WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that a three-day Industrial Energy Saving Assessment (ESA) is taking place at the Dow Chemical Co. facility in Ludington, Michigan, this week.  This is part of the comprehensive national energy efficiency effort undertaken by the Bush administration.  Through no-cost assessments, DOE is working with major manufacturing facilities to identify energy- and money-saving opportunities, primarily by focusing on steam and process heating systems.

“President Bush has called on all Americans to be more energy efficient.  Private industry is joining the federal government to take a leading role in this effort,” Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said.  “DOE’s Energy Saving Teams have played, and will continue to play, a key role in assessing and recommending energy efficiency strategies for some of the largest industrial facilities across the nation.”

This Dow Chemical Company facility’s finished products are used in numerous commercial and industrial applications, including dust control, snow and ice removal, and oil and gas well completion fluids.  Dow has volunteered to host Energy Savings Assessments at each of its major manufacturing sites in the United States.

DOE’s Energy Saving Teams have completed 33 visits to large federal facilities and are in the process of visiting 200 of the most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities in the United States as part of the national “Easy Ways to Save Energy” campaign launched by Secretary Bodman on October 3, 2005.

The first 120 ESAs have identified, in aggregate, over $303 million per year in potential energy cost savings and could reduce natural gas consumption by over 32 trillion Btu per year; equivalent to the natural gas consumed by nearly 450,000 homes.  The potential natural gas and electricity savings are equivalent to reducing over 0.51 million tons of carbon emissions.

Six months after receiving an ESA, fourteen plants have reported implementing nearly $32 million per year in energy savings, reducing natural gas consumption by over 4.5 trillion Btu per year.  In addition, six of the fourteen plants report duplicating efforts in other plants, as a result of the ESA, adding savings of over $2.9 million and nearly 0.30 trillion Btu per year.

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 decrease their energy bills this summer, please visit http://www.energysavers.gov/ or call DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Hotline at 1-877-337-3463.

Media contact(s):
Tom Welch, (202) 586-5806