Recycled Heat Waste: Cutting Emissions, Saving Money
This week's climate fact
Posted: 27-Jun-2008; Updated: 30-Jun-2008
Proven technologies are available at a commercial scale to significantly and cheaply cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions1 (see past Climate Facts).
The well-respected consulting firm McKinsey & Company found in their recent analysis that the U.S. industrial sector alone can cut its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 23% or more from projected levels in 2030, using existing technologies.
How? Some companies are recycling otherwise wasted heat from on-site industrial processes and using it as a supplemental energy source. A significant portion of fuel used in conventional industrial processes is lost as exhaust heat - an avoidable waste of energy and money.
To save on energy costs (both fuel and electricity) some companies are putting exhaust heat to work, thereby reducing the facilities' overall use of energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Two manufacturers in Indiana and West Virginia illustrate how:
| ArcelorMittal Steel2 | West Virginia Alloys3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Steel mill in East Chicago, IN | Silicon producer in Alloy, WV |
| Economic gains | Generated enough electricity (220 MW) to power almost half of the plant's operations, saving about $100 million each year | Will generate enough electricity (40- 45MW) to power one third of the facility's furnaces - greatly decreasing the amount of electricity needed from the grid; will increase workforce at plant by 20% and win back silicon manufacturing jobs lost to China3 |
| Environmental benefits | 916,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided each year - equal to all solar panels connected to the grid globally | 290,000 metric tons of CO2 to be avoided annually - equivalent to removing 60,000 cars from the road each year |
Similar waste heat recovery opportunities exist in a wide variety of industry sectors. And even though some companies like ArcelorMittal Steel and West Virginia Alloys are already applying carbon-cutting technology solutions today, we need a strong federal program that cuts greenhouse gas emissions to spur wider deployment and take full advantage of similar opportunities across the country.
The McKinsey & Co. report recommended "strong, coordinated, economy-wide action" if the U.S. is to realize the full potential of the technologies we already have to cut emissions deeply.
We already have the technologies to cut our industrial emissions steeply and cheaply - but we can realize their full potential only if Congress acts. It's time to cap emissions.
1 Reducing US Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?, conducted by McKinsey & Company and published jointly with the Conference Board in December, 2007
2 "Waste Not" by Lisa Margonelli, May 2008, Atlantic Monthly
3 Recycled Energy Project Fact Sheet [PDF]: West Virginia Alloys
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