by Jbs111009 h3 — November 16,2009—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on November 3 its award of more than $155 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to 41 industrial energy efficiency projects across the country.
The nine largest projects, totaling $150 million and leveraged with $634 million in private industry support, will promote the use of combined heat and power, district energy systems, waste energy recovery systems, and energy efficiency initiatives in hospitals, utilities, and industrial sites.
For example, ArcelorMittal USA will use the waste gas from a blast furnace at its steel mill in East Chicago, Indiana, to power a boiler that will produce electricity and steam for on-site use. The plant currently wastes 46 billion cubic feet of blast furnace gas per year.
Overall, these industrial efficiency projects will result in nearly 14 trillion Btu in estimated energy savings, which is equivalent to more than 112 million gallons of gasoline per year.
The remaining 32 awards will provide local technical support for the industrial sector through 15 university-based Industrial Assessment Centers, 11 state agencies, 5 regional partnerships, and a national technical assistance provider.
These 32 projects are an extension of DOE’s successful “Save Energy Now” initiative, which provides plant energy assessments and technical assistance to energy-intensive industrial facilities. Since the program’s inception in 2006, more than 2,300 assessments have been completed.
For more information see DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program Web site.
