Heads Up CIPEC Newsletter - Past editions

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 22, Number 4

Cascades takes an integrated approach to energy reduction

“Cascades Inc., as a paper and carton recycler, is by definition part of the circular economy and aims to reduce and reuse its resources, including energy, as much and efficiently as possible,” says Fabien Demougeot, the company’s Director of Energy. For its energy efficiency efforts, Cascades was awarded a CIPEC Integrated Energy Efficiency Strategy prize at the 2018 Energy Summit.

He also notes, “increasingly, our clients are asking for products with the lowest possible environmental footprint and we are now working to find new green energy suppliers to meet this expectation and also look for fossil fuel change opportunities and technologies.”

Demougeot leads Cascades’ innovative energy team--called CS+--that has identified and implemented energy efficiency projects and strategies for the past 20 years. CS+ aims to reduce the company’s energy costs and improve the energy efficiency of its facilities using an integrated 3R (reduce, recover and replace) approach. Moreover, the company has an Energy Investment Fund, which has promoted and funded energy efficiency projects since 2004.

Demougeot explains that in 2018, 31 projects in Cascades’ facilities across North America were funded through the Energy Investment Fund with over 200,000 GJ in energy savings. One large impact initiative was the optimization of the steam network, which resulted in energy savings of $300,000 annually. In addition, several variable frequency drive projects have been undertaken at different Cascades facilities. A number of boiler upgrades were implemented, including boiler control systems. Several facilities have upgraded lighting fixtures to LED lamps. Three of the Quebec plants are using solar walls to pre-heat indoor air, thus reducing natural gas costs.

Future energy improvements include the replacement of the hoods of the paper machine in one Cascades facility, which is expected to yield significant annual energy savings. Also in 2019, one of the Quebec plants will have its water tower upgraded with a heat recovery system.

“Our focus this year will be on consolidating our energy management programs and fully integrating them in the operations and processes of all facilities,” says Demougeot. For Cascades, it is not about the individual projects, but a better understanding of the processes in each plant. “We want to master our processes and thereby, improve their energy efficiency as well.”

Green Team at Creemore Springs Brewery keeps lowering its Beer Print

Creemore Springs Brewery, a division of Molson Coors Brewing Company, takes an integrated approach to energy and resource conservation, which has allowed the brewery to achieve 12.1, 9.5 and 9.2 percent reductions in natural gas, water and electricity consumption, respectively in 2017. For its efforts, Creemore was recognized with the CIPEC Integrated Energy Efficiency Strategy award at the 2018 Energy Summit.

Paul Swindall, Creemore Springs’ General Manager, says that the brewery’s Green Team is behind this success. The Green Team was formed in early 2016 after the results of a North American brewery survey showed that Creemore could do even better in resource conservation. “We were in the top 25 percent of breweries in terms of energy efficiency, but we realized there were still many opportunities for improvement.”

The Green Team is cross-departmental with a goal to reduce the brewery’s Beer Print by implementing projects in the areas of employee involvement, conservation and technological improvements. The team has already generated many energy and water conservation ideas, and has implemented an employee suggestion program in 2017 that includes rewards, such as $100 gift certificates and a ‘green’ parking spot--the closest to the employee entrance.

In the first quarter alone since the suggestion program was launched, 32 ideas have been submitted from all areas of the brewery. Swindall explains that the Green Team sorts the suggestions by water and energy savings as well as financial feasibility.

Of the projects that have been implemented since the Green Team was started, Swindall details a few that have had a significant impact on multiple areas in the brewery. For example, water consumption was minimized by optimizing bottle and can rinsing and by reducing the number of rinses of the brew house vessels.

Beer recipes have also been optimized to decrease water requirements; this has also reduced the number of truck trips to the spring—the brewery’s water source. Other improvements include beer filtration modifications, the insulation of the brewery’s steam system, and the automation of the boiler blowdown.

In 2017, the Green Team replaced T8 and T5 fluorescent (32 and 52 watt) lights with LEDs and thanks to incentives from the local utility, the project had a one-year payback. Motion sensors have also been installed, as have light sensors that take advantage of natural light.

For 2019, each member of the Green Team is taking on one initiative to be implemented. For example, the brewery’s electrician will upgrade the facility’s compressed air system, following a system audit in 2018. The Brewing Team Leader is already looking at optimizing the wort boil and how the tank is cleaned in an effort to further reduce natural gas and water consumption.

The Green Team uses Molson Coors’ internal benchmarking, which assesses water and fuel consumption per hectolitre of beer produced, as a metric to compare Creemore Springs to similar company breweries. He notes that this is a useful tool in the brewery’s journey to continuously improve its Beer Print, which means further reducing water and energy conservation, decreasing landfill waste and being a good community partner.

Lake Shore Gold sets the bar high for employee engagement initiatives

“Our target is to save 2,000 MWh per year,” says Bruce Armitage, Lake Shore Gold’s Energy Manager. They far surpassed their target. The company achieved 8,500 MWh or about $12 million in savings last year.

After being hired in April 2017, one of Armitage’s first campaigns was to engage employees in energy efficiency. He developed the ‘Digging Energy’ slogan. The slogan is promoted with decal stickers and employee reward programs for energy saving ideas. Valid idea submissions are eligible for monthly gift certificates and an annual grand prize. Additionally, departments with the most annual energy savings are treated to a pizza lunch.

Armitage notes that every employee submission receives a hand-delivered response on the status of their energy improvement suggestions. In this way, “employees feel recognized and are very satisfied with the program.”

“We have received over 150 energy ideas as well as some great business suggestions,” says Armitage. The most successful project—unplugging grates in the semi-autogenous grinding mill—saved 7000 MW of electricity and increased the throughput of the mill. Mill operators found that by simply cleaning the grates and optimizing some additional internal grinding, they could eliminate clogged grates and increase the amount of attrition grinding.

Another employee suggestion focused on the optimization of the ventilation system and will be implemented this year. Additionally, an energy dashboard system has been implemented to track production and the impact of energy conservation measures; this information is then communicated back to employees.

Future plans include the finalization of Bell Creek’s shaft expansion, which will improve energy efficiency by hoisting ore rather than hauling it, thus reducing the number of vehicles below ground. Further strategies to save energy and reduce global adjustment charges during peak hours are in progress. Moreover, Armitage wants to ramp up the company’s maintenance and reliability program to look for further efficiencies.

Armitage explains that employees are proud of the accomplishments to date. The company has been recognized with the joint Industrial Accelerator Program-CIPEC Energy Manager of the Year Award, the Most Non-Incented Energy Savings Award, and the CIPEC Leadership Award for Employee Awareness and Training—all in 2018.

“Our employees are very happy with the awards and are filled with a sense of achievement.” To spread his company’s success story, Armitage has spoken at the 2018 Energy Summit and the 2018 Energy and Mines World Congress. “Mining is a very small community; we build upon successes and help one another,” he said. “As part of that awareness, we don't only promote energy efficiency at our sites here in Timmins; we do it for the industry as well.”

New Gold’s New Afton Mine keeps digging for energy savings

“At the New Afton Mine, energy improvement is part of day-to-day operations,” says Andrew Cooper, the mine’s energy specialist, adding that “our employees consider energy efficiency in everything they do.”

The New Afton Mine, a New Gold Inc. property near Kamloops, BC, was the first North American mine site to become ISO 50001 certified back in 2014. Since that time, the mine has realized energy savings of about 34 GWh annually. Cooper explains that the company sets new energy savings goals on an annual basis based on the energy performance two years prior. For 2019, that goal is 1.62 GWh.

As the mine becomes ever more efficient, energy performance goals are reduced, yet Cooper points out that energy saving opportunities “are endless since there are always opportunities that come from targeted energy studies, process improvements and employee suggestions.”

One targeted energy study identified an opportunity in upgrading tailings pumps with high efficiency impellers. This upgrade was completed in March 2018 and is expected to save 385 MWh annually. A study of the mine’s underground compressed air system also showed significant savings to be achieved. After several upgrades to the system, the final measurement and verification in December 2018 showed that 1480 MWh in savings had been realized.

Cooper explains that process improvements have also yielded substantial savings. For example, water from the flotation circuit was recirculated instead of pumping it out to tailings, thereby reducing pumping energy and saving 700 MWh annually.

Over the past two years, the mine also implemented four major lighting upgrades (switching from metal halide to motion-controlled LEDs), which were enabled by BC Hydro incentives and resulted in savings of 355 MWh annually.

Plans for the near future for New Afton’s mill include a compressed air system upgrade through the increase of the compressed air storage. Cooper expects annual savings of 300 to 500 MWh. In addition, as part of a possible expansion project at the mine, the company is looking at the option of electric or hydrogen fuel cell underground vehicles identified in a study funded by BC Hydro.

“New Gold attributes its impressive energy results in part to employee engagement,” notes Cooper. To build on this, New Afton’s biggest upcoming initiative is to achieve fifty percent of its annual energy performance goals through the implementation of employee and contractor suggestions.

As part of this initiative, the employee suggestion process will be revamped and expanded. Moreover, there are plans to utilize technology, such as apps that allow employees to visualize and track energy savings.

The planned employee awareness project will build on the mine’s previous programs which were based on the theme of power saving agents. New Afton subsidized the purchase of home energy monitors for employees and bought smart phone plug-in thermal cameras to loan out to employees to help them identify energy savings opportunities at home. “This is just one of the ways that the company has made energy awareness and conservation a part of every employee’s daily life,” concludes Cooper.

New CIPEC Leaders

See a list of companies and facilities that have recently joined this industry-leading partnership.

Industry Events and resources

Access a calendar of events and other resources, such as tools and technical information.

Follow CIPEC on Twitter.

Join the CIPEC LinkedIn group.

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please email us your story ideas.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact us.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency e-newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings.

Unsubscribe here.

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol are trademarks registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are administered and promoted by Natural Resources Canada.

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 22, Number 2

New proposal templates for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) financial assistance

CIPEC is an award-winning partnership between the Government of Canada and Canadian industry that promotes innovative energy management to help increase profitability, competitiveness and sustainability.

Through CIPEC, NRCan’s Energy Efficiency for Industry program offers cost-shared assistance to Canadian industrial companies of up to 50% of eligible costs to a maximum of $40,000 to implement energy management projects, including:

• CAN/CSA-ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems,
• Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS), and
• Process Integration (PI) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) energy studies.

To be eligible for funding, an industrial facility must be a CIPEC Leader and submit a project proposal. Additionally, we now offer the same financial assistance to commercial and institutional buildings for ISO 50001 projects!

Proposal templates have been updated and are available now!

To request templates, ask questions or provide comments, please contact CIPEC.

New CIPEC Leaders

See a list of companies and facilities that have recently joined this industry-leading partnership.

Industry events and resources

Access a calendar of events and other resources, such as tools and technical information.

Follow CIPEC on Twitter.

Join the CIPEC LinkedIn group.

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please email us your story ideas.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact us.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency e-newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings.

Unsubscribe here.

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol are trademarks registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are administered and promoted by Natural Resources Canada.

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 22, Number 1

Mars Food sets out ambitious sustainability plan

“We are worried about climate change and the ability of the world to move fast enough,” says Barry Parkin, Mars Food’s Chief Sustainability Officer. That worry has translated into action at all levels of the organization and at its facilities around the globe. The company is investing $1 billion in cutting greenhouse gas emissions across its facilities by two-thirds by 2050.

Mars Food is a manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services. Globally, Mars has invested in renewable energy and is using or has purchased enough renewable energy to run many of its factories. Moreover, Mars plans to make all of its nearly 150 factories around the globe carbon neutral by 2040.

One of those facilities is located in Bolton, Ontario, which specializes in the production of confectionery, pet food, and instant rice. The new plant features energy efficient lighting, cooling and boasts lots of natural light. Its south-facing windows actually create some passive solar heating, notes Dave Dusangh, General Manager at Mars Food, Canada.

Dusangh notes that the manufacture of instant rice consumes significant quantities of energy in the boiling of water. A few years ago, this process was analyzed and solutions implemented. Water that was used only once in cooking rice is now cleaned and re-used in the rice boiling process. With this recirculation system, the factory has reduced its water consumption by 85 percent.

With less water use, also comes a reduction in energy use. In fact, the plant has reduced its energy consumption by two-thirds less per year compared to eight years ago.

Parkin says that being energy efficient and using renewable energy is simply good business. Sustainability is part of the way Mars does business and sustainability for the company goes even further. For Mars, sustainability also includes treating its supply chain equitably from an environmental, economic and social perspective.

NB Power’s incentives offer energy saving opportunities

“The Energy Smart Industrial Program helps industry achieve significant energy savings and productivity gains with a variety of financial incentives and programs,” says Beth Pollock, Program Delivery Manager at NB Power.

Pollock explains that NB Power offers incentives for all sizes of industrial organizations and all sectors of industry. “We have tailored our support for our customers depending on their needs and the size of their business and energy consumption.”

Small industry customers—those with a rate schedule lower than 750 kilowatt (kW) of contracted demand and consumption of less than 500 Megawatt hours (MWh) annually – qualify for up to $10,000 towards energy assessments and up to $115,000 for upgrade implementation.

Customers consuming more than 500 MWh annually and a rate schedule lower than 750 kW of contracted demand are eligible for a maximum of $10,000 for energy assessments and up to $135,000 for implementation of projects.

Organizations that consume 7,000 kW or more of demand and have a rate schedule of 750 kW or more of contracted demand, can take advantage of NB Power’s assessment, upgrade and Energy Management Information System (EMIS) incentives. Moreover, large industrial customers can receive up to $20,000 for energy assessments, a maximum of $150,000 for project or EMIS implementation.

For all of its industrial clients, Pollock notes that NB Power offers financial support for energy audits for companies new to energy efficiency upgrades and feasibility studies to help evaluate retrofit measures already identified.

In addition, NB Power offers the Custom Incentive option for companies planning to undertake larger energy efficiency upgrades. With this program, the incentive is either $30/gigajoule (GJ) saved or 50 percent of the cost to a maximum of $150,000.

NB Power also gives its biggest customers - those with an average monthly demand of 2 MW or more - incentives to implement an energy management information system (EMIS). This program provides 50 percent funding for EMIS audits, design, implementation and optimization.

Pollock explains that funded projects include process upgrades, HVAC systems, refrigeration, lighting and controls, and compressed air systems and that, to date, industrial sectors, such as general manufacturing, forestry, and mines have participated in the Energy Smart Industrial Program offering.

Frogpond Farms puts sustainability first

“We grow organic because we believe our production methods need to be more sustainable to ensure that future generation can live a liveable life,” says Jens Gemmrich, owner of Frogpond Farms.

Frogpond Farms is an organic winery located near Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. Its wine production facility is about 230 square meters with the vineyard covering about 12 hectares. Operational since 2001, Frogpond Farms is Ontario’s first certified organic winery, which follows strict guidelines that foster a sustainable ecological cycle on the farm. This also includes a focus on using energy resources wisely, says Gemmrich.

Gemmrich notes that one of the first energy efficiency measures that was implemented with the construction of the production building was the use of high R-value insulation. “We can’t afford to waste any energy, so good insulation was an obvious choice.” He adds that with the heat generated from the fermentation of the grapes and the insulation, there is no need to heat the building for the duration of the production period, which lasts into November.

The production building also features LED lighting, which has reduced electricity costs significantly. To conserve transportation fuel use, Gemmrich tries to combine shipments of his wines. Moreover, Frogpond subscribes to Bullfrog Power, which provides the company with clean, renewable power.

In terms of water conservation, Gemmrich notes that to date rainfall is sufficient to eliminate the need for irrigation. Equipment cleaning requires the most water and future projects may include looking at measures to reduce process water consumption, such as capturing rain water.

“We want to stay away from non-renewable energy sources as much as possible,” says Gemmrich. To that end, Frogpond Farms is minimizing its use of natural gas for heating. Furthermore by adhering to organic standards, fossil-fuel derived pesticides and fertilizers are also not used.

Kruger invests in energy efficiency and product diversification

“Our goal is simple—to position Kruger as a leader in energy efficiency within the sector,” says Maxime Cossette, VP, Environment, Health and Safety at Kruger Inc. To achieve this, the company has a corporate target to reduce by 10 percent its energy consumption and by 12 percent its GHG emissions by 2020 compared to 2015. With numerous projects already in place and more to be implemented shortly, Kruger is well on its way.

One recent project was the reconstruction of a newspaper machine at its Trois-Rivières plant to a high-quality, recycled cardboard machine. The new machine features the latest, most energy efficient drying system. A few years earlier at the same plant, the redesign of the thermomechanical pulp effluent system allowed for electrical savings of 105,670 GJ annually.

Significant improvements to the heat recovery system at the Gatineau Kruger facility were made by using low-pressure steam from the condensate produced by dryers in its production lines. In addition, a cleaning shower has been installed that uses high-pressure, hot water that is produced by another heat recovery process. Both projects have reduced natural gas and bunker oil consumption significantly.

Kruger’s Crabtree plant has implemented a number of projects including lighting and compressed air retrofits that have saved it nearly 10,000 MW annually and allowed for membership to Hydro-Québec’s prestigious Ecoelectric Network.

Kruger has a corporate energy efficiency team that conceives and implements these projects and others that reduce electrical and thermal energy as well as water consumption and GHG emissions.

“We are acutely aware of the fact that the longevity of our business is intimately related to the sustainable management of our resources,” says Cossette. This is why the company integrates eco-responsibility in all that it does from production processes to procurement to product delivery.

In addition to its energy efficiency initiatives, Kruger is also on a path of diversification. The company is investing heavily in production for growing markets such as sustainable food packaging. Kruger Energy, the company’s energy business unit, is also updating its 23 MW cogeneration plant at Brompton, Québec.

Manitoba Hydro’s palette of energy efficiency incentives and rebates for industry

Manitoba Hydro offers a gamut of energy efficiency incentives and rebates to its industrial customers. The utility provides low-cost and no-cost evaluations as well as technical support with targeted energy measures.

To reduce natural gas consumption and optimize its use, Manitoba Hydro offers incentives and support for both feasibility studies and implementation of efficient process related natural gas-fired equipment and systems.

Manitoba Hydro clients who want to optimize their electro-technology processes and motor-drive systems can apply for financial incentives through the Performance Optimization Program. The utility offers technical support for feasibility studies of such optimization projects.

Industrial facilities are eligible for no-cost energy efficiency screening studies, which identify energy efficiency potential and Power Smart saving opportunities. Manitoba Hydro also offers Power Smart Lean to organizations that already follow lean manufacturing principles.

In addition, Manitoba Hydro provides technical expertise and financial assistance for engineering studies that will lead to increased productivity through the Eco-efficiency Solutions Program. Large business customers can also work with utility experts as part of the Lighting studies program to identify potential energy savings opportunities and productivity improvements associated with lighting.

Moreover, Manitoba Hydro actively promotes alternative energy to its customers. Participation in the Geothermal Program, for example, allows organizations to significantly cut their heating, cooling, and water heating costs with the installation of energy efficient and environmentally friendly geothermal heat pumps.

The Bioenergy Optimization Program supports organizations in projects that convert waste streams and by-products into fuel that can provide heat and power. Additionally, through the Solar Energy Program, Manitoba Hydro pays $1 per eligible watt of power generated from a newly installed solar photovoltaic system.

There is more. Manitoba Hydro’s HVAC Program is another incentive that helps customers retrofit their heating, ventilation, and cooling systems for more energy efficient systems, thus substantially reducing maintenance and operating costs.

Manitoba Hydro also offers a number of unique programs including incentives for Agricultural heat pads, which can replace traditional heat lamps for significantly lower annual energy and maintenance costs per year.

For more information about specific incentives and rebates offered by Manitoba Hydro, visit https://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/savings_business.shtml.

Industry events and resources

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please email us your story ideas.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact us.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency e-newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings.

Unsubscribe here.

Heads Up CIPEC – Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 21 No 9

Canadian Industry Partnership on Energy Conservation (CIPEC) Leadership Award Nominations open until March 16, 2018

Nominations for the 2018 CIPEC Leadership Awards are open until March 16^th. The prestigious CIPEC Leadership Awards recognize outstanding leadership in industrial energy efficiency by showcasing and sharing the best practices of innovative companies.

This year’s CIPEC Leadership Awards ceremony will take place at ENERGY SUMMIT 2018 – Maximize Profitability through Energy Performance in Vaughan, Ontario on May 30, 2018.

All CIPEC leaders are eligible to be nominated for projects or initiatives completed between March 2, 2016 and March 2, 2018. Leaders can nominate themselves, another member of their industry or future leaders for the awards.

Organizations can be recognized under the categories of Corporate Stewardship, Process and Technology Improvements, Energy Performance Management, Employee Awareness and Training, or an Integrated Energy Efficiency Strategy.

Companies that have actively promoted energy efficiency at the corporate level could be eligible for the Corporate Stewardship Award for initiatives that include the creation and engagement of an energy management team or the development of a corporate energy management plan or policy.

The Process and Technology Improvements Award recognizes organizations that implement changes to equipment and procedures, which reduce the energy intensity of an industrial process. Companies that have enhanced the monitoring, measuring, and reporting of their energy consumption could be eligible for the Energy Performance Management award.

Initiatives that advance employee energy efficiency awareness and understanding, and promote best practices through knowledge exchange are also recognized under the Employee Awareness and Training award while companies implementing an array of energy efficiency initiatives via an integrated strategy can be nominated for an Integrated Energy Efficiency Strategy award.

