New reports: Industry's role in addressing climate change

A new study by the World Wildlife Fund examines the need for US industries to undergo a fundamental transformation to decrease carbon emissions to necessary levels. According to the executive summary:

This report models the ability of low-carbon industries to grow and transform within a market economy. It finds that runaway climate change is almost inevitable without specific action to implement low-carbon re-industrialisation over the next five years. The point of no return is estimated to be 2014.

While WWF focuses on the need for the industrial sector to address climate change before the point of no return, a separate report by the Presidential Climate Action Project gives several important government recommendations for addressing industrial decarbonization.

Efficiency, as expected, plays a huge role in these recommendations. Among the recommendations are the bolstering of two critical DOE programs: Industries of the Future, and Industrial Assessment Centers. ACEEE has been advocating for these programs for many years, and we expect that they will certainly play a key role in addressing climate change in the industrial sector.

DOE Announces $155 Million for Industrial Energy Efficiency

DOE announced today they would be awarding over $155 million for industrial energy efficiency projects and technical assistance. "Many companies already realize that improving efficiency saves money while helping the environment," said DOE Secretary Steven Chu. "These projects will make energy efficiency technologies more widely available, cutting energy use and reducing carbon pollution across the country."

About $146 million was awarded to nine companies implementing energy efficiency projects in plants across the country.

The remaining $9.5 million was awarded to the university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC), state agencies, regional partnerships, and a national technical assistance provider to offer local technical support for the industrial sector. These awards went to 15 IACs, 11 state energy offices/organizations, five regional efficiency partnerships, and one national technical assistance provider.

More detail on the grant selections can can be found here.

This announcement is a very good step for industrial energy efficiency. The bulk of the grant money will go toward the implementation of projects, in accordance with the goals of the stimulus package. Some funds will be retained for more strategic uses such as technical assistance which can beget even more projects down the road.

However, the demand for industrial energy efficiency remains extremely high. DOE has publicly stated that requests for this funding exceeded $10 billion, or nearly 65 times the funds available. The industrial sector continues to be undervalued by policymakers. Despite accounting for one-third of the energy use and 27% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States (LBNL), the industrial sector has not been receiving appropriate consideration and funding to reflect this importance. As a reference point, industrial energy efficiency was given about 0.02% of stimulus funds, and receives about 4% of DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy budget.

ACEEE commends today's DOE grant allocation, and hopes that future policies and appropriation will give increased attention to the industrial sector.