Energy efficiency must be priority
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
In an address to the September Energy & Technology Expo 2002 at the University of Southern Maine's Gorham campus, Neil Elliott, senior associate and program director for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy in Washington, D.C., gave high marks to Maine as, "A leader in energy efficiency."
Elliott's message to the conference stressed that sustainable manufacturing a necessity in the American future and energy use has a key role in that issue.
He emphasized that the need goes beyond simply using less energy to produce products by finding more energy-efficient processes.
The additional demands on manufacturers are to find ways to design products that use less material and to design more products that can be recycled and remanufactured, an approach already being taken by Guilford of Maine in its fabrics manufacturing business.
Energy, Elliott noted, is clearly linked to profitability, productivity and, ultimately, job creation and retention.
Since the end of the oil crisis in the 1970s, he said, trends in industrial energy consumption are up.
Fortunately, the trend in energy intensity — the dollars of energy used to produce a unit of product — has been going down.
"We need to reduce energy intensity even more to reduce energy consumption," Elliott said.
The major reason for this is because energy costs are being driven by factors that cannot always be controlled through manufacturing itself. For example, he said, energy prices are, and will probably continue to be, volatile as world conditions remain uncertain. Similarly, availability of oil is subject to change at any time.
Switching to fuels other than traditional oil, natural gas and coal and the trend toward co-generation options also adds to the volatility mix. Finally, he said, emissions and other regulations have effects on both energy prices and other costs of manufacturing.
To achieve sustainable manufacturing, then, he said, demands greater efficiency through reduction of waste, use of more-efficient technology and product design changes. It also demands more attention to self-generation of energy by manufacturers through use of biomass, wind power and solar power where appropriate and feasible.
Finally, he said, it requires corporate culture change —recognition that energy conservation in any form within a business or industry is a positive step toward sustainability.
The outcome, Elliott said, is a new set of paradigms that will control future thinking about energy:
In concluding, Elliott emphasized the need to include all of these requirements in any business decisions.
— David DeTurk