CIPEC also offers a Future Leaders award to individual energy-related practitioners who have made significant contributions to industrial energy efficiency. To be eligible, nominees must either be enrolled in an academic institution or have recently graduated, and have completed a relevant project or research.

Don’t delay! Contact Andrea.Boassaly@canada.ca for more information and request your nomination form today. The nomination deadline is March 16^th, 2018.

Invaluable networking and learning opportunities at ENERGY SUMMIT 2018

Canada’s unparalleled conference on energy efficiency is fast approaching. ENERGY SUMMIT 2018, to be held May 30 - 31, 2018 in Vaughan, Ontario, will empower participants to meet their profitability goals through energy management. 

Energy management is key to being competitive and reducing an organization’s environmental footprint. ENERGY SUMMIT 2018 -- Maximize Profitability through Energy Performance -- will better equip industry as well as building owners and managers with the tools, business cases and best practices to advance energy initiatives and improve profitability.

The conference will also offer unequalled networking opportunities with industry experts in energy efficiency, and CIPEC Leadership Awards to recognize Canada’s industry leaders in energy management.

Join us to learn from inspiring keynote speakers, including:

Arlene Strom
Vice President, Sustainability & Communications
Suncor Energy Inc.

Monica Curtis
Chief Executive Officer
Energy Efficiency Alberta

Andrew Bowerbank
Global Director, Sustainable Building Services
EllisDon Corporation

The event will be co-hosted by Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium, Natural Resources Canada and CIPEC.

Don’t miss out!  For more information, please visit ENERGY SUMMIT 2018

Industry events and resources

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please email us your story ideas.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact us.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency e-newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings.

Unsubscribe here.

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 21 No 7 and 8

The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry is on

The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry has been launched. The Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources, issued the challenge at the start of the Generation Energy Forum held in Winnipeg, Manitoba in mid-October, 2017. With this announcement, the Minister challenged industrial manufacturing facilities to become more competitive while reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

“The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry is one more way to help us get to that cleaner, more sustainable future. It's also a great way to kick off Generation Energy, which is the culmination of a national conversation we've been having with Canadians to imagine our energy future and a Canada that leads the global transition to a low-carbon economy,” says Carr.

To participate in the Challenge, organizations will implement low- or no-cost actions such as turning off lights and equipment when not in use and fixing leaks in compressed air systems. Companies can achieve even more significant savings with lighting and equipment retrofits.

Additional benefits of participation include increasing a company’s energy management visibility and engaging all business divisions. Moreover, by participating in the Challenge, organizations will build an energy management culture and demonstrate leadership in their industry.

CIPEC leaders who use at least 50 percent of their energy in manufacturing or research and development are eligible to enter the Challenge. Companies must also establish and maintain a file with all relevant energy data from their facility and they must provide proof of a 10 percent reduction in energy intensity over a five-year period.

For more information about the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, click here.

Glenergy Canada aims for net zero

“Our company is about sustainability – it is our raison d’être,” says Glen MacGillivray, President of Glenergy Canada, a manufacturer and distributor of renewable energy products including solar lighting solutions, solar cookers, cell phone chargers, solar showers and appliances. The company provides its solar solutions to off-grid markets in Canada and its low-cost solar system in African communities.

Glenergy, located in Petawawa, Ontario, is situated on just over half a hectare of land and operates in a 465 square metre building. The company has eight employees who work on a regular, five-day-a-week schedule.

Glenergy recently joined CIPEC as a Leader in the general manufacturing sector. MacGillivray says that he felt that it was important to be a part of CIPEC since his company is built on the same sustainability principles. McGillivray is taking those principles to the next level, as his ultimate goal for the company is to be net zero.

On its way to net zero, the company has already implemented a number of energy conservation measures. For example, electric vehicles have been in use for several years and LED lighting retrofits for the whole facility are almost complete. Moreover, the company has moved from physical servers to a cloud-based system, so work stations can be completely shut down. This has cut electricity consumption by 700 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month. In addition, the facility has been operating with solar water heaters for some time.

The company has installed 9-kilowatt (Kw) roof top solar units, which MacGillivray expects will cover most of the facility’s electricity needs. Glenergy is also in the process of developing a thermal storage system that will allow it to store and use this solar-generated electricity. “We are also anticipating cutting off our gas supply in the future,” notes MacGillivray. To achieve its energy independence, the company’s engineers are working in collaboration with members of the Queen’s University engineering department. Once the storage system has been commercialized, MacGillivray also sees residential applications for it.

MacGillivray says that, as a CIPEC Leader, his company will help support sound energy conservation policy. Moreover, he can share his company’s experience with energy efficiency and renewable solutions. He also hopes to partake in the networking opportunities and resources that CIPEC offers.

Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) News

Case studies highlights their Industrial Accelerator Program enabled projects

“Many Ontario companies are leading the way in energy efficiency,” notes Jon Feldman, Sr. Technical Officer, Conservation for the Industrial Accelerator Program (IAP) at IESO. The IESO recently published a series of case studies that highlight these leaders and how IESO’s program has facilitated their projects.

The case studies demonstrate the range of opportunities from simple retrofits to re-designing processes for energy efficiency using IAP incentives. “They speak to the business benefits at the decision-making level,” says Feldman, who also notes that the case studies highlight the partnership aspect of the company-IESO relationship.

One of the case studies features Glencore Canada, which installed a new ventilation-on-demand system that is saving the company nearly $2 million annually at its Kidd mine in Timmins, Ontario. The new system uses an innovative WiFi system, occupancy sensors and booster fans to move air throughout the mine’s tunnels. More details on the project and the benefits can be found here: www.ieso.ca/-/media/files/ieso/document-library/iap/process-and-systems/6046-ieso-iap-glencore-casestudy-02.pdf?la=en.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco (AMD) also implemented many energy saving projects with support from the IAP. By taking a staggered approach to energy management, ArcelorMittal Dofasco redeploys incoming IAP incentives to start a new project. 

Thanks to incentives from the IAP, ArcelorMittal Dofasco is able to have a continuous cash flow for new projects. Since 2011, the company has completed nine projects with an additional two to be completed shortly, allowing the company to save 125,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in recurring annual energy savings – an equivalent of $10 million annually. More details on AMD’s approach to energy management can be found here: www.ieso.ca/-/media/files/ieso/document-library/iap/process-and-systems/5718-ieso-industrialacceleratorprogram-casestudy-10.pdf?la=en.

Feldman mentions that the IAP is there to help when energy efficient projects are hampered by financial barriers. “Through capital incentives or other areas of support, the IAP team is dedicated to making projects become reality.”

For more information on the Industrial Accelerator Program, visit: www.ieso.ca/iap.

YouTube Channel videos highlight energy efficiency successes of Ontario businesses

The IESO recently released a series of Save on Energy YouTube channel videos that showcase the saving energy successes Ontario businesses have achieved.

Energy efficiency retrofits are still a main driver for businesses, but the unexpected benefits such as a safer work environment or the ability to better highlight products are becoming important considerations as well.

The video, Pillars of Efficiency, for example, highlights the benefits when behavioural, organization and technological changes converge. Such changes usually start with one person asking questions leading to a ‘chain reaction’. The changes become unstoppable and the benefits undeniable.

Why hire an energy manager? shows the benefits of hiring energy managers. “We are ambassadors of a lot of profit,” say the managers featured in the video. Energy managers are the easiest avenue for driving that profit. Money invested in an energy manager, is money well-invested.

The IESO YouTube channel features business success stories such as KI Canada.The video traces KI’s path from setting energy reduction goals to achieving annual energy savings of 30 percent. In addition to implementing retrofits, KI invested in educating its employees. Managers at KI estimate that at least $250,000 in annual savings is attributable to employee ideas.

The innovative energy saving measures implemented at Lear Corporation’s Ajax facility have made it a leader for Lear facilities around the world. The team at the Ajax facility has made significant improvements in its compressed air and lighting systems that have saved 1.46 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually.

In another video, IESO highlights 3M Canada’s approach to saving 12 GWh annually. 3M Canada cites energy efficiency as a major factor for keeping their costs competitive and maintaining their workforce in Canada. Some of 3M’s measures include retrofitting equipment with variable frequency drives, updating to LED lighting and efficient HVAC systems. 

Smaller lighting upgrades at Valiant TMS have led to bigger projects like HVAC system and compressed air upgrades, which were then replicated in the company’s other facilities. The company now boasts a 25 percent reduction in annual energy consumption and an improved work environment.

Ontario businesses can Save on Energy as well – the program supports and encourages energy-efficient upgrades including lighting and HVAC to compressed air and building automation retrofits.

RETScreen contributes to energy savings at 3M Canada facilities

“Given that the big players are already using and benefitting from the RETScreen software, organizations that are not yet utilizing it could find themselves at a competitive disadvantage,” states Gregory Leng, Director, RETScreen International. One of the big players is 3M Canada, an organization that has been at the forefront of energy management in Canada.

“3M is a good example of the full deployment of RETScreen,” says Leng, noting that the company uses the software to determine project feasibility and to make the business case for capital investment, while it continues to explore other applications.

3M Canada operates seven manufacturing facilities in Ontario and Manitoba and employs about 1,800 people. Andrew Hejnar, Canada 3M’s Corporate Energy Manager, and his team have been using RETScreen software to identify an array of energy saving measures that have made 3M a national leader in energy management.

For example, Hejnar used RETScreen’s feasibility analysis module for the installation of a 2-megawatt (MW) combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the company’s Brockville, Ontario facility, reducing energy costs by about 30 percent annually. A 1.2 MW CHP unit being finalized for Perth, Ontario and a 1.5 MW CHP installation being constructed in London, Ontario are poised to multiply these savings.

The construction of these new facilities and the significant savings being generated are direct results of using the RETScreen software. “RETScreen allowed me to build business cases for all three projects,” says Hejnar. “Without RETScreen, the CHP projects would not have happened.”

Hejnar also sees RETScreen as a “fantastic tool for the design and monitoring part of the ISO 50001 standard.” In addition, he uses the RETScreen Performance Analysis Module for regression and CUSUM analysis to report savings to Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) for other energy management activities at 3M Canada.

Currently, Hejnar and his colleagues are using the new RETScreen Expert software and are excited about its potential. Leng notes that RETScreen Expert is a major advance as it has built-in modules to measure and verify savings over the life of an investment. Moreover, the RETScreen allows organizations to integrate analyses and energy management for multiple facilities into one platform.

RETScreen developers are working with 3M to refine and modify the software to facilitate certification to such standards as ISO 50001 and the U.S. Superior Energy Performance (SEP).

Currently there are 555,000 users taking advantage of RETScreen because “it is a global standard on feasibility of energy projects and is growing on the measurement and verification side. Ultimately, RETScreen can help organizations meet their GHG emissions reduction goals and represents an essential productivity tool,” notes Leng.

Silfab Solar wins OSEA’s Powering Prosperity Manufacturer of the Year award

“We have sustainability built right into our vision,” says Geoff Atkins, Business Development, Sales, Marketing at Silfab Solar Inc. The company manufactures PV solar panels, and was recently recognized as Manufacturer of the Year by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) through its Powering Prosperity awards.

Silfab’s 10,219 square-metre facility in Mississauga, Ontario, produces 300 megawatts of PV solar panels annually. Atkins explains that Silfab’s goal is to produce highly-efficient solar panels with the lowest possible ecological footprint.

The company achieves this in part with its “just-in-time” production model, which means solar panels are produced on an as needed basis, which eliminates the need for a large warehouse. Atkins says that this model allows Silfab to maximize its building footprint, while minimizing energy costs. 

Silfab’s sustainability vision is deeply engrained in all aspects of the company from employee awareness and the company’s policies to production and shipping. For example, Silfab regularly invests in upgrades to more energy-efficient equipment, has upgraded to LED lighting throughout its facility, has electric vehicle charging stations, recirculates building air to reduce heating/cooling costs and utilizes reusable corners and pallets for shipping.

In the future, Atkins says the company is looking into the installation of solar panels on the facility’s carport to further reduce electricity consumption. “We will continue to innovate in order to produce more solar panels in a sustainable manner.”

These initiatives and Silfab’s continuous commitment to sustainability is what its OSEA award celebrates. “We are proud to be recognized for our efforts and our vision with the Powering Prosperity award,” says Atkins. Nicole Rissie, OSEA’s interim Executive Director, says that Silfab won because “sustainability is reflected in everything they do.”

OSEA’s Powering Prosperity awards recognize excellence, innovation and best practices in the sustainable energy sector. To be considered for the awards, applicants submit projects implemented in Ontario within the last five years. Submissions also have to incorporate concepts such as sustainability, efficiency, community participation, and environmental stewardship. Nominations are evaluated by a panel of judges from the sustainable energy community. 

The Powering Prosperity awards are part of OSEA’s mission to promote ecologically sustainable communities across Ontario through stakeholder collaboration and raising public awareness. OSEA works to advise policy makers on sustainable energy issues and to encourage “energy literacy” within the general public. “With the power of collaboration we can champion the energy transition,” states Rissie.

For more information on OSEA, click here.

ABS Friction plans major energy efficiency measures

“ABS Friction has a busy year of energy efficiency projects ahead,” says Rupinder Dhaliwal, the company’s Plant Manager. These projects are in addition to the measures that have already been implemented over the past few years.

ABS Friction, a new CIPEC Leader in the general manufacturing sector, is a producer of disc brake pads for the automotive aftermarket. Its 11,148 square-metre facility in Guelph, Ontario, operates 24/7 year-round and employs 90 people.

“As a large manufacturing operation that uses heavy equipment such as dust collectors, air compressors and hydraulic presses, which contribute significantly to the facility’s energy bill, we are looking at every opportunity to reduce energy consumption,” says Dhaliwal.

Over the past two years and with incentives from Guelph Hydro, ABS Friction has undertaken a lighting retrofit for most of its facility, replacing T-12 with LED fixtures. Dhaliwal notes that motion sensors have also been installed and that lighting improvements will continue. The company also has compressor leak program, with a contractor identifying and repairing leaks in the system on a regular basis.

“We have several key projects on our to-do list,” says Dhaliwal, adding that many of them will be implemented over the next year. For instance, the company plans to retrofit some of its equipment (e.g. dust collectors and grinding machines) with variable frequency drives (VFDs).

One major project will be the replacement of the water chiller system with a rainwater collection system and an underground cistern for storing that water. Chiller water is required to cool the hydraulic loading presses used in the manufacturing process. The new system will reduce the company’s water consumption as well as its energy use.

Dhaliwal also has plans for a number of heat recovery measures as he sees multiple opportunities for energy savings. The heat generated in the compressor room and from the burners on the paint line, for example, is going to be captured to use for space heating.

Employees at ABS Friction have made numerous suggestions that have been implemented through the company’s employee suggestion program that welcomes ideas for process, equipment and energy improvements. Dhaliwal comments that his “company is guided by a strong sustainability philosophy and a CEO, who is an energy champion.”

New CIPEC Leaders

Food and Beverage Sector

Saputo Dairy Products Canada G.P.
- Georgetown, Ontario
- Ottawa, Ontario

Forest Products Sector

Cascades Emballage carton-caisse – Cabano, Témiscouata-sur-le-lac, Quebec

Mining Sector

Red Chris Development Company Ltd. – Red Chris Mine – Dease Lake, British Columbia

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency e-newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings.

Unsubscribe here.

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol are trademarks registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are administered and promoted by Natural Resources Canada.

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 21 No 5 and 6

New ENERGY STAR for Industry Program launched in Canada

“ENERGY STAR for Industry will help Canadian industrial facilities reduce energy use and save money, helping Canada meet its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change,” says the Honourable Jim Carr, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources.

Joseph Galimberti, President of the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) adds “energy efficiency is key to a clean and prosperous Canadian economy. The CSPA is proud of the work of its members in helping to bring ENERGY STAR for Industry to Canada.”

The minister and Galimberti, along with Rick Doucet, New Brunswick’s Minister of Energy and Resource Development, launched the new ENERGY STAR for Industry Program at the recent Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference on August 15, 2017. The program builds on the Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) initiative.

ENERGY STAR for Industry will help Canadian industry make the transition to a low-carbon and clean-growth economy. Given that Canada’s industrial sector contributes approximately 37 percent of GHG emissions, the new program will improve energy efficiency in the sector by helping facilities track, analyze and reduce their energy consumption.  

To become ENERGY STAR for industry-certified, the energy performance of individual facilities must rank among the best within their sector and earn scores in the top quartile.

ENERGY STAR for Industry Certification provides Energy Performance Indicators (EPIs) that benchmark industrial facilities’ energy performance and that organizations can use to measure improvements against an average across Canada and the U.S.

The Integrated Steel Mills EPI is the first to be available in Canada with additional EPIs being developed in other sectors such as commercial baking, automotive assembly and cement and fertilizer manufacturing.

NRCan will also be launching the ENERGY STAR for Industry Challenge to accompany the new program later this year.

For more information, visit the ENERGY STAR for Industry and Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation websites.

Natural Resources Canada survey offers glimpse of energy efficiency awareness and gaps in industry

Survey findings about the awareness of energy efficiency in industry are now available in the newly published report, Industry and Buildings Energy Efficiency Awareness, Gaps and Brand Recognition. The survey, conducted by Leger in early 2017, presents the results of a quantitative online survey among energy efficiency specialists.

The study was also designed to determine the awareness of brands such as ENERGY STAR® for Industry recognition program and the Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC).

Respondents almost unanimously agree energy management best practices reduce energy costs (99 percent) and improve operational performance (99 percent). Almost the same number agree that energy management best practices increase competitiveness (98 percent), reduce emissions to mitigate climate change (98 percent), increase the value of assets (95 percent), create and maintain innovative energy-efficient technologies and jobs (95 percent) and improve occupant comfort (95 percent). More than nine out of ten respondents also state they are familiar with energy management best practices (94 percent) and the benefits linked to these practices (91 percent).

A majority of respondents say energy efficiency is very important to their organization, 43 percent spend more than 25 percent of their time weekly on energy management related issues. Specialists in organizations with more than 200 employees (46 percent) are more likely to devote more than 50 percent of their weekly time to energy management issues. Three-quarters (75 percent) of respondents say they are aware of Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency.

While only 19 percent of the surveyed industry specialists said they were aware of the imminent launch of the Canadian ENERGY STAR for Industry recognition program, 83 percent are interested in participating in the program once available. This is similar to the strong interest in CIPEC (82 percent) with which respondents identify energy cost reductions, increased profit margins and competitiveness, and industry peer networking as the major benefits.

Industry sector specialists identify CIPEC (31 percent) and ISO 50001 (21 percent) as the most used brands, programs and tools within their sector.

The report is available at http://amicus.collectionscanada.ca/porr-rrop-bin/Main/BasicSearch?coll=28&l=0&v=1 by citing report number: POR 068-16.

Dextran reaps the benefits of simple water and energy saving measures

Collaboration with Partners in Project Green (PPG) has led Dextran Products Ltd. to a series of simple and rewarding water and energy saving projects over the past year. To date the completed measures have reduced the company’s water consumption by 45,450 cubic metres (m3) annually, its natural gas consumption by $10,000 and its cooling tower treatment chemical costs by $600.

Dextran Products, based in Toronto, is a manufacturer of bulk dextran powders and liquids. The company was using 130,000 m3 of water annually, paying upwards of $230,000 on average in water bills.

In conjunction with PPG and EnviroStewards Inc., Dextran Products identified numerous opportunities for water and energy conservation. To help reduce costs and risks associated with the planned projects, Dextran Products was able to benefit from incentives available from Partners in Project Green, as well as Enbridge Gas.

Several measures significantly reduced the quantity of water going down the drain. For example, a new temperature-regulating valve was installed on the facility’s vacuum pump. At the same time, three of the facility’s reactors were connected to the cooling tower, thereby reducing water consumption.

New controls and piping recuperate water from the facility’s resin tank for the scrubber water make-up tank. Cooling water from the boiler room is also being sent to the same tank for reuse. Dextran also installed a condensate recovery system that diverts condensed water from the reactor vessels to preheat the make-up water for the boilers, resulting in reduced energy and water consumption.

In addition, a new reverse osmosis system is now filtering the water/sugar mixture from the distillation process. The filtered water is then reused as scrubber make-up water and a market is currently being sought for the remaining concentrated sugar.

An ongoing project is to increase the blowdown set-point to reduce the make-up water volume used by the cooling tower.

Partners in Project Green is showcasing Dextran Products’ success with its initiatives to other manufacturers in the Greater Toronto Area in order to highlight the benefits of simple solutions for water reuse and energy efficiency improvements within their own facilities.

For the full article, visit: https://esemag.com/water/customizing-water-efficiency-solutions-industrial-manufacturers/.

SaskPower boosting renewable power generation capacity

“We're committed to managing emissions as we rebuild the electricity system to meet the needs of our growing province,” says Douglas Opseth, Director, Supply Planning and Integration at SaskPower. As part of that commitment, the utility aims to lower its CO_² emissions by 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

To meet this target, the utility will increase its renewable power generation capacity from the current 25 percent to an ambitious 50 percent of its power supply mix by 2030.

Currently, renewable power generation includes hydroelectric power, which supplies 20 percent of SaskPower’s mix. Five percent comes from wind power and less than one percent is generated from solar. The utility’s goal is to boost wind power generation to 30 percent of the total and increase solar capacity as well.

