The Alliance praises President Obama’s executive order that helps U.S. manufacturers, utilities, and communities speed the benefits of energy efficiency to their facilities. Investments, including combined heat and power, will reduce energy costs and could save at least $100 billion over the next decade, according to the White House.     

“At the Alliance to Save Energy we have seen first-hand what industrial energy efficiency can do,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “Through the Department of Energy’s Superior Energy Performance program, industrial energy use has been slashed, in some instances by more than 20%, and DOE’s  Better Buildings Better Plants program is working with 114 U.S. companies to reduce energy intensity by 25%, often utilizing CHP.

“Today’s White House move illustrates that the economy can and will be made stronger through energy efficiency, and that it is an important part of a comprehensive and successful energy strategy,” Callahan continued. 

Spurring Job Growth

In addition to reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, the executive order will help add jobs as companies upgrade plants to improve energy performance. If the president’s goal of 40 GW of new CHP is met over the next decade, the White House estimates that would generate $40 to $80 billion of new capital investment in American manufacturing facilities. That’s good news for producers of efficient technologies, many of which are right here in the U.S.

Curbs Significant Energy Use

Compared with the residential, commercial, and transportation sectors, the industrial sector is the largest energy-consuming sector of the U.S. economy. We rely on industry to process our raw materials and make all the products we use every day. Each year, the country’s 196,000 factories, refineries, steel mills, and other industrial plants use over 30 Quadrillion Btu of energy — that’s nearly one-third of the energy used to power the whole nation.

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