Texas Pilot Project on Plant Energy-Efficiency Certification
Five industrial facilities in Texas field tested the Superior Energy Performance from 2008-2010 and became the first facilities certified to the Superior Energy Performance Program. These facilities achieved improvements in energy performance, ranging from 6.5 percent to 17 percent over a period of two to three years. The participants and their achievements are listed below:
First Facilities Certified to Superior Energy Performance
| Plant | Certification Level |
|---|---|
| Cook Composites and Polymers Co. Houston plant | Gold |
| Freescale Semiconductor Inc. Oak Hill plant | Silver |
| Owens Corning Waxahachie plant | Silver |
| Dow Chemical Company, Texas City manufacturing plant | Platinum |
| Dow Chemical Company, Texas City energy systems plant | Silver |
Case Studies
This diverse group of facilities represented three industrial sectors: insulation, semiconductors and chemicals, and varied in size and experience in energy management. The goal of the pilot project was to verify that the processes, standards, and performance criteria under the Superior Energy Performance were practical and achievable while providing benefit to participating plants. To accomplish this, plant staff received coaching support to achieve the following:
- Implement an energy management system conforming to the American National Standard, ANSI/MSE 2000:2008. ISO 50001 was unavailable during pilot testing.
- Test and provide feedback on the ASME System Assessment Standards prior to their publication.
- Apply the proposed measurement and verification protocol to verify energy performance results.
The project was funded by the US Department of Energy and the Texas State Energy Conservation Office. The Texas Industries of the Future program, located at The University of Texas at Austin, coordinated the pilot project in Texas. Georgia Tech provided assistance on implementation of the ANSI/MSE 2000:2008. Other supporting organizations working under contract to U.S. DOE included Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The U.S. Council for Energy-Efficient Manufacturing partnership also provided oversight, support, and guidance to the project.