In terms of achieving the utility’s wind power target, SaskPower is well on its way. Opseth notes that the Request for Qualification (RFQ) process is progressing with the Request for Proposals (RFP) call going out this summer. SaskPower expects to award the contract in early 2018, with turbines to be in-service by 2020. “There has been a lot of interest in the RFQ with over 100 organizations downloading the document.”

Tim Schuster, SaskPower’s Director of the Independent Power Producer program, agrees noting that the development and interest in wind power is very strong in Saskatchewan.

Furthermore, 20 megawatt (MW) in wind power generation will be developed in partnership with Saskatchewan’s First Nations Power Authority and an additional 20 MW will come from community partners.

With regard to solar generation, Opseth mentions that, “the RFQ process is already complete for the first 10 MW of power”, indicating that 35 companies will be going forward to the RFP stage. A winner is expected by the end of 2017 with the in-service target for solar slated for December 2018.  

In the near future, the building of solar power capacity in Saskatchewan will include the current 10 MW to be procured from the private sector power developers as well as an additional 10 MW from the province’s First Nations Power Authority.

Schuster explains that increasing the province’s solar power capacity will help SaskPower better understand the pricing of solar. If favourable, the utility may increase its percentage of solar power in the mix to above one percent.

In addition to increasing the province’s capacity for wind and solar power generation, Opseth also expects the hydroelectric power share to increase by five percent through in-province hydro projects or hydro imports. SaskPower is also looking at opportunities for biomass and geothermal power projects.

2016 CEE Report shows increasing program support for energy efficiency measures

The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), whose members include investor-owned or municipal utilities, state or provincial energy offices, government agencies, and non-utility program administrators, has just released its 2016 Annual Report, which outlines achievements in the Consortium’s three major initiatives.

Participation in CEE’s Industrial Strategic Energy Management (SEM) programs continues to grow. Between 2014 and 2016, industry benefited from SEM programs delivered by participating CEE members.

The number of industrial sites served by SEM programs rose from just above 400 in 2014 to more than 700 in 2016. BC Hydro, for example, uses the SEM programs to help an increasing number of its customers better manage their energy use. Other CEE members delivering SEM programs include Efficiency Nova Scotia, NB Power, Fortis BC, Hydro-Québec and Union Gas.

One of CEE’s goal is to develop a common binational (U.S. and Canadian) SEM framework that will help increase customer demand for SEM services and technologies. 

CEE members have also successfully implemented the Consortium’s Premium Efficiency Motors and Motor Systems Initiatives, allowing customers to benefit from the associated energy saving opportunities. In 2016, a new CEE working group focused on identifying opportunities for industrial pump programs and developed a new Industrial Compressed Air Systems Initiative to support broad adoption of system audits and standardized compressed air measures.

In 2016, over one-third of CEE members provided support for compressed air projects, but many only supported one or two measures. Even fewer supported measures specific to pumps. In contrast, at least 60 percent provided program support for variable frequency drives.

Finally, through its Municipal Water-Wastewater Initiative, the CEE is working with manufacturers to develop high-efficiency blower technologies and is initiating new energy performance test procedures for all major blower types. These performance tests will allow comparison of energy performance across multiple products.

To read the 2016 report, click here.

For more information on CEE’s industrial initiative, click here.

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency e-newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings.

Unsubscribe here.

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol are trademarks registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are administered and promoted by Natural Resources Canada.

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 21 No 4

CIPEC welcomes Cascades’ Fabien Demougeot as the new General Manufacturing Task Force Chair representing Quebec

“Together we can advocate for government programs that will help our industry reduce its energy intensity thereby making us more competitive and enabling us to meet environmental regulations,” says Fabien Demougeot, Director of Cascades Inc.’s Energy Division at Kingsey Falls in Quebec and incoming CIPEC Chair of the General Manufacturing Task Force for Eastern Canada – Quebec.

Demougeot brings significant energy management experience to the Task Force. He has been with Cascades for thirteen years heading its Energy Division for the past six years. 

Demougeot sees a need to bring the sector members in the region together more frequently. “We need another forum for energy best practices exchange and networking in addition to the biennial Energy Summit.”

Cascades Inc., a manufacturer of packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres, is a leader in energy management having had an energy management team that has implemented many initiatives over the past 20 years. Cascades’ facilities in Canada and the U.S. all have progressive continuous improvement programs. “With every initiative and project, we learn more about energy efficiency – lessons that we can share with our sector, so that we all advance,” he notes.

Cascades has also established a strategic communication plan that engages upper management and all employees in high-impact initiatives. Demougeot believes that the Task Force can use a similar communication strategy to further enable energy efficiency in industry in Canada.

“As industry, we can also make a difference in terms of the energy supply,” says Demougeot, noting that Cascades, as a major energy consumer, can choose greener sources of energy to work with suppliers who have the best practices in terms of social and environmental responsibility. To support this, the company has a green procurement strategy that applies to all suppliers with whom it has contractual agreements.

While Demougeot has many energy management experiences to share, he says that he is also looking forward to learning about best practices at other CIPEC member sites. He is interested, for example, in what key performance indicators (KPIs) other companies are using and how frequently they follow them.

Demougeot says that “we can all make our operations less energy intensive. Through collaboration and sharing experiences, the industry can be transformed.”

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 21 No 3

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 21 No 2

Heads Up CIPEC – Volume 21 No 1

RETScreen Expert software for clean energy feasibility studies now available for download

With increasing investment in renewable energy, cogeneration and energy efficiency projects, tools that reduce feasibility study costs will be essential. To answer this need, NRCan has developed an even more powerful RETScreen software tool – RETScreen Expert.

Previous versions of RETScreen already offered powerful analysis tools for determining the feasibility of renewable energy and cogeneration projects. The new software integrates RETScreen 4 and RETScreen Plus into one platform that allows organizations to conduct comprehensive benchmark, pre-feasibility, feasibility, and performance analyses for their facilities.

Dinesh Parakh, Program Advisor, RETScreen International, CanmetENERGY, explains that RETScreen Expert was designed to facilitate the work of professionals, such as facility managers, project developers, energy managers and others involved in designing and/or implementing clean energy projects.

Parakh notes that RETScreen is already being used by many organizations across Canada. Users can assess multiple projects in a single facility or thousands of sites, such as school boards are doing. In Ontario, for example, almost every college and university is using the tool.

RETScreen Expert leverages a global database of input parameters such as benchmark, climate, cost, product and financial data. A user can start an analysis using an innovative new Virtual Energy Analyzer, which employs archetypes to help determine energy production and savings potential quickly, and creates an initial draft of a pre-feasibility study or energy audit. The user can then modify values as necessary to make the analysis more relevant to his/her project.

Companies can access typical energy profiles of similar facilities, determine the improvements that are possible and the costing. “It is all done for you with RETScreen Expert,” says Parakh. “Similar studies would normally cost between $50,000 and $150,000, but with this software, costs are reduced dramatically, thus freeing up capital for more productive purposes.”

Ultimately, RETScreen gives managers the tools to make the best clean energy decisions. The software will make it clear very quickly if a project is financially viable or not in a user-friendly format, and at relatively minimal cost.

Parakh notes that RETScreen Expert has a long-term development and outreach plan to make it even more comprehensive and accessible.

To download RETScreen Expert, visit nrcan.gc.ca/energy/software-tools/7465.

Canadian manufacturing sector continues to reduce energy intensity according to ICE report

Statistics Canada has released the results of its annual Industrial Consumption of Energy (ICE) Survey in the Statistical Report of Energy Use in the Canadian Manufacturing Sector, 1995– 2014. Notably, the report highlights a continued trend in improved energy intensity in the long- and short-term for this sector. This reduction comes as a result of output of the manufacturing sector surpassing energy use.

The ICE survey gathers energy use data from companies in Canada’s manufacturing sector, including all 21 subsectors, and provides an essential tool to track trends in energy consumption. Seven of the 21 subsectors, namely paper, primary metal, chemical, petroleum and coal product, wood product, food, and non-metallic mineral product, accounted for over 90 percent of all energy consumption in 2014.

While all subsectors showed a reduction in energy intensity from 1995 to 2014, significant decreases were noted for non-metallic mineral product (44.5 percent), primary metal (29.8 percent), and paper (26.0 percent). The drop in energy intensity in the paper manufacturing subsector is attributed to a concomitant drop in its GDP, due to a decline of the subsector since 2005. The non-metallic mineral product and primary metal subsectors, on the other hand, decreased their energy consumption despite their increase in GDP.

The wood product manufacturing subsector, however, experienced a 41.3 percent increase in energy since 2014 and a concurrent 48.1 percent increase in its GDP.

The report also analyzed survey data on the fuel mix, which saw a rise in natural gas use from 27 percent in 2009 to 33 percent in 2014, thereby replacing electricity as the dominant fuel. Less spent pulping liquor was produced and used by the paper manufacturing subsector. Moreover, the refined petroleum product subsector reduced its use of heavy fuel (82.4 percent) and propane (36.9 percent), with a 32.9 percent increase in middle distillates.

The full report can be found here.

Velcro Canada Inc. wins the 2016 People Power Challenge and prepares for the next edition

“Participation in the People Power Challenge reinforces our management views and initiatives about sustainability,” says Tal Rafailov, Quality Systems Manager at Velcro Canada Inc., the company that walked away with the Challenge’s first prize of $6,500. Winners of the 2016 People Power Challenge were announced at its annual networking reception on December 1, 2016. Other prize winners included Bentall Kennedy, Colliers and the Toronto Zoo.

The 2016 People Power Challenge, which engaged 12 companies representing more than 10,000 employees, led to impressive results for participants and the environment. Jennifer Taves, Project Manager, Communications and Engagement with Partners in Project Green (PPG) notes that more than 16,000 pledges for environmental action were made throughout the Challenge and over 2,000 green project suggestions were submitted by employees. During the Challenge, 379 sustainability projects were completed with 143 from employee suggestions. Projects included repurposing waste streams, bike rack installations and energy use reduction.

New for the 2016 Challenge was the opportunity for competitors to collaborate on sustainability projects. For example, Velcro Canada Inc. visited Canadian Tire to learn how they recycle and manage waste at their distribution center, while the City of Mississauga partnered with the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority to deliver an environmental education event for 75 newcomers to Canada.

Taves notes that deeper engagement has been realized year over year since the program launched. In 2016, the program generated 16,637 pledges for environmental behaviours, 2,011 great green ideas and, 379 projects – 74 of which came directly from green ideas submitted by employees. This represents increases of 70 percent, 82 percent, and 51 percent over 2015 results, respectively. In addition, the Nudge Rewards app continues to be a powerful tool for engagement. Competitors see an engagement rate of 74 percent with the app, which is in sharp contrast to the usual 25 percent engagement rate seen through traditional email.

Velcro Canada Inc., a repeat participant has participated in the challenge for the last four years, and won first prize for three out of those years. Raifalov describes the Challenges as “having a snowball effect with employees and, each year it gets better.”

Over the years, Velcro Canada Inc. employees made 7,620 pledges and 105 suggestions resulting in the implementation of 23 projects. They also participated in 80 joint initiatives with other competitors. To raise awareness of the event, the company actively used social media to amplify the story, developed 34 case studies, hosted six employee awareness events, used 254 educational resources and engaged employees through five incentive prizes.

Rafailov says that the People Power Challenge “provides us with the tools to meet the targets of our existing environmental management system.” Velcro Canada Inc. employee suggestions resulted in initiatives such as waste-free lunches, participation in the Brampton Smart Commute and an LED lighting retrofit, with a SaveOnEnergy incentive, that will lead to nearly 446,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in annual savings.

Registration for the 2017 People Power Challenge, which will run from April 17 until September 15, is now open and features the same great employee and group prizes, and cash prizes for the organizations that earn the most points throughout the Challenge. Moreover, PPG will be adding a new size category, which will see six companies walk away with cash prizes in 2017.

Taves notes that this year, PPG will measure the impact of the Challenge activities whereby pledges will be associated with metrics. Mini-challenges will be incorporated in the overall challenge allowing competitors to engage in smaller environmental and engagement campaigns.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Taves at jtaves@trca.on.ca or visit the People Power Challenge website: www.partnersinprojectgreen.com/your-needs/engagement/people-power-challenge/.

2016 COSIA Project Portfolio profiles the development of cutting-edge environmental technologies in the oil sands sector

“We are developing and testing cutting-edge technologies, and leading in a true innovation-based economy by building on the global resource advantage we have with our oil sands,” states Dan Wicklum, CEO of Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA). The organization’s recently released report details the innovative technologies that address COSIA’s aim to increase environmental performance in Alberta’s oil sands.

The COSIA portfolio of projects represents four Environmental Priority Areas (EPAs) – GHGs, Land, Water and Tailings. Inside each priority area COSIA makes investment decisions from concept of idea to development, demonstration, deployment and commercialization.

The GHG EPA features many innovative energy efficiency projects in the mining and extraction, and in-situ sectors of the oil sands.

One such project includes the adaptation of existing heat exchanger technology to capture excess heat from the froth treatment process associated with surface mining. The recovered heat recovery would pre-heat the recycled water stream thus reducing natural gas consumption and GHG emissions. Phase II of the project, led by Shell, is now underway and aims to address the function of Alfa Laval Spiral Plate-type heat exchangers with commercial plate spacing (gaps) in an operational environment. They will also test scaled-up versions of the technology.

In another project, Cenovus and other COSIA member companies initiated a 1.4-megawatt (MW) pilot project on molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) at an oil sands facility. This builds on a 200-kilowatt (kW) pilot project at the University of Calgary that showed the potential of MCFC to capture CO₂ produced from natural gas consumed in operations. The MCFC technology has the potential to capture up to 90 percent of CO₂ emissions while generating power.

Nexen, along with other companies, developed an interactive flowsheet model for mass and energy balances for any in-situ processing facility. The web-based application, already available to COSIA members and associate members, can quantify the benefits of different technologies under consideration. The model can calculate key performance indicators (KPIs) such as fuel consumption, GHG emissions and make-up water consumption while allowing users to add or remove components to model operations such as carbon capture, CO₂ compression, and different boiler configurations.

A fourth project, led by Devon and Cenovus, is now in Stage III and seeks to capture waste heat from steam-assisted gravity drainage for transformation into higher value heat or electricity. Two promising technologies – AMS Energy Heat Pipe and Heat Matrix LUVO – will be assessed for feasibility; and energy modelling for the AMS matrix will be performed. One of these two technologies may then move on to a feasibility study.

To date, COSIA member companies have shared 936 distinct technologies and innovations that cost over $1.325 billion to develop. For more information on COSIA and its EPAs, visit www.cosia.ca.

BC Hydro announces changes to its Leaders in Energy Management Program

BC Hydro is continuing its Leaders in Energy Management Program with some key changes for 2017 and 2018. The program includes Energy Study Funding, Project Implementation Funding, and Business Energy Saving Incentives. These funding programs are designed to help reduce the barriers to electrical energy efficiency projects.

Projects that already meet program criteria and are in the utility’s operational queue continue to be eligible while those not in the queue can apply as long as the funding/incentive programs are not fully subscribed.

Key Account customers with a BC Hydro-funded Energy Manager can apply for the Energy Study funding up until March 31, 2017, or earlier if funding becomes fully subscribed before that date. Beginning in April 2017, the Energy Study Funding will only be available to customers with a BC Hydro-funded Energy Manager engaged in strategic energy management.

Large business customers with a BC Hydro Key Account Manager already in the queue for Project Implementation Funding and Business Energy Saving Incentives can continue as long as the program eligibility criteria are met.

As of January 2017, Key Account customers without a BC Hydro-funded Energy Manager can access Business Energy Saving Incentives for projects to be completed in 2018.

Starting in fiscal 2018, only applications for Project Implementation Funding from organizations with a BC Hydro Key Account Manager and with a BC Hydro-funded Energy Manager will be accepted for new retrofit projects. Also in 2018, there will be annual customer incentive caps to all new Project Implementation Funding and Business Energy Saving Incentives projects.

Contact your Key Account Manager or call the Business Helpdesk at 604-522-4713 in the Lower Mainland or 866-522-4713 to learn more.

Free INTEGRATION software courses

Get hands-on experience with NRCan’s powerful process integration software, INTEGRATION in upcoming training courses. In this free, half-day course, participants will learn how to apply process integration techniques to complex industrial plants and potentially achieve 10 to 30 percent energy savings.

For more information visit www.rerinfo.ca/IntegrationTraining.html or contact michael.ross@rerinfo.ca.

New CIPEC Leaders

Cement Sector

Lafarge Canada Inc.

• Mississauga, Ontario
• Bath, Ontario
• Brookfield, Nova Scotia
• Calgary, Alberta
• Exshaw, Alberta
• Pointe-Claire, Québec
• Richmond, British Columbia
• Saint-Constant, Québec
• Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Woodstock, Ontario

Chemicals Sector

INEOS Canada Partnership – Joffre, Alberta

Petroleum Products Sector

McAsphalt Industries Ltd. – Hamilton, Ontario
T.J. Pounder – Brampton, Ontario
Pavex Ltée – Saint-Félicien, Québec

General Manufacturing Sector

CGC inc. – Montréal, Québec
Novatech Canada inc. – Sainte-Julie, Québec

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing Sector

Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. – Mississauga, Ontario

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

2017 CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards submission deadline extended to February 14

The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) annual awards highlight organizations that have shown exceptional leadership in energy management, and are intended to increase awareness of the benefits of energy management systems.

The CEM is a global forum with a vision to advance clean energy to support corporate, national and global climate goals. The eighth CEM (CEM8) meeting will be held in China from June 6 to 8, 2017 and will honour the winners of its prestigious awards. The annual event attracts clean energy leaders from around the world as well as energy ministers from the countries involved in the CEM. 

Organizations with a current, third-party verified ISO 50001 are eligible to enter the competition. Industrial, commercial, and public sector companies or facilities applicants must submit a case study that details the organization’s energy management experience and the reaped benefits.

Winning entries will receive the CEM Award of Excellence in Energy Management. Moreover, each qualifying entry will receive an Energy Management Insight Award. Submissions are ranked and evaluated by an international panel of energy management experts.

Top-ranked submissions from each country will also be communicated to the appropriate country governments. Again this year, Canada is partnering with the CEM to offer national awards.

All qualifying submissions will be published on the CEM website to profile the numerous benefits that the implementation of ISO 50001 can achieve. With the large-scale implementation of the standard, it is expected that service and industrial sectors could cumulatively cut energy use by 62 exajoules by 2030 – saving more than $600 billion and avoiding 6,500 megatonnes of CO₂ emissions.  

Submissions are due on February 14, 2017; more information and case study templates can be found at the 2017 Energy Management Leadership Awards.

Dominion Diamond’s Ekati mine boasts numerous energy efficiency initiatives

“Dominion Diamond recognizes the impact that climate change is having on the northern landscape. We are focused on taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve energy efficiency,” says Brendan Bell, CEO of Dominion Diamond Corporation.

Dominion Diamond owns and operates the Ekati mine, and owns 40 percent of the Diavik mine, both located in the Northwest Territories, 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. A CIPEC Leader in the mining sector, the mine officially began production in October 1998. It employs over 1,090 full-time staff with additional contractors for a total of 1,820 personnel. The Ekati mine operates 24 hours a day (generally in 12-hour shifts), 365 days per year.

The company has undertaken numerous energy efficiency initiatives at the Ekati mine. For example, ventilation air fan speed has been reduced in the winter months to adjust to the level of underground mining activity, saving the company approximately three quarters of a million litres of diesel fuel annually.

The company developed a formal energy management system (EnMS) that includes a steering committee and energy use tracking and reporting. This EnMS is instrumental in implementing a new energy management information system (EMIS) at the Ekati mine, the company’s top priority for 2017, which will allow the mine to track energy consumption and identify areas for improvement.

A recent employee awareness campaign helped to spread the word that simple behavioural changes can dramatically reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. The campaign generated numerous employee suggestions, including a high-impact idea to install timer switches in all main camp bathrooms, which was subsequently implemented.

Lighting in the main camp and office buildings has been retrofitted with LED lights. Approximately 4,000 fluorescent lighting tubes were replaced to decrease diesel fuel consumption by 166,000 litres per year and reduce maintenance costs.

Waste-heat from powerhouse diesel generators is recovered to preheat the glycol flowing through the main boilers that provide heat to all the facilities. This has reduced the usage of diesel in the main camp boilers.

Dominion Diamond has also improved efficiency and reduced emissions significantly by introducing fuel-efficient road trains, a combination of a road haulage tractor and a powered trailer, for ore haulage.  

Bell notes that Dominion Diamond was the first northern mine to start composting a significant portion of its waste when an industrial composting unit was brought online in 2015. This single initiative could reduce diesel consumption at the mine by 250,000 litres every year and prevent up to 680 tonnes of GHG emissions from entering the atmosphere.

The company is looking at even more projects, including reductions in boiler heat demand, an idle vehicle management program, compressed air optimization, water conservation, and the replacement of underground truck shop lights with a LED system. The company is also investigating wind energy, solar panels, wood pellets, and other forms of alternative energy.

“We are looking forward to learning from the success stories of energy initiatives undertaken elsewhere in Canada,” says Bell. “Being part of CIPEC will enable Dominion Diamond to gain support for energy efficiency assessment studies and access to energy conservation tools”.

Eleven IBM Canadian facilities ISO 50001 certified

“ISO 50001 certification of our facilities confirms IBM’s environmental leadership,” says Nathalie Christen, Environmental Affairs, Product Stewardship and Energy Manager at IBM Canada. In addition, Christen notes that IBM's worldwide energy management system has been aligned to this internationally recognized standard to demonstrate its conformity.

