What's New

DOE Announces Up To $3 Million to Administer Superior Energy Performance Program
On January 19, 2012 Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $3 million to administer the Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program that will help American manufacturers continually increase the energy efficiency of their domestic facilities, boost their global competitiveness, and create jobs. The funding will support at least one organization to launch, operate, and promote the SEP program. When launched later this year, the voluntary program will provide a transparent, step-by-step certification process to help industrial and commercial facilities implement and verify improvements in their energy performance and reduce their energy costs.

View the full story on the DOE website

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ISO 50001 Standard Available for Purchase
On June 15, 2011, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the ISO 50001 energy management standard. The standard provides an international framework for facilities and companies to voluntarily manage their energy performance. ISO 50001 is available for purchase from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The United States—through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)—and Brazil jointly led the ISO 50001 project committee to develop the standard with participation from fifty-nine countries. Representatives from the U.S. Council for Energy-Efficient Manufacturing (U.S. CEEM) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) actively contributed to the U.S. Technical Advisory Group, the U.S. delegation to the ISO project committee. The U.S. TAG led international negotiations to ensure that ISO 50001 preserves the U.S. emphasis on management support and data-driven energy performance.

To help companies and facilities learn more about ISO 50001, visit the ANSI website and DOE website for more information.

Five Superior Energy Performance Certified Plants Recognized at 15th Texas Industrial Energy Management Forum
On April 7, 2011, the 15th Texas Industrial Energy Management Forum in Houston recognized five Texas plants that piloted the Superior Energy Performance certification program and achieved verified energy performance improvements ranging from 6.5% to 17% over a two to three year period. Representatives from three of the plants presented their experiences implementing an energy management system and demonstrating energy performance improvements in order to identify the benefits, the barriers, and the lessons learned.

Superior Energy Performance was piloted from 2008 to 2010 in five Texas industrial facilities: Cook Composites and Polymers, Houston plant; Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Oak Hill plant; Owens Corning, Waxahachie plant; Dow Chemical Company, Texas City manufacturing plant; and Dow Chemical Company, Texas City energy systems facility. The partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy and Texas Industries of the Future (Texas IOF) supported the pilot program, with additional funding from the Texas State Energy Conservation Office.

To view presentations from the event, please visit the Texas Industries of the Future website. A photo from the event is available in the May 2011 Texas Industries of the Future Newsletter.

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DOE Announces First Facilities to Receive Superior Energy Performance Certification
On December 9, 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the first industrial facilities in the country to be certified under the Superior Energy Performance program. DOE presented three companies with awards during the World Energy Engineering Congress in Washington, D.C., recognizing their successful completion of the certification program and their place as some of the energy leaders within the U.S. manufacturing sector:

  • Cook Composites and Polymers Co., Houston, Texas
  • Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Austin, Texas
  • Owens Corning, Waxahachie, Texas

Read about the announcement in the DOE press release.

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ANSI Accredits First Verification Body under Superior Energy Performance Pilot Accreditation Program
DEKRA Certification Inc. is the first verification body for the Superior Energy Performance program to be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). As coordinator of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system, ANSI accredited the organization in August 2010 when it was known as KEMA Registered Quality, Inc.

Read the press release about the accreditation at the ANSI website.

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Global Superior Energy Performance (GSEP) Partnership Announced at Clean Energy Ministerial
On July 20, 2010, at the world’s first Clean Energy Ministerial in Washington, D.C., government and corporate leaders announced a new public-private partnership, Global Superior Energy Performancecm (GSEP). The partnership will accelerate energy efficiency improvements in large buildings and industrial facilities, which together account for almost 60 percent of global energy use. Under this partnership, governments will establish internationally-recognized certification programs to recognize facilities that adopt approved energy management systems and achieve significant and independently validated efficiency improvements over time. To start, eight companies representing over $600 billion in annual sales and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will pilot the program.

Learn more about GSEP at the Clean Energy Ministerial web site.

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Capitol Hill Briefing Features Superior Energy Performance
On December 8, 2010, the Alliance to Save Energy hosted Superior Energy Performance: Leadership in Energy Management, its ninth Capitol Hill briefing as part of the Efficient Enterprises series. The event gathered industrial stakeholders who have been intimately involved in the development of the ISO 50001 Standard and the Superior Energy Performance program. Panelists discussed the development and deployment schedules of ISO 50001, its market value, and the results of the first Superior Energy Performance pilot projects in Texas.

View the presentations and a summary of the briefing on the Alliance to Save Energy website.

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DOE Webcast on Superior Energy Performance Plant Certification Program
On March 4, 2010, Paul Scheihing of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) and Joe Almaguer of Dow Chemical delivered a webcast on Superior Energy Performance, an industry-driven plant certification program that is pending American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accreditation. Superior Energy Performance will provide companies with a framework for implementing the forthcoming international energy management standard ISO 50001 and validating energy-intensity reductions.

This Webcast provides an overview of Superior Energy Performance, ISO 50001, and the certification infrastructure. This Webcast provides an overview of Superior Energy Performance, ISO 50001, and the certification infrastructure. The slides (PDF 717 KB) and audio are available on the DOE ITP website.

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ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard Moves to Committee Draft Stage
The second meeting of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Project Committee (PC) 242 to develop ISO 50001: Energy Management requirements and guidance for use, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 9-12, 2009 with approximately 70 delegates from 19 countries in attendance.  A total of 35 countries are participating in the development of this international standard. 

PC 242 has been very active, developing and commenting on two Working Drafts between the first meeting in September 2008 and the meeting in Rio.  As an outcome of the second meeting, PC 242 agreed to move to the Committee Draft (CD) stage following completion of expert inputs on the revised text.  The CD is anticipated for release to the participating countries in June 2009.  See the ISO website and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory website for more information. 

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Texas Pilot Project on Plant Energy-Efficiency Certification Launched
The US Department of Energy is working with The University of Texas at Austin to pilot an energy-efficiency certification program for manufacturing plants. From May 2008 to October 2009, energy experts will be working with staff from five manufacturing plants in Texas to test the components of a proposed national plant energy-efficiency certification program. Read more about the Texas Pilot Project and its participants.

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ISO identifies the critical need to develop an energy management standard
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has prioritized energy management based on its enormous potential to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Energy management standards would contribute to industrial facilities achieving potential energy efficiency improvements of 20% or more. Read more about the ISO energy management standard.

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American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Approves U.S. Technical Advisory Group on Energy Management
ISO has mandated Project Committee 242 (ISO PC 242) to develop an international standard on energy management. In the United States, ANSI has approved the formation of a U.S. Technical Advisory Group (US TAG) to the ISO PC 242. The TAG is a mechanism for identifying issues and developing national consensus regarding energy management. Read the announcement (PDF 315 KB) for more details about the group's charge and how to participate.

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Superior Energy Performance Launches Energy Quick Start Website
The Communications and Outreach Working Group of the Superior Energy Performance partnership launched the Energy Quick Start website to help manufacturing plants start or accelerate their energy efficiency programs. The site includes a comprehensive listing of energy efficiency and conservation resources that are available from public and non-profit sources. Most of these resources are available at no cost and include documents, software, training, spreadsheets, case studies, tip sheets, experts, and calculators.

Visit the site http://www.energyquickstart.org to start achieving superior energy performance today!

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