Welcome to the 2017 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry!
This year’s theme is Advancing Industrial Energy Efficiency through Collaboration. The Collaboration term can feel overused; to us, it’s about the people. People who are managing facilities, running production, making manufacturing decisions… to people doing audits, running energy programs, evaluating performance, and setting policy. At this conference we are trying to move industrial efficiency forward, and we believe that we can do so faster and better by sharing, working together, and collaborating.
While the backbone of this and other Summer Studies has been the outstanding, peer-reviewed papers, we always felt that some of the most compelling engagement happened outside of the presentations. With that, we’ve organized these discussions into Action Sessions, bringing the amazing attendees – you – into places where you can share, brainstorm, and generally move forward on topics that are important to each of you.
We must acknowledge the years and years of excellent support from NYSERDA as the hosts of the New York versions of the Industrial Summer Study, and now we’re excited for this summer’s edition to be in the Rocky Mountain state. There is much to see and do in Denver, and hopefully you can get out and enjoy the world class outdoors.
So many people and so many hours go into making this conference a success. The ACEEE staff are wonderful and amazing professionals. We are so proud of the Panel and Action Session Leads, a high caliber team of national leaders that we’re excited to show off. They have all poured themselves into this conference to make this year’s program a unique experience. And we should thank all of the author/presenters as well as the paper reviewers, collectively creating and supporting the integrity of this conference. And we want to thank you for attending, contributing, and being actively engaged.
It is a time of unprecedented change, perhaps even turmoil, in the US, Canada, and around the world. The great news is that industrial energy efficiency crosses party lines, and international boundaries. But, to propel things forward, all groups must work together. And for all of us professionals, we know that there is so much more that we can do – we have only just begun. Let’s all push each other at this conference, head back to our offices the week after accomplishing more, making a bigger impact in savings and on the people around us.
Thanks to you all, and welcome!
Chad Gilless, Stillwater Energy
Kevin Wallace, BC Hydro