Co–Chairs' Introduction

Welcome to the 2011 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry!

This is the ninth Summer Study devoted to understanding effective ways to improve energy efficiency in industry. Energy efficiency has been shown to consistently be the lowest cost energy available. This is true in terms of energy policy and in terms of an individual company’s energy requirements. Yet with clear evidence that energy efficiency is an exploitable source of lower cost energy, investments in such projects have been disappointing.

This year’s theme, Energy Productivity in Industry: Partners and Opportunities, highlights the need for partnerships among stakeholders to craft programs and approaches that will seize the opportunities. The Summer Study panels are organized around achievements in energy efficiency by various organizations and consortia. The panels include national programs, regional programs, universities and education, industry, technology, and finance or service providers. Focusing the panels on partners is an attempt to make the conference more useful.

The Summer Study also identifies partnership opportunities. Some of them include: technology R&D, new green technologies, smart technologies, waste water and sequestration, life cycle and supply chain, workforce, and regulation and policies.

The Summer Study brings together experts from private industry, academia, government, consulting, and the nonprofit sector. And while each participant brings his or her own reasons for participating, the overall goal is certainly to provide a forum in which each of you, as you leave here, take with you actionable information to improve industrial energy efficiency.

Paper presentations in these panels will provide detailed and practical information on their subject areas. Afternoon informal sessions led by conference participants will further explore research and activities related to industrial energy efficiency. Tours of several local industrial sites are organized for Thursday afternoon. The work we do here is important to our companies, our communities, and our world. We thank all of the authors, speakers, Panel Leaders, paper reviewers, exhibitors, funders, organizers, and attendees for the value they add to the Summer Study.

Given the uncertainty in the economy, the instability of public opinion and policy on energy matters, the need to respond to global competition, the challenges of workforce development and the volatility of energy costs, it is an opportune time to dialog about partnerships to exploit the opportunities of energy efficiency. We welcome you to the 2011 ACEEE Summer Study!