“Early on IBM identified its top 100 energy consuming sites around the world,” says Christen. Eleven of those are located in Canada and are now ISO 50001 compliant. The facilities were already ISO 14001 certified under the company’s Global Environmental Management System (WW EMS) and the energy management program (EnMP) was already an integral part of that system. “Certification is part of our process of continuous improvement at the corporate level and it also promotes employee engagement in energy efficiency at the site level,” says Christen.

She describes the chronology of ISO 50001 certification at IBM’s Canadian facilities. IBM's worldwide energy management system was first certified in 2011. Soon after, IBM’s manufacturing facility and the Research and development center activities housed in the C2MI in Bromont, Québec were certified in February 2013. Since that time, the company readied its remaining sites to be compliant with the standard. The sites, part of IBM Canada, include data centers, software development labs and offices that were all ISO 50001 certified in November 2015.

Energy conservation projects are monitored on a regular basis at the different sites. An energy management dashboard shows energy conservation rate and measures key performance indicators. Another component of the many initiatives undertaken at IBM Canada is the implementation of a biennial strategic energy efficiency plan that spans all sites. Moreover, IBM energy experts have developed energy checklists that aim to optimize operational and building efficiency. Christen notes that energy audits are also carried out. In addition, facility successes and lessons learned are shared with other sites and business units.

At the Bromont plant, an energy management information system (EMIS) implementation pilot is underway in cooperation with Hydro-Québec. This project will gather energy information coming from the wide-spread metering system associated with the manufacturing control system. The pilot could serve as a model for EMIS implementation at other sites.

“We also apply analytics to drive further efficiency in our processes,” says Christen, as she describes the IBM-developed TRIRIGA software that integrates existing control systems with their metering infrastructure. The software analyzes hourly energy data to determine anomalies in energy consumption, for which it creates alerts.

Christen notes that IBM Canada’s goal is a four percent annual energy conservation target for its top energy consumers. She indicates that the ISO 50001 certified sites are well on their way to meet this goal globally, and the focus in the near term will remain on individual sites.

Workshops build capacity in compressed air system management

In October 2016, in partnership with NRCan and CIPEC, Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) sponsored a Compressed Air Challenge© training event at the Magna Training Centre in Brampton, Ontario. Ron Marshall, Chief Auditor at Marshall Compressed Air Consulting and Joe Ghislain, a Senior Manager at the Ford Motor Company, facilitated the workshops. The Compressed Air Challenge is a US-based voluntary collaboration of industrial users; manufacturers; distributors, associations, facility operating personnel; consultants; state research and development agencies; energy efficiency organizations and utilities that are determined to help realize the benefits of smart compressed air management.

“The workshops took our knowledge of compressed air systems to the next level with new tools and best practices that can be incorporated into our process design serviced for our clients” says Harpreet Dhillion, Certified Energy Manager for SNP-TECH and currently stationed as Embedded Energy Manager at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plant in Windsor, Ontario. Dhillon was among the many participants at the workshops that focussed on compressed air management – one-day Fundamentals of Compressed Air Systems and two-day Advanced Management of Compressed Air Systems.

Michael O’Meara, Program Manager, Environmental and Energy Metrics, at Magna International, explains that training and raising awareness are key components in improving energy management in the transportation and equipment manufacturing sector. Training targeted at common energy systems, such as fans, motors and pumps, have advanced energy management in the industry. Increased competency of engineers and operators in compressed air systems, another significant energy user, would further improve energy efficiency in facilities.

The Fundamentals workshop was delivered to 21 participants that included personnel working directly on a facility's compressed air system, maintenance managers, environmental personnel, energy team members, and engineering personnel. The Advanced workshop was attended by 19 personnel who were directly responsible for compressed air on a daily basis.

Marshall notes that both courses were designed to “make people aware of the high cost of generating and using (abusing) compressed air and what can be done to reduce this cost.” Topics included the development and use of a system profile, the implementation of a system maintenance program, the value of heat recovery, and the preparation and “sale” of the business case of compressed air improvement projects to management.

Participants in both workshops found many tools and shared experiences that could be applied to the compressed air systems in their own facilities. Bruce Ratzlaff of Applied Compression Systems notes that he gained a number of ideas about designing and troubleshooting compressed air systems, adding that the networking at the workshop was also welcome.

Dhillon, for his part, mentions that the workshop will help him implement energy efficiency project both on the supply and demand side of compressed air systems and address daily energy efficiency issues in compressed air systems.

“The courses provided lots of opportunity for people to share real life issues and experiences,” notes O’Meara. Marshall agrees noting that formal and informal workshop feedback indicated that participants left with a better understanding of compressed air systems and how to improve their management in order to reap energy savings.

Manufacturers of passive house components on the rise

“The growth of the passive house industry in Canada, particularly in B.C., has been significant. In our province, we now have increased awareness, trained professionals, and successful demonstration projects that can serve to encourage other jurisdictions to look at this energy efficiency solution,” says Matheo Durfeld, CEO of BC Passive House.

BC Passive House, based in Pemberton, British Columbia, is a prefabrication company that designs and manufactures high-performance panelized building systems, specialized structural panels, hybrid systems, heavy timber packages and passive house construction. The company was awarded $1.4 million through NRCan’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program for the development of a manufacturing process for panel systems that meet the Passive House (PH) standard, which is the most rigorous residential energy standard in the world.

Buildings that meet the stringent standard have a smaller ecological footprint and lower energy costs than other buildings by up to 90 percent. There are about 60,000 residential and non-residential units that are non-certified and over 14,000 certified to the PH standard worldwide, and another 32,000 that are non-certified passive houses, with the largest number located in Germany and Austria.

Durfeld’s manufacturing facility is the first of its kind in North America and will enable the company to promote the PH standard and sustainable, energy-efficient construction methodologies that use innovative Canadian wood-based construction materials.  Moreover, the facility exemplifies high energy performance and demonstrates the efficacy of using wood in regular buildings.

The facility’s mezzanine offices, support spaces and showroom, for example, were designed to meet the PH standard. Projected energy savings with this type of construction over conventional buildings built to code can reach about 9,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.

Other features include a biomass wood-fed boiler that uses wood waste from the manufacturing process to provide heat through an in-floor radiant heat system, which could save the company nearly 47,000 kWh/year in heating costs. Moreover, Durfeld explains that the company used a “wood first” approach, which avoided around 365 metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

IFIT also provided $900,000 to Dynamic Windows and Doors to develop the first Canadian made and sourced wood passive window and door systems. The innovative manufacturing process in Dynamic’s Abbotsford, B.C. facility allows homeowners to purchase highly energy-efficient windows and doors that meet the voluntary PH standard while supporting Canada’s forest sector and creating numerous, permanent jobs. With the investment, Dynamic has been able to develop a production line capable of machining and profiling components with the high levels of precision and repeatability required by the PH standard.

Both BC Passive House and Dynamic will promote awareness of the benefits of passive houses and help Canada’s forest sector become high-value product manufacturers.

New CIPEC Leaders

Petroleum Products Sector

McAsphalt Industries Ltd.
– Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia
– Montreal-Est, Québec
– North Bay, Ontario
– Oshawa, Ontario
– Ottawa, Ontario
– Sturgeon County, Alberta
– Valleyfield, Québec

Upstream Oil and Gas Sector

Inter Pipeline Ltd. – Cochrane, Alberta

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

CIPEC Steel Sector Task Force welcomes new Chair

The Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) welcomes Aleksandra Pogoda as the new Chair of the Steel Sector Task Force. Ms. Pogoda is currently Director of Environment with the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) - the national industry trade association representing Canada’s primary steel producers and pipe and tube manufacturers.

Pogoda took over as Chair in May 2016 and she is keen to collaborate. “I am looking forward to working with and learning from energy specialists within industry and government,” says Pogoda. “As Chair I see myself as the matrix between CIPEC and the Canadian steel industry.” She adds that she hopes to work with task force members to develop action plans for improving energy efficiency throughout the steel sector.

Pogoda brings a wealth of experience having held portfolios in environmental due diligence and remediation while also being quite familiar with provincial environmental legislation and requirements. Her current position as the director of environment at the CSPA builds on this knowledge and expertise.

Noting that steel production is an energy-intensive industry with electricity being one of the highest input costs after labour, Pogoda understands that managing energy efficiently is key to maintaining the sector’s competitiveness. She adds that CIPEC can help organizations in this sector and others proactively transform energy use. “CIPEC can be particularly useful in enabling industry in cutting costs, improving energy efficiency, and reducing industrial GHG emissions.”

Pogoda sees CIPEC as an essential part of Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy, saying that it provides a collaborative forum for government and industry to work towards effective energy conservation. “I believe that the collective efforts of the organization will continue to drive energy efficiency and improvement throughout the various industry sectors.”

Employee engagement recognized at Farnell Packaging

“Our highly-engaged staff members are key to our environmental success,” states Debby Farnell Rudolph, Executive Vice President of Farnell Packaging Limited. The company, a flexible packaging manufacturer located near Dartmouth in Nova Scotia, recently celebrated its success by receiving the Engagement Award, one of five Efficiency Nova Scotia’s annual Bright Business Awards. This recognition follows the company’s participation in the organisation’s Strategic Energy Management Program.

Farnell Rudolph explains that the company has a long history with Efficiency Nova Scotia, which supported some of its earlier energy efficiency projects. Danny Christensen, the company’s energy manager, notes that the projects, carried out since the early 1990s, include upgrades in the facility’s compressed air system, as well as lighting and water chiller retrofits.

When Efficiency Nova Scotia approached Farnell Packaging to participate in the Strategic Energy Management Program, Farnell Packaging saw it as a great opportunity that aligned well with the company’s vision of sustainability. The company established a cross-departmental energy team, responsible for promoting energy conservation awareness, analyzing energy saving opportunities, and disseminating energy efficiency ideas and information.

David Yaoud, the company’s maintenance technician and energy champion, was instrumental in many of the campaigns to raise energy efficiency awareness. “We are very excited about the level of engagement. Employee training is important; once staff understands energy use, they do their best to reduce it.”

Machine and lighting shut-downs as well as prompt compressed air leak repairs are just some of the low- or no-cost measures implemented as a result of the company’s increased energy awareness. Yaoud adds that energy has been integrated into all company documents and job descriptions. In addition, the company conducts “energy scans” to collect creative and innovative ideas from employees and recognizes good energy conservation ideas with monthly awards.

Moreover, two digital monitors displaying energy updates have been installed in the reception and lunch room areas to promote energy awareness. Over the past year, several energy efficiency workshops have also been held for staff and management.

Farnell Rudolph feels a great sense of achievement about the company’s staff engagement and credits the Strategic Energy Management Program for this and the three percent annual energy savings last year. “Participation in the program has moved the whole company to a new level of energy awareness.”

Watch a video of Engagement Award winner Farnell Packaging highlighting the company’s energy management achievements.

Cruickshank sees ISO 50001 compliance as a distinct competitive advantage

Cruickshank, a road and bridge building company based in Ontario, is on track for ISO 50001 compliance and Jason Makin, Vice President, Materials and Logistics at Cruickshank sees being a CIPEC Leader as an important part of reaching that goal. He notes that “the best practices shared within the CIPEC community can help us gain efficiencies and develop process improvement.”

The company also maintains highways, provides aggregate materials and infrastructure services, and helps to protect fragile shorelines. It operates multiple facilities throughout Ontario including 18 gravel pits and quarries, three asphalt plants and three portable crushing plants.

Makin explains that in the highly competitive world of road construction, ISO 50001 compliance offers an opportunity to reduce energy costs and GHG emissions. The company started on its energy efficiency journey two years ago when it began tracking equipment idling time. Since that time several successful initiatives were implemented and Makin states that, “we have moved from being one of the worst companies in terms of idling to one of the best.”

Makin explains that the company’s heavy equipment supplier, Toromont Cat, provides Cruickshank with a monthly summary of its idling time and ranks it among competitor companies. “In this way, we can see what we have accomplished.” Since tracking began, fuel costs have decreased markedly as has depreciation.

This marked reduction was achieved through a concerted employee awareness and education campaign. “We started rewarding low-idling times with T-shirts and Tim Horton cards.” Operators who achieved minimal idling were featured in the company’s newsletter. In addition, idling time reports were made available to all levels of management.

Cruickshank implemented many other environmental initiatives including an E3 Program (Energy and Environment Every Year) which sets three annual targets in the company’s strategic plan to reduce pollution and energy use while increasing profits. The company has also started a number of green office initiatives including waste diversion programs, a water bottle ban, and environmental office product purchasing.

Regular energy audits have resulted in lighting retrofits, and equipment and insulation upgrades in its offices and manufacturing plants. Insulation upgrades, for example, save the company over 662,000 BTu per hour while manufacturing asphalt. Moreover, a generator at one Cruickshank facility has been replaced with a solar photovoltaic system with other installations being planned.

Heavy equipment has been upgraded for fuel efficiency, routes have been optimized, speed limiting devices have been installed, and maintenance and tracking programs have been implemented.

For its energy efficiency efforts, Cruickshank received the 2013 Conservation Award of Excellence from the Cataraqui Conservation Foundation as well as being named one of The Green 30 for 2012 by Maclean’s Magazine. According to Makin, the company will soon be one of the first civil contractor companies to be ISO 50001 compliant.

“We continue to monitor and make further improvements for different equipment groups. Our continuous improvement process has now become part of our culture and everyone has made it a priority,” says Makin, adding that CIPEC will help the company identify new energy saving opportunities.

Hydro-Québec’s electricity management program helps companies continually improve

Large industrial electricity users in Québec have the opportunity to receive financial incentives when implementing electricity management systems (EMS) in their facilities. Josée Desnoyers, who works with the industrial program’s team for Hydro-Québec’s largest clients, says that the EMS program focuses on creating cultural changes in organizations to enable continuous improvement and productivity optimization. Furthermore, she notes that “We offer a comprehensive suite of programs to address different needs regarding energy efficiency of our industrial clients.”

The EMS program is open to companies with facilities that consume over $750,000 annually in electricity. Companies can submit projects to support continuous measurement of electricity use and to implement an EMS.

Program participants can receive funding of up to 50 percent for equipment acquisition and installation costs to a maximum of $75,000 concurrently with the implementation of an EMS. Similar funding is available to support human resources, with a cumulative maximum of $150,000. Hydro-Québec also provides another 1¢/kWh in eligible annual savings once a company has implemented eligible energy efficiency measures associated with an EMS project.

Twelve companies from diverse industrial sectors are currently in the program with another 10 having expressed interest. Participating companies include Domtar-Windsor and Waterville TG. All of these companies are aiming to implement systematic electricity management practices that generate ongoing electricity savings by means of operational control.

Domtar’s plant in Windsor has implemented the first phase of an EMS and has already seen a two percent reduction in energy consumption per unit produced by simply modifying production processes. As part of the project, Domtar-Windsor developed the plant’s first energy policy and conducted an energy balance study. The company plans to implement the EMS throughout the plant with a goal of reducing the plant’s total energy consumption by three percent per year.

Waterville TG is also impressed with the short-term results. To date, Waterville TG identified an initial target of close to $150,000 in potential recurring annual electricity savings

thanks to the implementation of an EMS. The savings are attributed to the management of downtime by extrusion line operators. The facility already had a culture of energy efficiency with active employee engagement, so the implementation of an EMS was easier. The company is planning to implement an energy management information system (EMIS) for all energy sources for the most important energy users at the plant.

Desnoyers notes that although the program does not require ISO 50001 certification, it follows similar criteria making it easier for companies to eventually pursue certification. As with ISO 50001 certification, Hydro-Québec’s EMS program requires participants to design and implement a work and implementation plan and a supporting structure for an EMS, conduct ongoing measurement, and evaluate performance indicators.

Desnoyers says that companies that have implemented EMS have become aware of the untapped potential for continuous improvement. “When you measure and analyse in a systematic way, there is always potential to improve. EMS provides a systematic way to measure, analyse, present and capitalize energy information,” she concludes.

For more information on the program, visit www.hydroquebec.com/business/energy-efficiency/programs/industrial-systems-program/continuous-measurement/.

Public Opinion Research to measure the importance of energy efficiency in the industrial and buildings sectors

The Office of Energy Efficiency is undertaking Public Opinion Research to measure, through quantitative means, the importance of energy efficiency in the industrial and buildings sectors (including public, commercial and institutional sub-sectors) and of energy efficiency brand recognition (ENERGY STAR, ISO 50001). 

Leger The Research Intelligence Group, has been retained by the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) at Natural Resources Canada to conduct a short (10 minute) survey. The OEE will send out the survey in January to both industrial and buildings sectors’ energy experts (i.e. those with the authority to make or influence energy efficiency decisions for their organization).

The research will track awareness and attitudes towards energy efficiency and will gauge awareness of available options and benefits to the adoption of energy efficiency practices, including brand recognition such as “ENERGY STAR” for industry, and “ISO 50001” label brand recognition. It will address gaps in energy efficiency information and services provided by the Government of Canada. Most importantly, the research will inform the development of targeted energy efficiency programs and initiatives, monitor program effectiveness and support program evaluation activities.

Research participants will be randomly selected from a list of buildings and industrial sector energy experts. Should you receive the Leger survey, please complete it and submit it within the allowable timeframe.

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol are trademarks registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are administered and promoted by Natural Resources Canada.

CIPEC Mining Sector Task Force welcomes new Co-Chair

“I believe in the value of collaboration within and across industry sectors,” says Andrew Cooper, incoming Co-Chair of CIPEC’s Mining Task Force and Energy Specialist at New Gold Inc. He understands the challenges faced by mining companies when it comes to energy efficiency. Solution-oriented, he brings passion and enthusiasm to this work in the energy management field.

Cooper has spent the last 24 years of his career in the mining, steel and petrochemical sectors as an electrical engineer and engineering manager. In the five years that he has been at New Gold, he has implemented an energy management information system (EMIS) and managed New Gold’s ISO 50001 implementation and certification in 2014, making it the first mine in North America to do so. In 2015, Cooper received the Association of Energy Engineers 2015 International Energy Manager of the Year award for his efforts.

Through his involvement in the Mining Sector Task Force, he hopes to learn about best practices in other industries and opportunities for federally-supported energy conservation. He also wants to gain a greater insight into the challenges faced by other mining companies.

Moreover, Cooper would like to see the mining industry develop a better understanding of, and commitment to, “conservation first.” He plans to promote the value of “designing in” energy efficiency in the mining industry and encourage the adoption of energy management systems.

Cooper also sees the benefits in a good working relationship with utilities and feels that this could lead to solutions to energy management issues for the sector. He wants to encourage industry collaboration with the various organizations that are championing energy efficiency improvement. “I believe in what is possible through collaboration and a focused effort.”

CIPEC welcomes new forest products Leaders

“Being part of a group involved in energy conservation is extremely valuable,” says Cecil Burns, Energy Manager at Weyerhauser’s Kenora Mill in Ontario, speaking about the facility’s recent move to become a CIPEC Leader in the forest products sector, along with facilities in Vancouver and Princeton, B.C.

“Becoming a CIPEC member aligns with Weyerhauser’s sustainability philosophy, which hinges on reducing energy use, decreasing the company’s environmental footprint and reducing its GHG emissions,” says Burns. He adds that he also appreciates the availability of energy training courses, the online resources and the networking opportunities offered by CIPEC.

Weyerhauser is hardly new to energy efficiency initiatives and its Kenora plant attests to the company’s long-standing commitment to energy conservation. Managers of the Kenora mill have always been conscious of conserving energy and tracking consumption ever since its opening in 2002.  A formal energy conservation program that targeted specific fuels was implemented in 2008, says Burns. Each fuel type (biomass, electricity, diesel, natural gas and propane) has a champion that helps set up use reduction projects to meet company targets.

In 2010, the Kenora mill was the first to be approved for Ontario’s Northern Industrial Energy Rate Program (NIER), which required a formal energy management plan. “We have participated in the program and developed our energy management plan ever since.”

Burns notes that the Kenora mill has also benefitted from incentives offered by the local utilities to support energy project engineering studies. These studies have identified projects like variable frequency drive (VFD) retrofits, the potential implementation of an organic rankine cycle, and the capture of waste heat.

By 2015, a VFD retrofit of the mill’s 10 largest motors was completed to save over 7,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in energy annually. Burns notes that a number of lighting projects were also carried out to convert metal halide and fluorescent fixtures to LED lights. In addition, a compressed air leak program is underway. Currently, Burns is investigating surplus biomass projects and a third combuster or an organic rankine cycle unit to supplement energy demands.

Burns, who transitioned to his new role at Weyerhauser through the IESO’s Energy Manager program, has an annual 2,000 MWh energy savings target to meet. The mill is not only on track for this target but is going further by developing a plan to be ISO 50001 compliant by the end of 2016.

At the corporate level, Weyerhauser engages its employees through a company-wide innovators program, which explores employee energy ideas, helps get them underway, works out measurement and verification details, and calculates projected savings.

Weyerhauser is also organizing energy teams at each of its facilities. The first energy team webinar session was held at the beginning of September. “We have a lot of energy efficiency expertise among our facilities that could translate to other projects,” says Burns, noting that the energy teams will facilitate this knowledge sharing and communication among different business units within the company.

2017 CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards now accepting entries

The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) has launched its 2017 CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards. The annual awards highlight organizations that have shown exceptional leadership in energy management, and are intended to increase awareness of the benefits of energy management systems.

