ACEEE Industry and Agriculture

Goal: Analyze and promote technologies, process innovations, and policies for increasing the energy efficiency and competitiveness of manufacturing industries and agriculture.

ACEEE is actively engaged in developing national industrial energy strategies while serving as a resource for government, utilities, public interest groups, and businesses. We examine energy efficiency trends, the potential for process modernization and efficiency improvements in manufacturing, the potential productivity gains from energy efficiency and pollution prevention measures, and policies and programs for accelerating efficiency improvements.

Facilitating communications among the energy efficiency, government, and business communities, we offer a unique perspective that blends engineering and environmental expertise. ACEEE explores the synergies of energy efficiency and sustainable business practices and how they can strengthen the corporate bottom line. Also, we foster dialog among policymakers, energy program managers, businesses, and researchers at our biennial Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry.

ACEEE offers particular expertise in the areas of efficient motor systems, industrial energy efficiency technologies, industrial sector analysis, and combined heat and power. We helped design two national collaborative initiatives promoting motor system efficiency improvements—Compressed Air Challenge and Motor Decisions Matter. We were also involved in the creation and development of Pump Systems Matter, another collaborative initiative dedicated to assisting pump system users. ACEEE was a founding member of the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association and is actively involved with clear, distributed energy resource issues.

ACEEE also plays an instrumental role in developing energy efficiency policies and initiatives for the water/wastewater industries and agriculture. For example, we have done some work characterizing opportunities for energy savings on farms and identifying best program strategies for the agriculture sector. In addition, we have held two agriculture-related conferences, known as the Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture or "Ag Forum" in the hopes of bringing a diverse group of participants together to raise awareness, share information, form new collaborations, and create new ideas regarding policy options to increase energy efficiency on farms and ranches and in rural communities. The Forums have been huge successes and we look forward to continued work within the agricultural community.

The industrial program also has been instrumental in recent energy markets analysis focusing on natural gas and petroleum.

Selected Publications:

• America's Energy Straitjacket (2006)
• Combined Heat and Power: Connecting the Gap between Markets and Utility Interconnection and Tariff Practices (Part II) (2006)
• Ripe for the Picking: Have We Exhausted the Low-Hanging Fruit in the Industrial Sector? (2006)
• Potential Energy Efficiency Savings in the Agriculture Sector (2005)
• On-Farm Energy Use Characterizations (2005)
• Energy Efficiency Programs in Agriculture: Design, Success, and Lessons Learned (2005)
• Emerging Energy-Efficient Industrial Technologies (2000)
• Energy-Efficient Motor Systems: A Handbook on Technology, Programs, and Policy Opportunities (Second Edition) (2002)
• Electricity Consumption and the Potential for Electric Energy Savings in the Manufacturing Sector (1994)

>>> All Industry and Agriculture Program reports, publications, & filings