WASHINGTON , DC – In effort to promote President Bush’s energy initiatives, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Douglas L. Faulkner visited Gerdau Ameristeel facility in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, today, to review a recent Industrial Energy Saving Assessment with company executives.  Through no-cost assessments, DOE works with major manufacturing facilities to identify energy- and money-saving opportunities. 

 

“It’s exciting to see first-hand a partnership in action. Private industry joining the federal government in following the President’s call for America to become more energy efficient,” Acting Assistant Secretary Douglas L. Faulkner said. “DOE’s Energy Saving Teams are succeeding by highlighting energy efficiency strategies for some of the largest industrial facilities in the U.S.”

 

Assessment teams focus primarily on steam and process heating systems, the largest consumers of energy at industrial facilities.  DOE’s Energy Saving Teams have completed visits to 28 large federal facilities and are in the process of visiting 200 of the most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities in the United States. The first seven Energy Saving Assessments have identified, in aggregate, $27 million per year in energy cost savings and will reduce natural gas consumption by more than 3 trillion Btu per year, equivalent to the natural gas consumed by approximately 40,000 U.S. homes.

 

Gerdau Ameristeel Perth Amboy is a steel mill located in Perth Amboy, NJ. With over 900,000 tons of melting and rolling capacity, scrap metal is converted into billets which are then fed into a natural gas reheat furnace in the Rolling Mill. The two products of the Rolling Mill are wire rod and coiled rebar. The plant began operation in 1979 and has over 300 employees.

 

Companies interested in accessing DOE energy saving resources can get more details at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/saveenergynow/ and request brochures detailing “15 Tips to Help Your Plant Save Energy.” 

 

For tips on easy, inexpensive steps consumers can take to lower their energy bills this winter, please visit  http://www.energysavers.gov/ or call DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Hotline at 1-877-337-3463.

 

Acting Assistant Secretary Faulkner’s visit was part of the Administration’s efforts to promote the president’s energy policies this week.  In addition to energy efficiency efforts, the president announced two initiatives in his State of the Union address.  The Advanced Energy Initiative requests $2.1 billion, a 22 percent budget increase, to develop new technologies and alternative sources of energy to help diversify and strengthen our nation’s energy mix.  The American Competitiveness Initiative is a multi-agency commitment that will ensure America remains competitive in the global marketplace.  As part of the American Competitiveness Initiative, funding for science research will double to nearly $19.5 billion in 2016 at DOE’s Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.  The funding increase will begin in FY 2007 with the three offices receiving a total of $10.66 billion, an increase of 9.3% over FY 2006.

 

Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman led DOE’s efforts by making a total of four stops around the country this week, promoting the Advanced Energy and American Competitiveness Initiatives, in addition to highlighting a number of energy efficiency programs, notably biomass (including cellulosic ethanol), solar and hydrogen. 

 

On Wednesday, February 22, 2006, Secretary Bodman, met with students and teachers at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia, to discuss the importance of science and math education.  Also on Wednesday, Secretary Bodman toured the Archer Daniels Midland Ethanol plant in Decatur, Illinois, and announced a $160 million solicitation for biorefinery construction.  Yesterday, February 23, 2006, Secretary Bodman discussed the president’s energy initiatives with employees at two stops; the first at GT Solar in Merrimack, New Hampshire, to promote the Solar America Initiative, and the second at General Motors Fuel Cell Activities in Honeoye Falls, to discuss hydrogen research and development.

 

Also this week, DOE Assistant Secretary Jeff Jarrett will visit the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, West Virginia; and Assistant Secretary John Shaw delivered remarks at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.