The CEM is a global forum with a vision to advance clean energy to support corporate, national and global climate goals. The eighth CEM (CEM8) meeting will be held in China in 2017 and will honour the winners of its prestigious awards. The annual event attracts clean energy leaders from around the world as well as energy ministers from the countries involved in the CEM. 

Organizations with a current, third-party verified ISO 50001 certification are eligible to enter the competition. Applicants from industrial, commercial, and public sector companies or facilities must submit a case study that details the organization’s energy management experience and the reaped benefits.

Winning entries will receive the CEM Award of Excellence in Energy Management. Moreover, each qualifying entry will receive an Energy Management Insight Award. Submissions are ranked and evaluated by an international panel of energy management experts.

Top-ranked submissions from each country will also be communicated to the appropriate country governments. Again this year, Canada is partnering with the CEM to offer national awards.

All qualifying submissions will be published on the CEM website to profile the numerous benefits that the implementation of ISO 50001 can achieve. With the large-scale implementation of the standard, it is expected that service and industrial sectors could cumulatively cut energy use by 62 exajoules by 2030 – saving more than $600 billion and avoiding 6,500 megatonnes of CO₂ emissions. 

Submissions can be received up to January 24, 2017; more information and case study templates can be found at the 2017 Energy Management Leadership Awards.

BLOOM’s new Water & Beer portal is a must for wastewater management

“With the recently-launched Water & Beer portal, any brewer can be a better water manager,” says Michael Fagan, Senior Vice-President of the BLOOM Centre for Sustainability. Canadian craft brewers can now add the new one-stop wastewater management portal to their growing kit of sustainability tools. The portal offers breweries learning modules on good water and by-product management practices that will save them money and time, while reducing their carbon footprint.

Fagan explains that breweries have to deal with high-strength wastewater that burdens both local treatment facilities and the business’ bottom line. On-site wastewater management, as is outlined in Water & Beer, can address both issues. “Designing and implementing an improved wastewater management system shouldn't be viewed as a cost, but as a foundation for cost-savings,” notes Fagan.

Decisions regarding wastewater management are best made when planning and designing a new facility or expansion although retrofitting can also be considered, and BLOOM’s platform can inform such decisions. For example, the newest module, Improve Brewery Design, outlines how brewery design and equipment decisions can greatly influence the success of water management practices.

The module categorizes water management opportunities into drainage and wastewater strength. Under the Drainage section, topics such as sumps to collect and measure wastewater, and drain installation for different wastewater streams are discussed. The Wastewater Strength Management part of the module emphasizes reducing waste and wastewater strength through on-site preventative measures. There is also a discussion on balancing tank installation to handle and control fluctuations in strength and flow-rate.

In addition, a number of case studies have been included to illustrate wastewater management in action. For new portal users, Fagan highly recommends the Ins, Outs and In-Betweens video as the perfect introduction to wastewater issues and management. New modules will be added as additional industry priorities emerge.

According to Fagan industry feedback has been positive. “Users have commented on the simplicity of the information and the ease with which it fits into their organizations.” The information is so accessible that it can quickly be adopted at any time. Newer breweries, in particular, appreciate the resource as they can avoid costly “experiential learning,” notes Fagan. 

For more information on the platform, visit http://waterandbeer.bloomcentre.com/.

New ANSI standard for smart HVAC systems to be launched

The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) in conjunction with its partners is paving the way for a new definition of smart HVAC systems. This definition is part of a new ANSI standard, called Methods for Coordinated Demand Response in Variable Capacity Residential and Small Commercial HVAC Equipment, being developed by a committee of the Air-conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). The work resulted in nationally consistent specifications, joint leverage of the ENERGY STAR® brand, an ANSI Quality Installation specification, QI Verification Protocols, and the CEE Directory of Efficient Equipment.

Connected devices have the potential to generate multiple benefits for manufacturers, customers, and utilities. For example, many utilities only experience summer peak loads a few days of the year. At the same time, environmental and economic pressures are forcing the closure of power generating plants, especially older, coal-fired plants, limiting utility ability to solve the peak load issue. While generation from renewable sources, particularly solar and wind, provides some alternatives, these sources are inherently intermittent, which presents additional challenges to utilities attempting to meet their peak load demand, and may create new peaks and valleys that must be balanced.

While most HVAC units are already on demand response ‘cycling’ programs, those connected or ‘smart’ units that meet the new standard will be able to replace or expand these programs and better address summer peak loads and balance renewable power generation.

From the utility perspective, a ‘smart’ HVAC unit must be able to communicate through open standards and be capable of load management that includes automated demand response.

The CEE expects the new standard to become the basis for use in voluntary DSM programs. It should also inform manufacturers about the performance and functionality of HVAC equipment that could lead to grid benefits.

Interested? Stay tuned for a public comment period.

If you are a CEE member, you can join the CEE Connected Committee to provide input throughout the process. The CEE Board chose to share the financial costs of developing the standard with AHRI, and Southern California Edison and Duke are the CEE members representing the DSM industry.

New CIPEC Leaders

Construction sector
Cruickshank Construction Limited – Kingston
Miller Paving Limited – Markham

General Manufacturing sector
Aéronergie inc. – Drummondville

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol are trademarks registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are administered and promoted by Natural Resources Canada.

• In the news
  • Green Jobs Youth Internship Pilot Project Launched
  • Three-day process integration training using INTEGRATION software
  • Canadian Energy Efficiency Distinction Points Available for Dollars to $ense Participants
• Schneider Electric achieves ISO 50001 certification and SEP designation
• Data mining training benefits pulp and paper sector
• Québec greenhouses are going green
• Hydro-Québec’s Energy Savers’ Circle honours customer energy achievements
• New CIPEC Leaders
• Calendar of Events
• Call for story ideas

In the news

Green Jobs Youth Internship Pilot Project Launched

Natural Resources Canada is now accepting applications for a new “Green Jobs” youth internship pilot project to encourage employers to hire young graduates for positions that will help them reduce energy use and benefit the environment.

• Eligible companies receive 80 percent of an intern’s salary, to a maximum of $10,000.
• Interns must be under 30 years of age and have graduated from a college or university.
• Internships are four to six months. The work terms must finish by March 31, 2017.
• Hiring organizations must provide environmental and/or energy management experience under the supervision of experienced staff who act as mentors and coaches.
• The work should support innovation and the use of green and energy-efficient technologies and processes.
• Applications must be submitted by November 30, 2016.

To apply or for more information, contact Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency, Industrial Programs administrator.

Three-day process integration training using INTEGRATION software

Date: November 8 to 10, 2016

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Duration: 3 days (offered in English only)

Cost: $1,490

Reduce energy consumption in complex, energy-hungry industrial plants by 10 to 30 percent with process integration (PI) techniques. This course for engineers and plant managers, developed by Natural Resources Canada, provides the theory and tools necessary to perform basic process integration studies. You'll learn to identify cost-effective heat recovery opportunities using pinch analysis; the course also covers heat recovery from steam, refrigeration, and compressed gas systems. Download a training brochure for more information on the course.

Software supplied with the course: NRCan's powerful INTEGRATION software. CanmetENERGY’s INTEGRATION software combines sophisticated engineering models for pinch analysis and steam, refrigeration, and compression heat recovery with a friendly user interface. Practical, powerful, and free for course participants.

Agenda:

DAY 1: Intro to industrial process heat integration

• Principles of global energy and pinch analysis
• Graphical representation of process streams and heat exchanges
• Determining minimum energy consumption and heat recovery potential of a process
• Identifying sources of energy inefficiency

DAY 2: Process heat integration (continued)

• Pinch analysis of heat exchanger networks
• Heat integration for process and utility systems

DAY 3: Steam system, refrigeration system and compression system. For each utility system:

• Overview of main equipment/principles
• Evaluation of energy performance and sources of waste heat; influence of operating parameters
• The utility system in a global analysis context: evaluation of heat recovery potential

To register or to receive more information, please contact training@rerinfo.ca or 514-564-9089.

Canadian Energy Efficiency Distinction Points Available for Dollars to $ense Participants

Have you previously attended a Dollars to $ense workshop? If so, you could be eligible to be awarded two Canadian Sustainable Energy Practitioner (CSEP) Distinction points for each one-day workshop attended.

The Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) offers the distinction to recognize Canadian sustainable-energy leader achievements, awarding points for each training course attended and completed. Once achieved, recipients are listed in CIET's CSEP Who's Who database, which aims to display records of the relevant training completed. More than 2000 professionals are currently listed in the database, which can be used to look for energy professionals in your province or territory or to validate credentials.

To claim your points, fill in the application form (you’ll need to upload scans of your attendance certificates in JPEG or Adobe PDF format): www.surveymonkey.com/r/D2Sense.

Schneider Electric achieves ISO 50001 certification and SEP designation

Schneider Electric Canada, a CIPEC Leader in the Electrical and Electronics sector, achieved ISO 50001 certification and Superior Energy Performance (SEP) Platinum designation for the company’s Keating Building in Saanichton in November 2014, and in doing so, reduced the facility’s energy consumption by 30.6 percent over the measurement period. The ISO 50001 designation and the SEP Platinum recognition are the highest certifications possible. “We are in the business of helping our customers become energy-efficient, so it is important for us to lead by example,” said Dave Clark, Manager, Safety, Environment & Facilities at Schneider Electric Canada.

Schneider Electric’s Keating Building is located near Victoria, British Columbia, and specializes in electricity distribution, automation management and produces installation components for energy management. Two facilities, comprising a total of nearly 7,000 square metres, house office space, a high-tech manufacturing area, a software test lab and a data centre simulator. The annual electricity consumption in 2014 was over 1.2 million kilowatt-hours (Kwh) while natural gas consumption was 800 gigajoules (GJ).

To achieve SEP Platinum designation, the company’s priority was to replace an older building automation system (BAS) with the company’s own StruxureWare Building Operation (SBO) solution. “This yielded immediate results,” according to Clark.

At the same time, the rooftop HVAC units were reconfigured to fully control the economizer system. The company also leveraged the SBO to write custom scripts to control the rooftop units and hot water reheat boilers. Clark notes that when this was coupled with the Schneider’s electric energy meters that were already in place, he saw almost instant feedback on energy savings.

Ongoing projects at Schneider Electric include the continuous fine-tuning of HVAC controls and energy modeling using the company’s own software, PowerLogic ION EEM (Enterprise Energy Management), to further reduce both electric and gas consumption. Moreover, the company has installed exhaust fan interlock controls on its manufacturing equipment, allowing the fans to run only when machines require it, reducing reliance on individuals to turn the fans off at the end of their shifts. Exterior lights (250 Watts) were replaced with 14W LED units and 32W fluorescent lamp tubes are being replaced with 28W tubes as they are serviced. The company’s 2016 sustainability goals include reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills by a significant amount.

Data mining training benefits pulp and paper sector

A data mining workshop held in early 2016 and hosted by NRCan’s CanmetENERGY, the Conseil Forestier du Québec (CIFQ), Hydro-Québec and the OEE’s Building and Industry Division, gave representatives of the pulp and paper industry a greater understanding of a tool that can help them achieve significant energy savings. The tool, data mining, offers an interesting low- or no-capital cost solution that has a relatively short turnaround time.

Data mining benefits facilities that have a fair amount of historical data. This data represents a wealth of information to which the software can add more value by allowing the analysis of processes by identifying areas for improvement thereby leading to increased productivity and decreased energy consumption.

The idea for a targeted data mining workshop came from the significant interest expressed by the CIFQ energy committee and the need to have specific case studies applicable to the sector.

The two-day workshop took place was attended by 15 people, of which 10 were pulp and paper facility engineers. All found the workshop extremely useful and wanted even more information.

Mouloud Amazouz, Senior Project Manager at CanmetENERGY facilitated the workshop. On the first day he introduced data mining and the software tool, EXPLORE. On the second day he says, “We discussed case studies on digesters and boilers in the pulp and paper sector, using factual data from plants with real issues that need to improve performance.”

Marc Paradis, Director Operational Excellence, at Resolute FP, was keen to incorporate EXPLORE into the suite of energy saving solutions that engineers in Resolute FP plants use and would like to have them all trained. Bruno Poulin, the second trainer from CanmetENERGY, later provided technical support to Marc in solving boiler issues in one Resolute facility using EXPLORE. 

Amazouz noted that CanmetENERGY is hoping to work with provinces and utilities to offer on-site data mining workshops to larger companies. Generic data mining training would be offered for small, more diversified companies. Amazouz notes that other sectors, such as mining and oil refining, have already profited from on-site data mining training and others including food and beverage are interested.

For more information about data mining, contact Mouloud Amazouz, Senior Project Manager, CanmetENERGY at mouloud.amazouz@canada.ca.

Québec greenhouses are going green

As with all Canadian greenhouse cultivation, greenhouse production in Québec is strongly dependent on an uncontrollable and unpredictable factor: climate. Climate has an enormous influence on the productivity of cultivation activities, business competitiveness, and ultimately growth opportunities for the industry as a whole. It’s hard to grow vegetables, fruits, and ornamental plants in an uninsulated, heated building...in the winter.

Over the past few years, Québec producers, with assistance from Les Producteurs en serre du Québec (PSQ) and other industry stakeholders, have been able to perfect their ability to optimize and precisely regulate the environment in production greenhouses. Their motivation is understandable: their energy bill represents 15 to 30 percent of their annual operating expenses.

To heat greenhouses, a wide variety of energy sources are used, including (in order of importance) petroleum products, biomass, natural gas, electricity, and decentralized energy (particularly geothermal energy). To reduce their ecological footprint while remaining competitive and profitable, businesses are progressively turning away from petroleum products, thereby contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – many of them have already chosen to use renewable energy to heat their installations.

With Québec’s widespread ability to provide quality biomass and abundant green hydroelectric energy, many installations with biomass-fuelled boilers and vertical and horizontal geothermal wells are being studied or are under construction. Heat from industrial activities and biogas combustion from landfill sites – or controlled composting of organic waste – is still sparsely used for heating greenhouses, although there is considerable potential for their use.

As for the energy efficiency of production activities, a multitude of appropriate technological solutions are used by greenhouse growers in Québec, such as heat preservation using thermal screens, heat storage using hydroaccumulation, injection of recovered carbon dioxide (CO₂) to accelerate plant growth, and lighting using light-emitting diodes (LED). Obviously, computerization of climate control in greenhouses is essential for optimal energy-efficient operation. 

In doing so, the industry is changing quickly. Consumption of quality greenhouse fruits and vegetables is constantly increasing, and to benefit from this interest, the PSQ have created a growth strategy, the main objective of which is to double the amount of space used to produce fruits and vegetables by 2020. For ornamental production, they estimate that their collective efforts will increase household expenses in Québec to $400 by 2021, an increase of almost 200 percent compared to 2015.

To do so, since the winter of 2016 the PSQ have been implementing a Market Garden and Greenhouse Competitiveness improvement project. Overall, this project consists of administrative and technical assistance to carry out energy efficiency improvement projects and to transition toward the use of renewable energies to heat greenhouses. Monitoring for grant and funding opportunities is also offered. In doing so, the PSQ are aligning themselves with the objectives of the Government of Québec’s 2030 Energy Policy, which calls for a 40 percent reduction in the use of petroleum products and a 15 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. To transition toward the use of renewable energy and to improve the energy efficiency of production activities, the industry is being visibly proactive.

More information on the activities of the PSQ and greenhouse production in Québec can be found on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SyndicatDesProducteursEnSerre/ in French only).
You can also contact the PSQ at psq@upa.qc.ca for more information on their actions and projects.

You can also sign up for monthly newsletters. Here is the bulletin for August 2016: http://eepurl.com/cewm5T in French only).

Hydro-Québec’s Energy Savers’ Circle honours customer energy achievements

Hydro-Québec recognizes customers who achieve significant energy savings by welcoming them to its Energy Savers' Circle as members, elite members or members of distinction. Hydro-Québec highlights members’ energy efficiency successes in press releases, media advisories and presents them with a certificate at a special event.

Most recently Rio Tinto Aluminum, a member of the Energy Savers’ Circle since 2006 and elite member since 2011, was awarded a membership of distinction after the company achieved annual electricity savings of 343 gigawatt-hours (GWh). To gain these savings, Rio Tinto carried out several electricity consumption analyses to identify and implement energy efficiency measures.

A number of organizations joined Hydro-Québec’s Energy Savers’ Circle this past year. Air Liquide, a leader in the production of cylinder gases, gas technologies and services, reduced its annual electricity consumption by 6 percent by enhancing its nitrogen charge process and upgrading its lighting system to LED lights.

Similarly, ArcelorMittal was welcomed to the Circle for energy efficiency measures at its Longueuil bar mill. The organization also achieved a 6 percent annual electricity reduction by carrying out a major indoor lighting retrofit.

New member Chantier Chibougamau, a forest product manufacturer, was able to reduce its electricity consumption by 18 percent annually as a result of a facility-wide energy analysis. From this analysis, the company identified several opportunities for improvements including the optimization of its debarkers, the retrofit of its indoor and outdoor lighting systems, and the installation of variable speed drives on its compressors.

Hydro Québec also welcomed Goldcorp’s Éléonore mine to its Circle. The company realized annual electricity savings of 17 percent by conducting two electricity consumption analyses and installing a double-stage compressor system with variable frequency drives.

These companies have joined the growing Energy Savers’ Circle, which already includes Agnico-Eagle Mines, Balcan Plastics, Bombardier Aerospace, Bridgestone Canada, Cargill Ltd., Cascades Canada Group, Ciment Québec, IBM Canada Ltd., Labatt Breweries, Lantic Sugar, Molson Coors Canada, Norampac, Parmalat Canada Inc., Sanimax Lom Inc., Saputo, Tafisa Canada Inc. and Technocell Inc.

New CIPEC Leaders

Food and Beverage sector

Frito Lay Canada – Taber, Alberta
La Rocca Creative Cakes – Markham, Ontario
Mother Parker Tea and Coffee Inc. –  Mississauga, Ontario
Westcoast Greenhouses Holding Ltd. – Delta, B.C.
– Westcoast Produce DT Ltd.
– Westcoast Vegetables Ltd.

Petroleum Products Sector

McAsphalt Industries Limited – Toronto, Ontario
– Calgary, Alberta
– Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
– Dieppe, New Brunswick
– Langley, B.C.
– Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
– Port Stanley, Ontario
– Regina, Saskatchewan
– Saint-John, New Brunswick
– Thunder Bay, Ontario
– Winnipeg, Manitoba

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Volume 20 No 6

• Biotechnology helps BioAmber use 60 percent less energy
• 2015 CIEEDAC Data Release
• BioFuelNet is the one-stop shop for cutting-edge biofuels research

Volume 20 No 7

• Triple H Hydronics joins CIPEC’s general manufacturing Leaders
• Mining study points to savings potential of operating at design capacity
• Trends in energy efficiency program expenditures


• Follow CIPEC on Twitter
• Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) becomes sole licensee of the Dollars to $ense energy management workshops
• Calendar of Events
• Call for story ideas

Biotechnology helps BioAmber use 60 percent less energy

“BioAmber is committed to producing chemicals in a more environmentally responsible manner. By using renewable feedstock, eliminating GHG emissions and substantially reducing energy consumption, we are practicing greener, more sustainable chemistry,” says Mike Hartmann, Executive Vice-president of BioAmber, a sustainable chemicals company.

BioAmber has built the world’s largest succinic acid plant that uses an innovative biotechnology process requiring 60 percent less energy and producing 100 percent less GHG emissions. Succinic acid is a chemical building block used in the automotive and electronics industries, in biodegradable plastics, paints and coatings, lubricants as well as food-grade certified products.

BioAmber’s 9,290 square-metre plant is located on a 4.5 hectare (11 acres) brownfields site in Sarnia, Ontario. At this location, the company employs 60 people, and operates 24/7. The new plant, a joint venture between Bio Amber and Mitsui & Co. Ltd., started production in October 2015 and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2016.

Bio Amber’s biotechnological solution uses three large fermenters and is carried out in water at approximately body temperature level and at normal pressure. Hartmann explains that in conventional petroleum succinic acid production, one kilogram of succinic acid results in seven kilograms of CO₂ equivalent emissions. The new bio plant, however, uses two-thirds less energy than a petroleum powered process, which uses high-pressure and temperature. At full capacity, the plant will produce 30,000 tonnes of succinic acid per year and reduce GHG emissions by over 210,000 tonnes annually.

Hartmann notes that the impetus for the development of the new process stems from economic necessity. “Biotechnology is cheaper than petroleum. With the new fermentation process, the plant is not only green but has also lowered its operational costs. We now have a low-cost technology, and are able to market it on a commercial scale. This allows us to operate without subsidies.”

2015 CIEEDAC Data Release

The Canadian Industrial Energy End-use Data and Analysis Centre (CIEEDAC) has released its up-to-date data on energy, GHG emissions and production for 130 different industry groups in Canada for the 1990 – 2014 period. In this issue, CIEEDAC was able to include data from the mining sector and the most recent update on GDP data from Statistics Canada released in December 2015. 

The data, mostly sourced from Statistics Canada, is disaggregated at the national level by the type of energy used and by industry. GHG emissions data has been estimated from Statistics Canada’s energy data. The database also includes process emission data from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s most recent submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

Industry sector-specific fuel consumption, energy intensity indicator, and cumulative GHG emission reports can be generated from the CIEEDAC database. Moreover, reports can also be viewed for carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Individual fuel types can be selected for any year, year combinations or all years between 1990 and 2014. Options for type of activity/intensity/index data are also available and include gross output, gross domestic output and physical units for specific base years.

