t get started on a project until you’re sure your organization isn’t passing up that type of financial and technical support.

For more information about incentive programs in your area, download the “CEE 2015 Motors and Motor Systems Program Summary,” available through Motor Decisions Matter (MDM) (motorsmatter.org). This information can lead to partnerships with your electric utility or other energy-efficiency program provider that can save you money while improving the performance of your motor systems. MT

wlarsen@cee1.org

The Motor Decisions Matter campaign (MDM) is managed by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE1.org), a North American nonprofit organization that promotes energy-saving products, equipment, and technologies. Contact: mdminfo@cee1.org or 617-589-3949.