The Intermountain Industrial Assessment Center at the University of Utah, which involves engineering faculty and students evaluating manufacturing businesses to come up with the best ways these companies can save energy and money, honored three businesses with awards for their energy efficiency. These award winners all were aided by the center in finding ways to save energy. Below is a media release about the companies that were honored.
On Sept. 19, the Utah Industrial Energy Efficiency Challenge honored three innovative companies for their leadership in energy savings and cost reduction. Holcim, J.R. Simplot Company and Kihomac, Inc. received the 2018 Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award at the state capitol building.
The Challenge, managed by Utah Clean Energy in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Energy Development and the University of Utah’s Intermountain Industrial Assessment Center, aims to encourage Utah’s largest energy users, the industrial sector, to reduce their consumption. The Challenge is also supported by the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office.
“We are proud to honor three leading companies whose commitment to energy efficiency has allowed for the realization of ever-greater economic and environmental results,” said Laura Nelson, the Governor’s energy advisor. “As Utah continues to expand its population and thriving economy, innovative energy savings and management will be key to delivering on Utah’s high quality of life for decades to come.”
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Utah’s industrial sector is the largest single consumer of electricity and natural gas in the state. By implementing energy efficiency projects, these award-winning businesses have saved more than 8.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity in recently-implemented projects, which is equivalent to powering nearly 1,000 Utah homes for one year.
“Reducing energy waste is vital to Utah’s future,” said Kevin Emerson, Energy Efficiency Program Director for Utah Clean Energy. “As Utah’s economy grows, so does energy demand. These companies are not only realizing immense cost savings, but they are making responsible use of energy resources that we all share. They are true leaders.”
“Improving energy efficiency of existing processes is typically the most cost-effective way for companies to reduce their footprint. In addition to the energy savings and environmental benefits, companies can drastically reduce their costs though energy efficiency. The companies being honored today have done a remarkable job and their efforts will pay off for them and the citizens of Utah” said Kody Powell, Director of the Intermountain Industrial Assessment Center, which helps industrial companies identify and implement energy savings opportunities.
More details about the three industrial companies that received a 2018 Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award are below:
Holcim (Morgan, Utah) – Holcim has been a long-time leader in Utah’s industrial energy efficiency sector. Their enterprise-wide energy management system encourages continuous improvement year after year. It is no surprise that they have again achieved outstanding energy savings through the installation of high-level controllers on two cement mills. This measure will result in outstanding energy savings of 6.5 million kilowatt hours per year.
J.R. Simplot Company (Vernal, Utah) – J.R. Simplot has a company-wide goal of reducing its energy intensity by 25 percent over ten years. By establishing energy teams and champions at each of their agribusiness sites, J.R. Simplot leverages their local team’s experience and hands-on knowledge to optimize performance and equipment. This year, they implemented multiple measures simultaneously to maximize the energy savings impact. As a result, their measures altogether will save over 2 million kilowatt hours annually.
Kihomac, Inc. (Layton, Utah) – Kihomac, Inc., implemented projects through an effective partnership. Thanks to the great work of the University of Utah’s Intermountain Industrial Assessment Center (IIAC), Kihomac received a no-cost energy analysis of their facilities. The IIAC recommended a series of improvements to help Kihomac reduce their electricity demand and overall energy consumption. By implementing the IIAC’s finding to stagger the startup times of their machines, Kihomac will realize an estimated 180,000 kilowatt hours of savings annually, as well as reducing their peak demand by at least 40 kilowatts per month.