The release of the 2015 database also marks the retirement of CIEEDAC long-serving executive director, Dr. John Nyboer. Officially retired as of March 31, 2016, Nyboer initially set up CIEEDAC in 1993 in collaboration with NRCan. Thirteen years later it is one of the most long standing data centres in Canada. Through the years, Nyboer has observed the increasing quality and quantity of data as well as the welcome rise in the level of cooperation between stakeholders, such as NRCan and CIPEC, and the support received from stakeholder agencies. Brad Griffin is Nyboer’s successor at CIEEDAC.

To view the data, visit www.cieedac.sfu.ca. For more information, contact Brad Griffin at bradford_griffin@sfu.ca.

BioFuelNet is the one-stop shop for cutting-edge biofuels research

“We would like to see a society where sustainable and renewable energy sources play a more important role in our industrial sector,” mentions Dr. Don Smith, Scientific Director at BioFuelNet. Launched four years ago, BioFuelNet is a network of Canadian biofuels researchers that aims to advance the role of biofuels in the country’s energy supply. The network consists of researchers from academia, government, and industry working in a synergistic fashion on all aspects of biofuels.

Smith explains that the Network’s researchers have moved into Phase II, which involves 10 focused projects that consist of a total of 59 work units or ‘packages’ divided among the different projects. The projects include research across Canada on purpose-grown feedstocks, residues and waste, bioconversion, pyrolysis, gasification and emerging conversion technologies. Additionally, investigators are looking at combustion and engine operations, life cycle analysis and microeconomics, domestic and international policy, and supply-chain logistics.

The research is headed by over 70 primary investigators and 160 associated researchers. About 90 companies are involved in the various projects. Smith notes that National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is the Network’s major funder but that other funders are also involved including NRCan.

BioFuelNet showcases its work every year at its Advanced Biofuels Symposia. This year, the event was held in Vancouver from July 6 to 8. Annie Webb, BioFuelNet’s Manager of Communications and Public Relations and Symposium organizer, expected up to 350 attendees making it the largest biofuels event in Canada. She notes that top scientists, researchers, government representatives and graduate students as well as international experts meet to “discuss all the hot topics in the advanced biofuels sector.” It is also an opportunity for cross-discipline discussions and networking. As Smith highlights, “the symposium is the best venue to find the top experts and cutting-edge in the biofuels sector.”

In addition to the annual Advanced Biofuels Symposia, the Network offers an online certificate course on advanced biofuels. The course is open to anyone within and outside BioFuelNet; at least one-third of the participants are from the industrial sector. In fact, in-company training on biofuels can be arranged. The course, spanning over 14 lectures by top biofuels researchers and experts, cover biofuels feedstocks, conversion technologies, combustion/emission aspects, and commercialization potential. Registration is now open for the next course starting on September 6, 2016.

Smith notes that to date, over 300 students have been trained by BioFuelNet while another 300 are currently in training. “There is a vast amount of innovative and applied research going on in this area.”

For more information on BioFuelNet, visit www.biofuelnet.ca/.

Volume 20 No 7

Triple H Hydronics joins CIPEC’s general manufacturing Leaders

“We have always been interested in cutting costs for our company and our clients,” says Shane Fink, owner and operator of Triple H Hydronics. “To achieve this we continuously look for ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions.”

Triple H Hydronics, located in Calgary, Alberta, designs and manufactures custom make-up air units and hydronic heating panels for commercial, industrial, and residential applications. The company also offers heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) services. Triple H Hydronics has six trained employees that work regular day shifts, Monday to Friday. The company recently moved to a renovated 314-square metre office and warehouse space that will allow for future growth.

“We are huge supporters and promoters of high efficiency heating and cooling systems that reduce consumption,” says Fink. It is Triple H Hydronics’ business to reduce the impact of its clients’ energy use on the environment and on their wallets. “We are constantly looking for ways to help our clients create the most efficient system, no matter their specific requirements.”

On its path of continuous improvement, the company has already implemented a number of measures. “We have installed high efficiency HVAC systems in our new shop and plan to continue to reduce our environmental footprint,” says Fink.

Triple H Hydronics has recently joined CIPEC as a Leader in the General Manufacturing sector to discover more best practices in energy efficiency that could be applied in its facility. As well, Fink says that he hopes to learn about government and utility programs and incentives that could enable energy efficiency projects.

“As we move forward, we will be looking at other measures that we can implement to increase our energy efficiency and reduce our impact on the environment.”

Mining study points to savings potential of operating at design capacity

A recent study of Ontario mines highlights the case for operating at design capacity. “We were not surprised to find that the most efficient use of electricity was when the mill ran at design capacity,” says Michelle Levesque, senior engineer in Mine/Mill Energy Efficiency and Underground Mine Environment at NRCan’s CanmetMINING. However, she and fellow researchers found that only 2 of 14 metal mills in Ontario were operating at design capacity in 2010.

The study, shortlisted for a 2015 Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) medal, comprised a review of an energy audit conducted in 2008 at a base metal milling facility in northern Ontario. Levesque explains that the study, funded by MIRARCO and Vale, was part of her Ph.D. on the development of an improved energy management methodology for mining. The original audit identified 10 measures that had the potential to collectively save 5 percent of on-site energy consumption.

She found that the mill was only operating at 74 percent but could save 14 percent in energy costs if it was more efficiently run.

The study was expanded to examine how 3 other milling facilities were operated in 2012 that were found to only be utilizing between 47 and 74 percent of their capacity at the time. Through modelling, it was determined that these mills could save between 16 and 36 percent of energy consumption if operational schedules were modified allowing the facilities to operate at design capacity even on an intermittent schedule.

Levesque notes that alternatives exist for milling processes built in parallel lines. In these cases, there is flexibility to operate continuously at lower throughput without compromising on efficiency. “This should be a consideration at the design stage.”

Modifying operating schedules can be a good investment for mining companies. Companies, particularly in Ontario, can realize additional cost savings from strategic scheduling to reduce energy demand, which could lead to even more substantial financial benefits.

Levesque points to a few considerations when modifying schedules to operate at design capacity. For instance, the cost of ore storage when ore is not being used, the effect on downstream processes, and the cost of process start-up and shut-down should be studied.  

“Thorough and verified energy audits are important in identifying energy saving opportunities,” indicates Levesque. They can also further an understanding of the principal factors that affect energy consumption within a facility to ensure efficient energy use.

To read the study, go to www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892687514003768.

Trends in energy efficiency program expenditures

The reports published by the Consortium of Energy Efficiency (CEE) provide an annual analysis of energy efficiency programs trends in Canada and the U.S. As with other years, the 2015 report (CEE’s tenth consecutive data collection effort) also summarizes demand response budgets, expenditures and savings.

The State of the Efficiency Program Industry Report is based on data collected through a survey of demand side management (DSM) program administrators, which can provide an accurate picture of energy efficiency programs over time when combined with past survey data.

In 2014, Canadian electricity and natural gas DSM program expenditures decreased by about 2 percent compared to 2013. This decrease could be due to an energy surplus experienced during the survey period, which resulted in less DSM activity, according to one program administrator. Despite this decrease, electricity and natural gas expenditures remained stable over the past five years at around $920 million thereby suggesting ongoing investments in energy efficiency.

The survey shows that electricity DSM expenditures totaled $696 million in 2014 – a 4 percent decrease from 2013. The share of these expenditures by commercial and industrial sectors decreased by 50 percent from 2013.  

Two-thirds of Canada’s electricity energy efficiency expenditures in 2014 were customer rebates and incentives, with 22 percent going to marketing and administration, and 6 percent to research and evaluation. Custom industrial programs were among the top program category expenditures in 2014.

In terms of natural gas programs, Canadian administrators spent $130 million in 2014, which is an increase of 7 percent compared to 2013 or 67 percent since 2010 indicating continuous growth in natural gas efficiency programs. The commercial and industrial category represent around 40 percent of program expenditures in 2014 of which customer incentives contributed approximately two-thirds.

Canada’s DSM electricity and natural gas efficiency program expenditures in 2014 represented about 0.05 percent of that year’s Canadian Gross Domestic Product. In 2015, DSM program administrators budgeted just under $1.01 billion on programs, which is nearly 6 percent less compared to the amount budgeted for in 2014.

To read the full report, visit www.cee1.org/annual-industry-reports.

Follow CIPEC on Twitter

Building on the momentum of the CIPEC LinkedIn group’s inception, CIPEC launched its Twitter account @CIPEC_PEEIC in late February 2016 as part of a broader strategy to extend the organization’s reach through social media.

CIPEC’s quest to get social benefitted from a recent publicity boost for Canadian industrial energy efficiency thanks to Energy Summit 2016. During the event on May 17 and 18, a Twitter wall displayed live tweets from the account and the event hashtag #e2016Niagara was used, allowing both conference participants and non-participants to join in and follow discussions on the platform. This created a steady and searchable stream of the conference proceedings and helped raise the profile of the event internationally in locations such as the United States, Spain and France.

The @CIPEC_PEEIC account now has more than 280 followers. CIPEC continues to use the account to share updates on energy management programs and tools for industry, examples of industrial energy efficiency leadership and best practices, services, events and other information of interest to CIPEC members and the greater industrial community, facilitating rapid knowledge exchanges both within and beyond Canada’s borders.

We encourage you to follow @CIPEC_PEEIC to stay informed on the latest developments in industrial energy efficiency and to share your thoughts, insights and reactions. If you have colleagues who are on Twitter, please share the @CIPEC_PEEIC handle with them and encourage them to join the industrial energy efficiency conversation.

New to Twitter and not sure how to start participating, or need inspiration? Here are some suggested tweets you can use right now:

I’m now following Canada’s #Industry #EnergyEfficiency leaders via @CIPEC_PEEIC!

Shout out to @CIPEC_PEEIC for keeping me informed on industrial #EnergyManagement – great resource!

Are you an experienced Twitter user with ideas on topics, discussions or events CIPEC should follow? Send hashtag or handle follow suggestions to: NRCan.industry_outreach-sensibilisation_industrie.RNCan@canada.ca.

Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) becomes sole licensee of the Dollars to $ense energy management workshops

Natural Resource Canada (NRCan) is pleased to announce that the Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) is the sole licensee of the Dollars to $ense energy management workshops in Canada.

CIET and NRCan signed the agreement on June 27, 2016, granting the 5-year sole royalty bearing licence to CIET for the delivery of the workshops in Canada and non-exclusive rights to deliver the workshops in any country around the world. 

The Dollars to $ense energy management workshops have a new look and a new format.  The material from the previous six standard workshops is now presented in 30 modules, which can easily be used as building blocks for organizations that wish to focus on specific topics or have limited resources. The new format is also expected to further extend the reach of its content to Canada’s northern and aboriginal communities, and internationally.”

For information on booking a Dollars to $ense energy management workshop please contact the Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) by phone at 1 800 461-7618, by email at info@cietcanada.com or website: http://cietcanada.com.

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

• Clean Energy Ministerial – CEM7 meeting
  • New Gold – New Afton mine awarded CEM Award of Excellence in Energy Management
  • Energy ministers launch new campaigns on energy efficiency and renewable energy at Seventh Clean Energy Ministerial

• Energy Summit 2016
  • CIPEC Leadership Awards ceremony celebrates winners and CIPEC’s success
  • Danielle Fong’s keynote addresses the unlimited potential of renewables
  • Ian Potter envisions the factory of the future during his keynote
  • Keynote speaker Chris Ragan asks participants to consider carbon pricing

• 2015 CIPEC Annual Report now available online

• Calendar of Events

• Call for story ideas

New Gold – New Afton mine awarded CEM Award of Excellence in Energy Management

New Gold’s New Afton Mine has garnered one of the most prestigious global awards in energy management. The company has been recognized with one of three Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Awards of Excellence in Energy Management during CEM7 in San Francisco on June 2.

This first edition of the CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards recognizes organizations that are using ISO 50001 to make real and long-term changes within their structure, and the local and global communities they operate in as demonstrated in their case study submissions. The awards include several award categories. The Award of Excellence in Energy Management goes to three organizations, while the National Energy Management awards are given out by CEM contributing countries to organizations for the top submissions and the Energy Management Insight Awards go to qualifying entries that help build global insight on the benefits of energy management systems.

CIPEC Leader New Afton mine was recognized for implementing an energy management system that improved its energy performance by 11.4 percent over the past three years.

The mine received ISO 50001 certification in 2014, making it the first mine in North America to do so. Since that time, the mine has achieved significant savings through a variety of measures. In 2014, it reduced its energy use by nearly six percent from the previous year and four percent in 2015 over 2014 energy use. These savings were achieved despite increased production, upgrades and an expansion project causing an increase in total energy consumption in both years. Energy intensity and GHG emissions declined in 2014 as a result of energy performance improvement measures. Moreover, implemented energy efficiency measures also had operational, safety, environmental or maintenance benefits.

Employee engagement and awareness have been one of the biggest benefits from the mine’s energy management efforts. Staff at all levels have identified a wide range of energy efficiency opportunities and continue to do so. New Gold also attributes its success to its partnership with BC Hydro. The utility’s Strategic Energy Management Program allowed New Afton to hire a full-time Energy Manager, whose sole focus is energy conservation.

Additionally, energy performance improvement at the New Afton mine has had the support of the mine’s management and New Gold’s corporate team since the mine became operational. Energy conservation is part of the fabric of the company and translates into an energy policy that is reviewed annually, as are annual energy targets with accompanying action plans, energy training of the Energy Team, and an extensive energy planning and assessment process.

Two other organizations, Cummins Inc. and LG Chem Ltd, were also recognized for their energy management achievements with a CEM Award of Excellence. Another 32 organizations received an Insight Award for helping to raise awareness of ISO 50001 and increase global knowledge of energy management implementation.

Three CIPEC Leaders received an Insight Award. The recipients are the 3M Canada Company for its Brockville, London, Perth, Ontario facilities. 3M implemented ISO 50001 in four of its Canadian and international facilities to achieve energy efficiency improvements of 60 percent above the company average. Catalyst Paper Canada implemented ISO 50001 in its Crofton, B.C. mill thus achieving savings of $3,264,000; a payback of less than one year. Schneider Electric Canada also received this award for adopting an enterprise-wide approach to implementing ISO 50001 in a record six months, certifying its Victoria, B.C. and McLaughlin, Ontario plants as well as 18 other sites around the globe.

New Gold and the other winners of the CEM Awards of Excellence were honoured at CEM7 on June 2, 2016 in San Francisco, California.

Energy ministers launch new campaigns on energy efficiency and renewable energy at Seventh Clean Energy Ministerial

Energy ministers and other high-level delegates from 23 countries and the European Union announced new commitments to expand clean energy deployment and cut global carbon emissions while driving economic growth at the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7) on June 2, 2016.

“Homegrown emission-reducing and clean energy technologies play an increasingly important role in Canada’s economic growth as we support the global transition to a low-carbon economy. Government and private sector investments in clean energy and technology research and development will help us meet our climate change objectives, increase Canada's competitiveness and support employment opportunities across the country,” said Minister James Carr. “The progress we are already making on global clean energy cooperation in making clean energy affordable bodes well for the future as we advance common energy, environment and economic goals.”

Canadian CEM campaigns commitments:

Developing Climate Smart Cooling Technologies: The new Advanced Cooling (AC) Campaign challenges governments and industry to develop and deploy at scale super-efficient, smart, climate friendly and affordable cooling technologies critical for prosperous and healthy societies furthering the goals of the Montreal Protocol. Access to cooling can improve health, productivity, economic growth, and educational outcomes. For example, improving the average efficiency of air conditioners sold in 2030 by 30 percent could reduce emissions by up to 25 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the lifetime of the equipment and reduce peak electricity demand by as much as 340-790 gigawatts.

To help achieve this goal, Canada is joining the Advanced Cooling Challenge and committing to promote greater use of cost-effective, energy-efficient air conditioning and refrigeration equipment through appliance efficiency policies and programs.

Improving Energy Management: The new Energy Management Campaign aims to secure 50,001 global certifications to ISO 50001 by 2020. ISO 50001, the global energy management system standard, has a proven framework of requirements to transform the way organizations manage energy and meet sustainable energy goals. Approximately 15,000 facilities worldwide have been certified to ISO 50001 since its launch in 2011, realizing energy improvements of 10 percent or more, often through low-cost or no-cost changes to operations.

Canada will accelerate the adoption of innovative energy management systems and practices, including ISO 50001, as part of a suite of new energy efficiency certifications for the Canadian industrial sector.

Decarbonizing the Power Sector: The energy ministries of Canada, Mexico, and the United States announced their intention to jointly carry out a North American Renewable Integration Study – the single largest renewable energy integration study ever undertaken.

Global Lighting Challenge: Canada endorses the Global Lighting Challenge, which was launched in Paris during COP21, joining the 14 original CEM members who had participated in the Challenge launch.

For more information on the CEM campaign commitments, visit www.cleanenergyministerial.org/, and in the top menu select ‘Our Work’ and click on ‘Campaigns’.   

CIPEC Leadership Awards ceremony celebrates winners and CIPEC’s success

Andy Mahut, Manager of Energy Practices at US Steel Canada Inc., and Chair of the Executive Board of CIPEC welcomed nearly 300 participants to the CIPEC Leadership Awards ceremony at the Energy Summit 2016, From Ideas to Action, in Niagara Falls, Ontario on May 17. After recognizing event organizers, sponsors, and others involved in making the Summit a success, he reminded attendees that 2015 marked the Canadian Industrial Program for Energy Conservation’s (CIPEC) 40th anniversary.

Mahut noted that the organization was started in 1975, by visionaries in government and industry who understood the value of a partnership to help Canadian industry become more profitable by achieving savings in energy use.

CIPEC, with its focus on energy efficiency and conservation in support of industrial competitiveness, is ideally placed at the intersection of creating a robust economy that is environmentally responsible. CIPEC reflects a key pillar of the country’s national strategy into the future, said Mahut.

The organization delivers its vision by providing effective tools and services that enable companies across Canada to implement economically feasible energy efficiency improvements. Mahut encouraged Summit participants to learn more about CIPEC’s various programs including support with ISO 50001 Energy Management System implementation and the new ENERGY STAR recognition program.

Mahut asked participants to recognize the CIPEC award winners but also the many CIPEC members that achieved impressive savings by turning energy efficiency ideas into action. He congratulated all individuals and companies who strive, one gigajoule or kilowatt at-a-time, to make their organization more energy-efficient and cost competitive.

Patricia Fuller, Director General of the Office of Energy Efficiency also commented on the success of CIPEC. What started with a few industry executives has now grown to almost 2,400 companies and 50 trade associations spread across 21 industrial sectors. Forty years of CIPEC have added up to billions of dollars in annual energy savings, a cleaner environment and more competitive companies.

To keep this momentum going, Fuller noted that the current government is making unprecedented investments in green infrastructure, promoting research, accelerating business growth and supporting clean technology. This approach will continue and expand on the success that CIPEC has seen by helping companies realize significant energy savings and GHG emission reductions.

Countries from around the world look upon CIPEC as an effective and proven model for an industry-government partnership for sharing best practices and providing cost-sharing assistance. With organizations such as CIPEC, energy conservation has become unstoppable.

Fuller concluded that the 12 companies honoured during the awards ceremony embody the vision and success of CIPEC.

Sarah Stinson, Director, Industry Division of the Office of Energy Efficiency, noted in her introduction to the awards ceremony that the winning projects reflected the conference theme: From Ideas to Action. These companies demonstrated excellence in energy performance, innovation, and environmental contribution. She noted that, in addition to the 2016 CIPEC Leadership Awards, a new CIPEC award category, the CIPEC Energy Management National Award, has been established, which recognizes the two top Canadian entries to the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Global Energy Management Leadership Awards.

The 2016 CIPEC Leadership Award winners are

New Category in 2016: CIPEC Energy Management National Award: New Gold – New Afton Mine and 3M Canada Company

Corporate Stewardship Award: Cascades inc. and ArcelorMittal Dofasco

Process and Technology Improvement Award: Barrick-Hemlo and CAE Inc.

Energy Performance Management Award: Catalyst Paper Corporation – Powell River and Shell Canada Limited

Employee Awareness and Training Award: Canfor Pulp Limited and 3M Canada – Brockville

Integrated Energy Efficiency Strategy Award: Global Wood Concepts Ltd. and Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee

For information on the award recipients, visit nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/industry/cipec/5409.

Danielle Fong’s keynote addresses the unlimited potential of renewables

Danielle Fong, Cofounder and Chief Scientist of LightSail Energy shared her insights and experience in the sustainable energy field with attendees at the recent Energy Summit 2016. Fong has been a renewable energy champion and researcher since the age of 12. This eventually drove her to co-found LightSail, which focuses its resources on the challenges of storing renewable energy.

The potential of renewable energy sources remain largely unrealized, stated Fong. She noted that renewables can be more directly harnessed than fossil fuels but are limited by current technology and the ability for long-term storage. However, once these barriers are overcome, only 0.5 percent of the earth’s land would be required to power all the planet’s energy needs. The planet’s energy future would effectively be unlimited.

Fong also discussed current GHG emission scenarios and the planet’s precarious position as it nears the tipping point of climate change: “Climate change projections are dire and forecast increasing extreme heat events, ocean acidification, and hurricane destructive power, to name a few”, she noted saying that climate change may also have an impact on human behaviour and decision making performance.

She contended that technology can move the planet beyond its limits to growth. Current technologies, however, are too expensive and cannot be adopted on a large scale. Low-capital, globally available technologies with a long service life are required.

