December 15, 2023 Meet Sustainability Goals with a Path to Smarter Energy

Manufacturers can realize energy savings, sustainability and resilience with a proven 4-step Path to Smarter Energy™.

by Dan Nordloh – Senior Vice President, General Manager, EnTech Solutions

The continued rising costs of energy, coupled with a worldwide focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts, has many organizations considering multiple energy goals, such as the following:

• Greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions and plans for renewable energy resources.
• Energy conservation and ISO 50001 energy management certification.
• Electric vehicle (EV) charger installation to support vehicle fleets or personal vehicles.

At EnTech Solutions, we’ve developed a seamless Path to Smarter Energy™, with four clear steps to reaching your energy goals.

• Energy Assessment.
• Energy Conservation.
• Energy Generation.
• Energy Storage and Independence.

Energy Assessment

Understanding how energy is consumed is critical in making data-driven energy decisions. One option is to review your utility bills or data and explore steps that could be taken to conserve energy. However, utility bills don’t give you the whole picture, make it difficult to track progress after you make changes and only support energy efficiency goals.

For manufacturers that want to support any of the additional goals mentioned, energy metering and monitoring are important. An energy management system (EMS) provides real-time energy usage data, helping drive decisions around conservation and how to lower GHG emissions through appropriate equipment usage. Manufacturers can also see how the application of renewable energy can be right-sized and applied appropriately for predictable impact.

Real-time metering provides immediate feedback on changes to continuously improve energy usage. An EMS can also give end-user maintenance teams information about why energy trips, faults or power quality anomalies occur, preventing recurring outages and protecting facility equipment.

Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is the second step on the Path to Smarter Energy, providing opportunities for efficiencies and smarter energy usage.

Some common applications of conservation include:

• Converting to LED lighting.
• Installing building controls.
• Improving building HVAC systems.

Conservation activities have a greater return on investment in some areas of the country than others, depending on energy costs. However, when adding renewable energy to your facility, it is key to lower your energy usage through conservation tactics to receive optimal ROI.

In areas where the cost of energy is high, conservation efforts can greatly impact your overall budget. The northern states and both coasts of the U.S. historically pay much more for energy. In these areas, simple lighting changes can save up to 70% of energy costs.

Energy Generation

Once an organization’s energy requirements have been established and optimized, step three on the Path to Smarter Energy examines the best options for renewable sources of energy. In many cases, that means solar power. Some of the advantages of solar include:

• Multiple installation options, depending on space and budget.
• Minimal impact on business operations during installation.
• Minimal operation and maintenance costs.

In areas with sufficient wind resources, installing wind turbines can also be a viable option. While wind turbines are more expensive to install, they can produce more energy per unit and are more consistent in their output.

If renewable energy generation options are on the table, this phase also includes establishing project goals and qualifying the site and structures. It’s also important to consider all available incentives and tax credits that may be applicable, to maximize the ROI of the project.

Energy Storage and Independence

The global discussion on electrification has piqued interest in batteries and their potential to reduce reliance on traditional power sources such as the utility grid. Energy storage and independence can offer numerous benefits for organizations, and for some, it may even be a necessity. Some of these benefits include:

• Defense against costly or unavailable utility power.
• Energy reliability and resilience.
• Time-shifting and demand shaving.
• Energy savings.
• Sustainability.
• CI score improvement, if applicable.
• Control over your energy future.

For manufacturing organizations, demand shaving can be a driving force in implementing energy storage. Utilities can impose additional fees, known as demand charges, to cover the costs associated with sudden power spikes. With energy storage, batteries can inject power during these spikes to prevent the use of utility power and mitigate these costs. Storage can also enable energy generated to be stored and utilized later in the day when production is low and utility costs are high, known as time-shifting. Businesses can also gain control over their energy futures through a dependable energy solution with predictable costs.

As electrification continues to expand across the nation, finding your organization’s place on the Path to Smarter Energy enables you to take advantage of cost savings and energy efficiency measures, helping you meet your energy goals.

As the senior vice president and general manager of EnTech Solutions, Dan is responsible for providing strategic direction and leading the organization’s distributed energy business. This entails strategy development to deliver integrated distributed energy products and systems to EnTech Solutions’ partners and customers using innovative energy technology offerings and leveraging edge and cloud platforms to deliver the future of electricity.

Dan has been with EnTech solutions since 2019 and has nearly 15 years of experience in evolving distributed energy technologies and markets. He serves on the board of Wisconsin Clean Cities, as well as Standard Imaging, Inc. He holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Kentucky University.

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