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Manufacture Alabama is working on both price/supply and consumption-side
initiatives in response to crucial manufacturing
energy challenges.
One of our major legislative goals for 2006
was achieved with Congressional passage this month of legislation
to open 8 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for new offshore
drilling activity. The
legislation will provide Alabama with revenue sharing funds that
we hope can be used to finance infrastructure improvements.
During 2006, we also continued our push for liquefied natural
gas (LNG) facilities in Mobile Bay and for other new sources of
natural gas needed by manufacturers.
The association also is expanding its involvement with several
universities in Alabama on programs to help member companies reduce
energy usage in their manufacturing processes. Energy costs and
supply volatility have become perhaps the most serious competitive
challenge facing manufacturers in Alabama, considerably increasing
the threat of further loss of good manufacturing jobs in our state
to foreign competitors with significant energy cost advantages.
Information about these programs is detailed below.
In July 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy
announced a selection of 26 universities across the country for
negotiation of award to set up and operate regional Industrial
Assessment Centers (IAC) beginning in 2007. The University of Alabama (in partnership
with Tuskegee) will be host to one of these 26 centers nationwide,
joining other universities such as Texas A&M, Georgia Tech,
Michigan, and Florida, among others. The center will employ
faculty and students to assist small-to-medium sized American manufacturing
plants to use energy more efficiently. It is intended to train
young engineers to better understand how the role of energy efficiency
and renewable energy can play in manufacturing and industrial processes.
Manufacture Alabama offered a letter of support for the proposal
to the U.S. Department of Energy for the Center, and since, we
have partnered with the now official Alabama IAC. We will assist
the University in identifying high- potential clients. Those clients
will receive comprehensive, energy assessments of their operations,
performed at no cost. For purposes of the assessments, DOE defines
small and medium-sized manufacturers as those with annual energy
costs between $100,00 and $2.5 million.
Because of rising energy prices and global
uncertainty, Alabama’s
energy office, the Science, Technology and Energy (STE) Division
of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA)
and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), in association
with the Alabama Technology Network, Manufacture Alabama, and the
Alabama College System, have been running since April an Industrial
Technologies Program (ITP) for the paper, construction materials,
and metals (primary and secondary) industries. They are the three
largest energy consuming manufacturing sectors vital to Alabama’s
economy.
Paper products alone account for the employment
of almost 14,000 citizens and have an annual payroll of over
$705 million. The value of paper-related shipments equaled over
$6 million in 2000. Primary and secondary metals also have a
substantial impact on Alabama’s
economy, employing almost 52,000 Alabamians with a payroll exceeding
$1.8 billion. The value of shipments from the sector in 2000 was
$10.1 billion. The construction materials sector represents a significant
industry in Alabama. Although economic data for the sector is not
accumulated as it is with paper products and metals, we know that
based on the size and the number and distribution of the companies
relative to SIC codes, the industry sector is a vital contributor
to the state’s economy. Their competitiveness and profitability
are jeopardized because they are extremely energy intensive. The
projected work plan included the following in order to reduce BTU
consumption for the selected group within these sectors:
- Identified manufacturers in Alabama that are large energy
consumers
- Selected ten companies for
this project whose energy bills are in excess of $2 million
per year.
- Conducted energy efficiency training
for ten selected companies using EERE/ITP’s qualified
specialists and instructors.
- Conducted energy assessment and continuous improvement assessments
of selected companies.
From this, we and UAH think energy savings strategies
can be found that ALL manufacturers can apply—UAH and Manufacture
Alabama continue to look at opportunities to partner in other such
assessment programs.
Energy Savings Assessments are no-cost or cost-shared three-day
industrial manufacturing energy system assessments that identify
opportunities for large energy and particularly natural gas using
facilities to save substantial amounts of energy. Energy
Savings Assessments (ESAs) identify immediate and long-term opportunities
to save energy and money in your plant, focusing on steam, process
heating, compressed air, fan, or pumping systems. If your
company is selected for an assessment, an ESA Energy Expert will
work with you on site to identify savings opportunities. Your
plant's employees will also help gather data, learn about software
tools, and perform a system analysis, so they can continue to find
energy savings after the assessment.
In 2007, DOE is offering new opportunities for manufacturers to
take part in ESAs. In addition to process heating and steam
systems, your plant could be eligible for a no-cost assessment
in compressed air, fan, and pumping systems. You can also
expand your options with cost-shared assessments. We invite
you to join us in saving energy-and money-today! The deadline for
applications is January 19, 2007.
You can participate in any of these ways:
* You can apply online for an ESA that identifies key opportunities
to reduce your plant's energy use and environmental emissions
while improving productivity. If your plant is selected,
the assessment will be scheduled in 2007.
* Partner with ITP by cosponsoring assessments, events, and training;
linking to the Save Energy Now Web site; and increasing awareness
about energy efficiency and cost savings within your plant or with
your customers.
* At any time, you can take advantage of the many tools and resources
that ITP provides to improve your plant's energy efficiency and
bottom line.
For more information, visit the Save Energy Now Web site, www.eere.energy.gov/industry/saveenergynow,
or contact the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information
Center at 1-877-337-3463.
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Manufacture Alabama
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