Part of the solution is the capture of waste heat from buildings and industrial processes, noted Fong. With energy storage technology, significant increases in efficiency can be achieved in heating, hot water production and air conditioning.

Fong concluded by sharing one potential solution – LightSail’s development of a thermodynamic innovation – its proprietary Regenerative Air Energy Storage (RAES), which combines the concept of efficiency in compressed air systems with energy storage.

To find out more about LightSail’s RAES project, visit www.lightsail.com/.

Ian Potter envisions the factory of the future during his keynote

The Factory of the Future (FOTF) is achievable and would propel Canada’s manufacturing sector into a new era of innovation and competitiveness, according to Dr. Ian Potter, Vice-President of Engineering at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

Potter noted that the current manufacturing megatrends include a move towards collaboration and cross-sectoral partnerships, transparent supply chain management and a skilled and diverse workforce. The manufacturing landscape of today is global, tailored, and hyper-connected to the internet; at the same time it is open and customer-centric.

Green sustainable manufacturing is also on the rise in all industrial sectors including the automotive and aerospace industries where processes have become more energy-efficient and produce fewer emissions. Moreover, the manufacturing sector is improving the collection and analyses of energy data, and is increasingly using energy management systems and more energy-efficient products.

Potter envisions a new manufacturing era with companies using “information and analytics as skillfully as they employ talent and machinery to deliver products and services.” He sees the “factories of the future” driving innovation, productivity growth and exports through advancement in materials, technology, processes and product design. Manufacturing transformation means companies need to be more flexible, modular, digital, virtual, and highly reliable.

Potter outlined the key technology domains to be addressed for advanced manufacturing:

• Advanced materials including composites, light weight metals, high strength steel, and materials that target energy storage and conversion.
• Advanced design and simulation such as multi-scale simulation, rapid prototyping, and digital manufacturing.
• Advanced information and communication technologies that include internet/wireless-based manufacturing intelligence.
• Advanced processes and systems, including advanced tooling, laser-based additive manufacturing, and multi-functional hybrid processes.

Potter also plotted a path to FOTF for the manufacturing industry by 2030 with six strategies, starting with leveraging Canada’s natural resource base, shifting to a customer-driven innovation model, developing a skilled workforce and finally developing opportunities for localized/mass customized manufacturing.

Canada’s FOTF will evolve as the intersection of advanced technology, design, processes and systems engineering with the country’s human and natural resources, all within innovative business models and policies.

For more information NRC’s Factory of the Future Program, visit www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/solutions/facilities/index.html.

Keynote speaker Chris Ragan asks participants to consider carbon pricing

Appropriate carbon pricing can drive market transformation and a transition to low emission energy sources in Canada, said Dr. Chris Ragan, Chair of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission and Associate Professor of Economics at McGill University, during his keynote speech to participants at the recent Energy Summit 2016.

“The question is not if Canada needs to lower greenhouse gas emissions, but rather when and how,” Ragan said, adding that the time is now and the preferred approach to achieve lower emissions is through provincial carbon pricing. He also mentioned that carbon pricing is appealing in comparison to the costs due to the effects of climate change.

While climate change regulations could offer an approach, Ragan noted that they can be fiscally cheap but economically expensive. Carbon pricing, on the other hand, is cost-effective and drives ongoing innovation. Moreover, associated costs are transparent.

A number of economic benefits are tied to carbon pricing. It can provide direct revenues of up to 2.4 percent, another 0.9 percent from recycling revenues, and 0.4 percent from linking different systems.  Ragan noted that provinces have different options for implementing carbon pricing models. They could implement a carbon tax or utilize a cap-and-trade system.

Carbon pricing does present some challenges; namely household fairness (imposed costs on households) and business competitiveness. To overcome these, provincial governments could consider carbon pricing as a share of household income. In terms of competitiveness, Ragan suggested some targeted and temporary solutions such as offering companies the cash value of carbon costs.

Anticipated revenues from recycling could be used by provinces to reduce income taxes and/or public debt, invest in clean technology and/or infrastructure, and to provide transitional support to industry. As priorities differ across provinces, revenue-recycling choices will differ across the country. Household fairness and business competitiveness challenges can both be addressed with good policy, and therefore need not be an obstacle to designing and implementing carbon pricing policies.

Ragan argued that the transition to low carbon energy through appropriate carbon pricing is the best way to promote successful clean technologies – generally much more reliably than using direct support from government. “A broad-based carbon price completely changes the business model for clean technology, in a way that will drive enormous technological development”, he concluded.

For more information on the Ecofiscal Commission and their view of carbon pricing, visit http://ecofiscal.ca/.

2015 CIPEC Annual Report now available online

The 2015 CIPEC Annual Report, From Ideas to Action, profiling 21 industrial sectors which encompass close to 2,400 Leader facilities and more than 50 trade associations, noting their energy intensity improvements, targets and achievements is now available online.

To read the report, visit nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/industry/opportunities/5157.

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

The ENERGY STAR name and symbol are trademarks registered in Canada by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are administered and promoted by Natural Resources Canada.

• Off Site Tour to Tech Mahindra
• Pitch your energy projects “Dragons’ Den” style
• Global Carbon Markets
• The Business Value of Energy Management Systems
• Sustainability Practices That Work
• Calendar of Events
• Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) – spring and summer schedule
• Call for story ideas

Off Site Tour to Tech Mahindra

This session involves a demonstration of cutting edge technology that will prepare the infrastructure for the emerging electric vehicle market. Tour attendees will experience solutions for the effect that electric vehicle charging has on electrical transformers. The key benefit of the solution includes real time monitoring of the transformers and ability to take action before transformers get overloaded. The project will also analyze use of electric vehicles for demand response. The components of the proposed solution are customer smart meters, electric vehicle charging systems and distribution transformer monitoring infrastructure to create communication platforms that will create the data for advanced analytics

Pitch your energy projects “Dragons’ Den” style

A net zero plant? Biogas from waste? Systematic energy management? What is possible when the most ambitious energy managers and the sustainable business advocates push the envelope? Join us in this energy solutions and low carbon technologies discussion moderated by Richard Janecky of the Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada. Five business leaders and energy efficiency experts will share their point of view on real world case studies.

The Judges include: Al Diggins, President of Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC), Andrew Bowerbank, Global Director of Sustainable Building Services, EllisDon Corporation, Chih-Ting Lo, Principal, EELO Solutions, David Arkell, President and CEO, 360 Energy, and Jim McCoubrey, President, Troy Life Fire and Safety Inc.

Global Carbon Markets

The recent change in Canadian leadership combined with a growing concern about practices that impact our climate has intensified discussion surrounding the future of the world’s carbon markets. This session moderated by Giulia Brutesco, Industry Standards, of Fertilizer Canada will look at the future of the North American carbon market and how it relates to carbon market initiatives around the world. The discussion will focus on what’s happening in Canada with a rundown on the provincial systems that are currently proposed or in place, and conclude with insight into how Canadian manufacturers can maintain or augment their competitive advantage during this period of cap-and-trade adoption.

Presenters include: Brian Bobbie, President, ALTECH Environmental Consulting Ltd., Katie Sullivan, Director, The Americas and Climate Finance, IETA, Mike Kennedy, Senior Engineer, GHG Services Lead, RWDI

The Business Value of Energy Management Systems

Interest in energy management systems and their role in promoting greater industrial energy efficiency has grown significantly, and for good reasons.
This session moderated by Bob Fraser, of Engineering Support Services at Natural Resources Canada will explain how to develop a solid business case that will engage your management, then select the right energy management system for big benefits.

Presenters include: Chih-Ting Lo,Principal, EELO Solutions, Emily Thorn Corthay,North American Energy Optimization & Management Lead, Hatch Management Consulting, Patricia Clark, Senior Engineer ISO Specialist, Contractor for the DOE Energy Efficiency SEP Program, Allegheny Science & Technology, and Peter Bassett, President, Energy Performance Services (EPS/Canada) Inc.

Sustainability Practices That Work

Energy efficiency is an important part of sustainability programs. It is one of the ways a sustainability program can pay for itself. Large corporations often provide a proving ground for making this work. But it doesn’t just happen. This discussion moderated by Gilles Morel, Director at Canadian Fuels Association, includes presentations from Andrew Hejnar, Corporate Energy Manager, 3M Canada Company, Brendan Marshall, ‎Senior Director, Economic and Northern Affairs, Mining Association of Canada, Luc Robitaille, VP Responsible Care, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada

Meet the experts who have made sustainability work on a large scale and learn how they approach the challenge.

Calendar of Events

Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) – spring and summer schedule

Motors, Variable Speed Drives & Energy Efficiency
Toronto – May 19
Montréal – May 26 (offered in French)

Certified in the Use of RETScreen® (CUR)
Toronto – May 24-26

Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP)
Vancouver – May 25-27

Certified Energy Auditor (CEA)
Toronto – May 31-June 3

Certified Energy Manager (CEM)
Toronto – June 6-10

Energy Efficiency for Managers
Montréal – June 8 (offered in French)

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

• Energy Summit keynotes to speak to energy, productivity and carbon pricing
• Celebrating 40 years of success
  • CIPEC: A retrospective
  • Four decades of energy management outreach successes
• Thomas & Betts Canada wins EFC award for its innovative sustainability campaign
• PepsiCo forges fruitful partnership with Manitoba Hydro Power Smart program
• Research Chair in Industrial Energy Efficiency focuses on innovative refrigeration systems
• Notice of Expression of Interest – Deadline: April 22, 2016
• People Power Challenge 2016 – best edition yet
• New CIPEC Leaders
• Calendar of Events
• Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) – spring and summer schedule
• Call for story ideas

Energy Summit keynotes to speak to energy, productivity and carbon pricing

Dr. Ian Potter, Vice-President of Engineering at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is looking forward to engaging with delegates as he discusses the nexus between energy and the manufacturing sector. NRC works with Canadian industry to carry out projects and programs that lead to innovation in the engineering arena to improve efficiency in manufacturing.

Since his NRC appointment in 2011, Potter has been instrumental in the strategic direction, operation and client key account management for the NRC engineering division. Prior to his current position, Mr. Potter spent 10 years at the Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF).

Dr. Potter will elaborate on Canada’s resources and resourcefulness to enhance Canada’s position in global manufacturing. He will explain how Canada could better leverage its investments in new technology, processes and product development, and the role of Canada’s skilled workforce including the unique characteristics of Gen Y.

Terry Young is Vice-President, Conservation and Corporate Relations, for the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). The IESO is the hub of Ontario's power system by balancing Ontario’s electricity supply and demand, planning the province’s energy needs, overseeing the electricity wholesale market and fostering an energy conservation culture.

Young, who has over 30 years of experience in the electricity industry, has been with IESO since 2002 holding various portfolios. He currently manages IESO’s external relationships and conservation activities, and also deals with communications, marketing, stakeholder and community engagement as well as customer relations.

During his keynote, Young will discuss how businesses have embraced energy efficiency as a key to greater competitiveness. In today’s world, using less energy powers new business opportunities. Whether it improves productivity, increases employee performance or enhances corporate reputation, the end result is the same – industries throughout the province are unlocking the full potential that energy efficiency has to offer.

Helping companies achieve results, are local utilities and the IESO working together to provide tools, resources and insight to help participants move forward on their efficiency projects.  As the province looks ahead to conservation targets, Young will speak to the importance of offering solutions that not only meet customer needs in a cost-effective manner, but help support sustainable energy management practices over the long term.

Dr. Chris Ragan is Chair of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission and Associate Professor of Economics at McGill University. He plans to discuss the importance of carbon pricing in stimulating innovative technologies in energy efficiency. “We don’t have the price right yet but once we do, we can drive a transition to low-emission energy sources in Canada.”

In addition to his work at Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, which aims to identify policy options that improve environmental and economic performance in Canada, Ragan is also a research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute. He previously held the institute’s David Dodge Chair in Monetary Policy and was a member of the organization’s Monetary Policy Council. Between 2009 and 2010, He served as the Clifford Clark Visiting Economist at Finance Canada and, from 2009 to 2011, as the president of the Ottawa Economics Association. Dr. Ragan was recently appointed to the federal finance minister’s advisory council on economic growth.

In his keynote, he will argue that the transition to low carbon energy through appropriate carbon pricing is the best way to promote successful clean technologies – generally much more reliably than using direct support from government. “A broad-based carbon price completely changes the business model for clean technology – in a way that will drive enormous technological development.”

According to Dr. Ragan, there are also significant opportunities created from the revenues generated by the carbon price. “Ontario, for example, could generate $2 billion annually from its cap and trade system, and this revenue could be used to reduce existing income taxes and to retire government debt, both of which would generate long-term economic gains for the province.”

The keynote speakers promise to give participants an excellent understanding of the broader policy, innovation and productivity implications of improved energy conservation and management. All agree that the Energy Summit provides an important venue where stakeholders from different sectors and backgrounds can come together and share experiences – the resulting discussion allows for cross fertilization of ideas and opportunities beyond the individuals own sector.

Register at energy2016.ca to learn how to put energy saving ideas into action.

Celebrating 40 years of success

CIPEC: A retrospective

CIPEC is celebrating its 40^th anniversary and there is much to celebrate. Energy efficiency in industry has advanced dramatically since CIPEC emerged in 1975 when the Government of Canada and 50 senior energy industry executives met to talk about strategies for dealing with the OPEC oil crisis. From its inception in the 1970s to representing more than 6,000 facilities across Canada today, CIPEC is looked upon as a model of a highly-productive voluntary partnership.

In 1976, CIPEC had already created 10 Canadian Industry Energy Conservation Task Forces, which met their ambitious goal of improving energy efficiency in industry by 12 percent by 1980. A few years later, hundreds of companies and more than a dozen trade associations were flocking to CIPEC to become members. It was little wonder that CIPEC garnered international attention not long after its launch; the International Energy Agency said that CIPEC was “worthy of emulation by other member countries.”

As William Cowling, Chairman of the Council of CIPEC and of Courtaulds Canada Inc. said during the 1980s, “the small and dedicated group of people from industry and Government probably did not realize in 1975 that the Energy Conservation Program they put in place would be so successful and that, after ten years of operation, a further five-year plan for reducing the use of energy would be charted.”

The Government of Canada’s 1990 Green Plan for a Healthy Environment focused attention on the voluntary industry-government partnership that underscores CIPEC. A year later, CIPEC was re-invented with Sector Task Forces, a Task Force Council and an Executive Board that provided advice to the Minister of Natural Resources Canada on industrial energy efficiency matters.

By the early 2000s, CIPEC’s ranks had swelled to 45 trade associations representing 5,000 companies. Also during this time, CIPEC created the Energy Managers Network and enabled 18 industrial sectors to undertake benchmarking studies across more than 260 facilities.

In its mission to advance energy efficiency in Canadian industry, CIPEC has supported its members in many ways. Between 2001 and 2006, CIPEC encouraged companies to undertake energy audits with the Industrial Energy Audit Incentive program. More than 730 cost-sharing incentives were paid out under this program. In the last year of the program, the Process Integration pilot and Combustion Diagnosis pilot were added.

CIPEC has recognized innovators and leaders since 1995 when the Industrial Energy Innovators (IEI) program was launched, which in 2008 became CIPEC Leaders. Since that time thousands of companies have signed on as Leaders, for a total of almost 2,500 in 2015.

Early in 2000, Charles Hantro, Chairman of the CIPEC Policy Board and of Dominion Textile Inc. and Dofasco Inc. noted that “another indication of industry’s strong support for the voluntary approach is reflected by the fact that during the past year, CIPEC entered into Letters of Cooperation (LOCs) with 16 new industry associations more than doubling the number of LOCs in effect in 1995.”

The $27 million ecoACTION program, launched in 2007, included CIPEC’s ecoENERGY Retrofit program for small and medium sized enterprises. By the end of the program in 2011, more than 500 agreements had been funded representing $11 million in avoided energy costs and eliminating 130,000 tonnes in GHG emissions. New funding in 2011 resulted in a new suite of programs under ecoENERGY Efficiency for Industry, with a focus on cost sharing for process integration and computation fluid dynamics studies, energy assessments and ISO 50001 Energy Systems standard certification pilot projects.

CIPEC’s work continues as focused as ever with the same goal as 40 years ago: to promote effective voluntary action that improve industrial energy efficiency, thereby improving economic performance while helping to meet Canada's climate change objectives.

“After 40 successful years of collaboration with industry, CIPEC continues to be a living example of what Canada does very well: work together to create solutions that support the advancement of business while bringing great benefits to everyone. Our vision has finally come of age. Now virtually all levels of government and much of industry is supportive of what we have worked so hard to accomplish all along, which is to promote and support energy efficiency in every way we can. Truly, CIPEC Leaders have achieved results that all Canadians can be proud of, and will continue to do so in the future.” Andy Mahut, Chair, CIPEC Executive Board 2015.

Four decades of energy management outreach successes

CIPEC’s ever-evolving suite of energy management awareness through communication tools and practices distinguish the organization as innovative and adaptive to the needs of its industry partners. From its modest beginnings 40 years ago to a globally-respected partnership, CIPEC has developed a wide range of accessible resources.

The Heads Up CIPEC e-newsletter is a hallmark of CIPEC’s communication tools. Launched in 1997 with only a handful of subscribers, the newsletter has grown its readership to over 10,000 subscribers nationwide. Heads Up features industrial energy efficiency success stories, profiles innovators and innovations, and announces new programs and incentives for industry.

The Dollars to $ense Energy Management workshop series, designed to help organizations reduce their energy use, were also new in 1997 and had already been delivered to 9,000 participants by 2005. As new topics were added over the years including energy efficiency financing, building recommissioning, and ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard implementation, attendance soared to an additional 11,000 participants. By 2015, over 30,000 people had participated in the ever-popular series and customized Dollars to $ense workshops.   Natural Resources Canada will be granting a commercial licensing arrangement with training firms to administer the delivery of Dollars to $ense workshops to industrial, commercial and institutional organizations across Canada.

In 2011, energy efficiency for industry webinars were introduced covering topics such as energy management information systems (EMIS), RETScreen software, efficient management of compressed air and motor systems, combined heat and power systems. One popular webinar focuses on the path to ISO 50001 standard certification. Since the webinars were launched, they have attracted 3,000 participants over 48 sessions.

CIPEC’s involvement in the ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard started more than a decade ago when CIPEC ensured that Canada’s voice was heard in the development of the standard. At that time, CIPEC members and government officials worked together to promote Canadian competitiveness and environmental progress. CIPEC eventually introduced the CAN/CSA-ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard in Canada in 2011 and has been helping industry achieve compliance ever since.

CIPEC provided cost-sharing for companies who wanted to certify under ISO 50001. By 2013 seven CIPEC Leaders had become ISO 50001 certified, which prompted CIPEC to produce a number of ISO case studies and videos, now posted to CIPEC’s website. Seventeen Canadian companies have become ISO 50001 certified as of 2015.

In addition to its programs and tools, CIPEC has also been active on the networking and best practices sharing front. Since 2005, CIPEC has participated in the Council of Energy and Mines Ministers Conference and has been contributing tools and reports on energy conservation ever since.

Also in 2005, NRCan started hosting its premier biennial energy conference, now called the Energy Summit, which offers industry participants the best in energy efficient technologies, expertise and knowledge exchange. It is also the venue for honouring innovative industrial companies and individuals in the area of energy efficiency with the CIPEC Leadership awards.

Thomas & Betts Canada wins EFC award for its innovative sustainability campaign

Thomas & Betts Canada launched its formal sustainability campaign in 2010 that has fostered reduced water and energy consumption, and increased waste recycling at its facilities, while engaging employees. For its efforts the company was recognized with the 2015 Electro-Federation of Canada (EFC) Marketing Award for Sustainability in November 2015. Every year the EFC honours member organizations that demonstrate marketing excellence and innovation within the Canadian electrical manufacturing and distribution industry.

Thomas & Betts Canada, a division of the ABB group, is headquartered in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec. It operates eight manufacturing plants: one in Ontario, one in Alberta and six manufacturing plants in Quebec along with a warehouse in Quebec. The company designs and manufactures components used to manage the connection, distribution and reliability of electrical power in industrial, construction and utility applications.

Carole Poirier, Manager, Market Research and Sustainable Development at Thomas & Betts Canada, explains that the campaign was built on the principles of eco-friendly and innovative design, reduction of its ecological footprint, sustainable purchasing and logistics, and social commitment. The company has applied these principles since 2007 and has seen significant reductions in resource use.

She notes, for example, that water consumption has been reduced by 50 percent across its Canadian facilities, largely by installing closed loops in chilled water systems. Natural gas consumption has dropped by 15 percent due to a number of measures. In several of the company’s plants in Canada, ceilings have been insulated and loading docks have been retrofitted with insulating skirts and curtains to retain interior heat. Passive solar walls have also been installed along the south-facing side of buildings at two facilities to pre-heat intake air by up to 15^oC.

Poirier adds that the amount of cardboard for packaging has been reduced significantly and now all shipping pallets are recycled. Moreover, GHG emissions related to transport have been reduced by 1,196 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by reducing the number of delivery days in 2014.

Ongoing is the replacement of heating units with high-efficiency models; to date 60 have been upgraded in one of the company’s plants with a few at other sites as well. In addition, cooling systems are being retrofitted with heat recovery units. Lighting, temperature and ventilation are being automated at some plants to reflect evening and weekend schedules. “When required we also conduct compressed air studies to identify leaks for repair,” indicates Poirier. She adds that four plants will become ISO 14001 (Environment Management System standard) and OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety standard) certified in 2016. All others facilities were certified in 2015.

