Weighing the Costs and Benefits of the Superior Energy Performance Program

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For years, industrial facilities have saved energy by investing in more-efficient equipment or operational methods as old equipment ages and new strategies emerge. However, studies show that to achieve deep, persistent energy savings, companies must implement a facility-wide process that continuously monitors those changes and allows for improvements that ensure optimal performance.

With that in mind, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Council for Energy-Efficient Manufacturing (U.S. CEEM) developed and are implementing the Superior Energy PerformanceTM (SEP) Program. The program is designed to increase the energy efficiency of industrial facilities through implementation of an energy management system (EnMS) based on the ISO 50001 energy management system standard and by obtaining third-party verification of the resulting energy performance improvements. The SEP program was opened to widespread participation in December 2013 and has more than 40 facilities participating in a national demonstration program. Seventeen of those facilities have already received SEP certification, and with the recent announcement of the program many more are expected to benefit.

To spur that participation, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers Peter Therkelsen and Aimee McKane collaborated with Ridah Sabouni and Tracy Evans of Energetics Incorporated and DOE’s Paul Scheihing to assess the costs and benefits of industrial facilities being certified to the SEP program, and to examine the business value of SEP and ISO 50001. Their paper, “Assessing the Costs and Benefits of the Superior Energy Performance Program,” offers a promising view of the cost-effective benefits that can be achieved.

Read the rest here: http://eetd.lbl.gov/news/article/57582/weighing-the-costs-and-benefits