Employees at Thomas & Betts Canada are engaged in the company’s sustainability campaign and contribute suggestions for improved energy, water and waste management. Implemented suggestions are highlighted in the company’s internal newsletter, which is disseminated three to four times annually and also provides employees with tips about energy and water management as well as recycling at home and at work.

PepsiCo forges fruitful partnership with Manitoba Hydro Power Smart program

“We are always looking for opportunities to increase our efficiency,” says Shawn Klatt, Maintenance Planner at the PepsiCo facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “We always seize the opportunity to work with Manitoba Hydro Power Smart,” he says, adding that PepsiCo has been a Power Smart participant for close to five years.

PepsiCo International’s site in Winnipeg consists of four buildings representing nearly 16,000 square metres. The site employs 176 people and generally has a six day a week production schedule.

PepsiCo participated in the Power Smart Commercial Lighting Program, which provides significant incentives for retrofitting lighting fixtures with more efficient ones. Toban Vexzon, Marketing Analyst on the program notes that it offers commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers guidance and financial assistance to install energy-efficient lighting systems. Indeed, Manitoba Hydro customers that operate for a minimum of 2,000 hours per year can receive incentives of up to $1,000 per kilowatt (kW) saved and as much as 100 percent of the product cost.

The $350,000 retrofit was undertaken to reduce operating costs as well as maintenance and replacement costs associated with the existing lights. With the help of the Commercial Lighting Program, which contributed $115,000 to the project, PepsiCo has progressively replaced all its lighting fixtures with LED lights over the past two and a half year. “We replaced all exterior and interior T12, T8 and T5 fluorescent lighting on all the buildings on the site with the latest LED lighting fixtures and LED T8 linear lamps,” says Klatt.

Klatt says that with the new lights, occupancy sensors, and a central control system, maintenance time and cost has been significantly reduced. The number of fixtures was reduced by 25 percent, yet the lighting is brighter. “It’s like night and day,” says Klatt, of the difference in the quality of light after the retrofit. The new LED lights have also increased safety and improved the environment. The estimated annual energy savings from lighting are around 926 megawatt-hours (MWh), equal to reducing GHG emissions by 713 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

In addition to the lighting retrofit, PepsiCo insulated the roof and outer walls on the main plant in the last one and a half years. Klatt notes that destratification fans have been installed and radiant heating has replaced forced-air heating in the warehouse and shipping areas. He says that PepsiCo is planning to work with Power Smart to upgrade its motors and/or to retrofit them with variable frequency drives.

“Manitoba Hydro’s Power Smart programs are well set up and organized – why wouldn’t you take advantage of them?” Klatt says. Ryan Aubry, Energy Services Advisor at Manitoba Hydro adds that the utility’s relationship with PepsiCo is a prime example of a win-win situation that improves the energy efficiency within industry while helping the utility meet its conservation goals.

Research Chair in Industrial Energy Efficiency focuses on innovative refrigeration systems

Adoption of innovative technologies and better management of thermal energy have the potential to greatly improve energy efficiency in industry and to reduce GHG emissions while savings millions of dollars for Canadian companies. To respond to these opportunities, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) created the position of Industrial Research Chair in Industrial Energy Efficiency in the summer of 2014 to develop components of refrigeration systems for the production, storage and transport of thermal energy.

Dr. Sébastien Poncet, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sherbrooke holds the position.

The chair program is supported by $2.4 million funding from NSERC and by three partners that are contributing to the development and demonstration of new refrigeration technologies: Hydro-Québec (Energy Technology Laboratory), CanmetENERGY and Rio Tinto Alcan. According to Poncet, the chairship presents opportunities to seek additional funding from industrial and other research partners.

At the present time, Prof. Poncet’s team includes five doctoral students, one master’s student and at least five undergraduate students per year. In addition, three researchers from Hydro-Québec, four from CanmetENERGY, one from Rio Tinto Alcan and three professors from other faculties of engineering at the University of Sherbrooke are also active members in the program.

Every student, supervised by Prof. Poncet and a researcher from a partner organization, works on an applied project that combines advanced numerical simulations performed at the Université de Sherbrooke and the corresponding experiments carried out at one of the partner sites. The objective is to identify the main source of useful energy losses in components of refrigeration systems before testing new concepts to reduce them.   

The team’s research is divided into three areas that relate to the production, storage and transport of thermal energy in mainly three components of refrigeration system.

Members of the team are working on supersonic ejectors and their integration into refrigeration or heat-pump cycles. At the same time, some group members are studying the use of ice slurries in refrigeration systems with geometrically complex heat exchangers while others are investigating the characterization and optimisation of the thermo-physical properties of these ice slurries.

Prof. Poncet’s group is also investigating magnetic refrigeration, which involves the development of a model for the design of magnetic refrigeration and their thermodynamic and geometrical optimization. “We are seeking the potential advantages of the magneto-caloric effect to build a new generation of domestic refrigerators among other things.” Prof. Poncet notes that other projects have been started that are not formally part of the program but are related to the themes. One project is in partnership with Sigma Energy Storage to develop a prototype system that stores intermittent forms of energy using micro- and nano- fluids.

Preliminary results of the projects have been presented in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences yet, notes Prof. Poncet, the bulk of the research is still underway. He adds that the team “is continuing to train our graduate students, publish results as they become available and establish more partnerships with university and industry partners.”

Notice of Expression of Interest – Deadline: April 22, 2016

Natural Resources Canada is seeking expressions of interest from training firms to enter into a commercial licensing arrangement to administer the delivery of Dollars to $ense workshops to industrial, commercial and institutional organizations across Canada. Please refer to the Commercialization and Licensing Opportunity website for more information and to submit your expression of interest.

People Power Challenge 2016 – best edition yet

The 2016 edition of the People Power Challenge (PPC) promises to be better than ever with significant prizes available to winners and runners-up. Not only is the Challenge a great way to engage staff in sustainability initiatives at the workplace, it also offers substantial monetary prizes. A $6,000 prize will be awarded to winners in the Large Enterprise and Small-to-Medium Enterprise category, and $3,500 to the runners-up. In addition, employee incentives prizes valuing a total of $6,000 will be distributed throughout the Challenge.

The Challenge, running from April 15 to September 15, 2016 and administrated by Partners in Project Green (PPG), is a friendly inter-organizational competition focused on sustainability initiatives in the Greater Toronto area. PPG provides a turn-key program comprised of a framework and staff incentives to promote companies’ sustainability goals.

Jennifer Taves, PPG Project Manager, says that the Challenge is an ideal way to generate innovative ideas to reduce an organization’s costs and to improve its environmental performance. Moreover, participation in the Challenge creates media buzz and is a good news story for any business.

Challenge participants earn points by collecting ideas and pledges from staff for a number of activities. Points are awarded for environmental actions such as getting employees to download and engage with the mobile application available through the Challenge, implementing sustainability projects, and participating in local sustainability events and activities. All points are tracked in an easy-to-use online scorecard.

Taves explains that 12 companies participated last year. Winners were Bentall Kennedy, Velcro Canada while the International Centre and the Toronto Zoo came in as runners up. For the 2016 Challenge, five companies have already signed on. “We expect even greater participation with this year’s Challenge,” notes Taves.

For more information, please contact: Jennifer Taves at jtaves@trca.on.ca or visit the People Power Challenge website:  www.partnersinprojectgreen.com/ppc2016.

New CIPEC Leaders

General Manufacturing sector

Triple H Hydronics – Calgary, Alberta

Forest Products sector

Weyerhaeuser Company Limited

            Head Office – Vancouver, British Columbia
            Kenora, Ontario
            Princeton, British Columbia

Calendar of Events

Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) – spring and summer schedule

Certified Energy Manager (CEM)
Toronto – April 25-29
Quebec City – May 2-6 (offered in French)
Victoria – May 2-6
Vancouver – May 9-13
Toronto – June 6-10

Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP)
Halifax – May 4-6
Vancouver – May 25-27

Certified Energy Auditor (CEA)
Toronto – May 31-June 3

Certified in the Use of RETScreen® (CUR)
Toronto – May 24-26

Motors, Variable Speed Drives & Energy Efficiency
Toronto – May 19
Montréal – May 26 (offered in French)

Energy Efficiency for Managers
Toronto – April 26
Montréal – June 8 (offered in French)

Certified Professional in Energy Performance Contracting (CPE)
Toronto – May 3-6

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

• Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at Energy Summit 2016 unequalled
• CIPEC’s webinar on Energy Management Systems – a must attend event on March 30
• Combined heat and power system delivering big savings at Campbell Company of Canada
• HVAC reconfiguration translates into energy and maintenance savings for CAE
• Kitimat smelter modernization increases energy efficiency and cuts emissions
• Battery energy storage project provides reliable and clean back-up power to Field, British Columbia
• Dollars to $ense Energy Management workshops – winter schedule
• Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) – spring and summer schedule
• Calendar of Events
• Call for story ideas

Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at Energy Summit 2016 unequalled

“Sponsorship of Energy Summit 2016 offers the best opportunity for those in the energy industry to directly engage manufacturers, other sectors and related stakeholders,” says Scott McNeil-Smith, Director, Strategic Planning and Communications, Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC). He adds that “as previous Energy Summit sponsors will attest to the greatest benefits are the direct connection with key decision-makers in organizations.”

Energy Summit 2016, to be held May 17 and 18 in Niagara Falls, will be hosted by EMC, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and CIPEC. The Summit, with the theme, From Ideas to Action, continues CIPEC’s tradition of delivering Canada’s premier industrial energy conference since 2003.

The exposure that event sponsors will have is unique as is the opportunity to build collaborative relationships with sustainability and energy efficiency project experts. McNeil-Smith notes that all sponsors from the successful Energy Summit 2014 are returning and more are welcome to interact with the large audience that is expected at this year’s event.

Sponsors can participate in the event at different levels. As premier partners, they will receive exposure on all print, electronic and visual presentation materials at the Summit and will have the highest logo presence. Sponsors at this level will also receive ten full conference passes, premium exhibitor space, the opportunity to present and have input into a dedicated topic stream, and introduce speakers in that stream. Sponsors can also choose among the platinum, gold and silver contribution levels, each with significant perks.

Exhibitors can also benefit tremendously from the exposure that they will have at Energy Summit 2016. If you are looking to generate new business and build relationships, the Summit is the event for you. It is the perfect opportunity to position your company with industry leaders and energy efficiency experts.

By taking part in the best energy conference of 2016, you will join over 400 industry decision-makers from across Canada and will be able to promote and showcase your company. Moreover, you will have access to the latest from world-class energy experts to talk about opportunities in energy and water management, waste heat recovery, innovative practice and technology and much more. It is simply a must attend event.

Do not miss out on the opportunity to build long-term business relationships. Sign on at www.energy2016.ca and click on the ‘Partners and Exhibitors’ tab.

CIPEC’s webinar on Energy Management Systems – a must attend event on March 30

“The link between energy management and climate change is real,” says Michael Kelly, Process Engineer and Energy Manager at KI Canada Corporation, a CIPEC Leader, and winner of the 2014 Employee Awareness CIPEC Leadership award. This is one reason why the company decided to invest in an energy management system (EnMS) and establish an Energy Awareness Campaign (EAC).

For manufacturers, the implementation of an EnMS is key to becoming more energy-efficient, and, for some organizations, an EnMS can lead to ISO 50001 Energy Systems Management standard compliance. An increasing number of Canadian companies are using EnMS to better manage their energy costs and identify areas for energy efficiency improvements.

To help organizations to implement EnMS in their facilities, CIPEC is offering an hour-long webinar on March 30th that will feature KI Canada Corporation. The company, a manufacturer of office furniture located in Pembroke, Ontario, has been a leader in using EnMS to reduce its energy costs and to continually improve its operations. “For KI, the EnMS offers another cost avoidance strategy,” says Kelly.

Since the launch of its corporate energy policy in 2012, the company has implemented an EnMS and their Employee Awareness Campaign (EAC), leading to measures that have resulted in a reduction of more than 1.9 million cubic metres (m3) of natural gas and 4.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity and an equivalent GHG emissions reduction of over 7,150 tonnes. This represents reductions of over 60 percent (normalized per Million$ sales).

During the upcoming webinar, Kelly will share his experience about implementing an EnMS at KI Canada Corporation. He will discuss the need for upper management engagement in energy efficiency, setting targets, using the Plan-Do-Check-Act continual improvement framework, and developing the business case for committing resources to energy improvements. Kelly will also touch on KI’s partnering with Enbridge, the Ottawa River Power Corporation and NRCan for incentives, employee training and various energy studies.

In addition, Kelly will highlight the importance of establishing an EAC on the road to a culture change that recognizes the cost of energy. Participants will also learn about the various projects that have led to the company’s energy savings, including retrofits of timers and motors, the addition of compressor controls, variable frequency drives on process ovens, destratification fans, and many other improvements that can be applied across industrial sectors.

Moreover, Kelly will emphasize how an EnMS can be an essential tool in moving towards ISO 50001 certification. “By implementing an EnMS, an organization is able to ready itself for compliance.”

For more information on the webinar, contact info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Combined heat and power system delivering big savings at Campbell Company of Canada

“Our new CHP system is cutting our energy costs while providing a reliable power supply,” says Doug Dittburner, Chief Engineer and Manager of Power Services at the Campbell Company of Canada. The multi-million dollar installation of a combined heat and power (CHP) system took place at the company’s 51,097 square-metre plant in Toronto, Ontario. Construction began in February 2015 and was completed ahead of schedule, being operational in December 2015.

A detailed engineering study, completed by CEM Engineering, that was 100 percent funded by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), shows estimated annual savings with the CHP system at 25.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and a demand savings of 3.8 megawatts (MW). “We are over-delivering on these estimates,” says Dittburner. With incentives from Toronto Hydro and the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) that covered 40 percent of the cost, the project payback period will be four years and the return on investment 25 percent.

Dittburner says that the company has been considering CHP for a number of years but implementation was possible only now because of available incentives combined with the low cost of natural gas. Moreover, given significant and expensive power outages in the last few years, and the company’s strong commitment to environmental responsibility, the time was right for the project.

The installation consists of a Cleaver Brooks heat recovery steam generator, which recovers the energy from the CHP combustion flue gas, as well as a Solar Centaur 50 gas turbine generator and a Vilter fuel gas booster compressor. The CHP unit can supply the facility with 4.6 MW of power and up to 90,000 pounds per hour (PPH) of steam at 170 Psi.

An NRCan-cost shared Process Integration study showed more opportunities during the installation of the CHP system. For example, by installing a new, second condensing economizer at the CHP outlet, additional heat from the CHP flue gas can be recovered. This could heat some of the facility’s process water to 85oC. Thus, “the potential steam savings could amount to $97,000 annually, making this project even more efficient,” says Dittburner.

“Our CHP system makes the most of our power and steam generation,” notes Dittburner, adding that, in the future, “We plan to produce over 90 percent of our plant’s steam and power requirements and do so efficiently.” Already, other companies in the food and beverage sector are visiting the installation and considering CHP systems for their own facilities.

HVAC reconfiguration translates into energy and maintenance savings for CAE

A reconfiguration of heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) units and new heat recovery and cooling systems will allow CAE to reap up to 31 percent in energy cost savings and reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 309 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year. The $10.6 million project at CAE’s Ville St-Laurent, Quebec, facility was launched in 2013 and will be completed by mid-2016.

The 92,000 square-metre (m²) building has undergone 16 expansion phases in 50 years and is a mix of office, warehouse, computer/simulation, and manufacturing space. The facility operates on a 24/7 schedule and employs 3,500 people that design, manufacture and test flight simulators and flight training equipment.

David Héon, Manager, Facility Services/Health, Safety and Environment at CAE notes that existing HVAC equipment was between 20-30 years old and, although a one-to-one replacement of the old rooftop units with new units would have been less expensive, the long-term benefits of a complete system redesign were determined to be more significant.

The project also helps CAE meet the requirements of the Montreal Protocol to phase-out the use of the refrigerant R22 by 2020. A $3.1 million Hydro-Québec incentive and senior management buy-in were important change drivers.

Héon explains that CAE worked with Ecosystem to design and implement a new HVAC system configuration to best fit the company’s needs, adding that the close collaboration with the supplier was essential in this successful project in that the supplier guaranties the cost, incentives and annual cost savings . Ecosystem replaced 149 dispersed rooftop units (each with two to three associated compressors and electric or gas heating systems) with 38 new HVAC units that are served by three central plants, which each contain a heat-recovery chiller, a high efficiency centrifugal chiller and a condensing boiler.

Glycol-water distribution systems were added to allow heat from the interior zones and computer labs to be recovered and transferred to the perimeter zones and the outdoor air units. High efficiency hot water boilers were installed to supply heat during peak winter periods. Ventilation was optimized in the paint workshop and centralized controls were replaced and optimized.

The new central plants, which connect to the new rooftop units, consist of heat recovery chillers that run on R-134 and R-123 refrigerant, and efficiency centrifugal chillers. Moreover, three new mechanical rooms were built at the facility, allowing CAE to centralize the production of cooling and heating energy indoors and greatly reduce maintenance costs. Cooling efficiency during summer months was improved by 35 percent compared to the former smaller direct expansion compressors located in the rooftop units.

“A measurement and verification process allows CAE and Ecosystem to track the site’s avoided costs on a monthly basis. Savings are also calculated by taking into account seasonal variations in the weather,” says Héon. “We modeled savings as a function of heating and cooling degree days, which allowed us to estimate the avoided costs.”

Moreover a third-party consultant was engaged to evaluate monthly savings using this model and also as a function of the variations in utility rates. Since the beginning of the project, electric utility rates have increased by over 10 percent but this project has helped CAE mitigate this rate increase.

The new rooftop reconfiguration not only translates into significant annual energy savings but also means less management and maintenance as well as improved employee comfort.

Héon says that to date 75 percent of the projected savings have been realized, noting that “each month we notice an improvement.” He says that the project is now in its final stage of refinement with only a few more measures to be implemented by summer 2016.

Kitimat smelter modernization increases energy efficiency and cuts emissions

After a multi-billion dollar modernization project, Rio Tinto’s aluminum smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia, is now one of the most efficient and cost-effective smelters. The Kitimat Modernization Project (KMP) has increased the smelter’s production capacity by nearly 50 percent to 420,000 tonnes annually while reducing overall GHG emissions by half.

The Kitimat smelter, part of Rio Tinto’s B.C. operations, was established in 1954 to produce high-value primary aluminum and aluminum alloys for Pacific Rim customers. However, after 60 years of operation it is coming to the end of its life. Moreover, the environmental performance of the old smelter was no longer sustainable.

Commissioning of the KMP began in 2014. The smelter is expected to be fully operational in 2016 and will bring the plant into the first decile of the industry in terms of performance. A key part of the modernization project is the company’s state-of-the-art Aluminium Pechiney Prebake (AP-40) technology, the cleanest technology available in the industry for the aluminum reduction process. Kitimat’s refurbished smelter features a new potline. The AP-40 technology uses 13,150 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per tonne of ore, which is equivalent to a reduction of 33 percent in energy consumption per tonne of aluminum, compared to the previous Soderberg technology used.

The new smelter with its state-of-the-art technologies now offers high energy efficiency, automated control systems, and low GHG emissions in aluminium production. The Kitimat smelter produces aluminum with two tonnes CO₂ equivalent per tonne of aluminum compared to the average 12 tonnes.

Battery energy storage project provides reliable and clean back-up power to Field, British Columbia

A state-of-the-art battery energy storage facility now ensures a reliable supply of clean electricity to the remote community of Field, British Columbia. The $5.98 million project, built by BC Hydro and funded by the Government of Canada Clean Energy Fund, will help meet Field’s electricity needs for up to seven hours in the event of a power outage.

The remote community of Field, in Yoho National Park, receives its power via a radial feeder from Golden. However, power supply can be unreliable as the 55-kilometre long distribution feeder is subject to severe environmental conditions because the line runs through mountain passes and forests where access can be difficult. As a result, BC Hydro evaluated options of battery storage and diesel generation.

BC Hydro chose to install a 1-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) as the cleaner power option. The BESS, installed by S & C Electric, consists of a sodium-sulphur (NaS) battery that can tolerate temperatures between -50oC and +40oC and in snow depths of up to 1.2 metres.

Since the system’s installation in July 2013, the battery has exceeded seven hours during power outages. Thanks to the BESS, the outages did not affect the community’s residents or businesses and supplied the town with a total of 53.5 hours of back-up power.

In addition, the battery can discharge at times of high demand to reduce peak load and stress on the system. BC Hydro also benefits operationally as the BESS allows extra time for field crews to safely respond to and resolve unplanned outages.

The project also includes community engagement and education, whereby BC Hydro is providing Field residents and businesses with information about energy conservation that will help extend the life of the battery back-up during outages.

The first-of-its kind in Canada, the Field project demonstrated the viability of integrating energy storage into the electricity grid, which could pave the way to an increasing number of opportunities to store electricity generated from intermittent and renewable sources of energy.

Dollars to $ense Energy Management workshops – winter schedule

Workshops offered in collaboration with Langara College
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
To register, call the Langara College’s Continuing Studies Registration Office at 604-323-5322

Recommissioning for Buildings
Date: March 11

Energy Efficiency Financing
Date: March 18

Notice: Please allow eight to 10 weeks from the planning to the delivery of a customized Dollars to $ense workshop.

Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) – spring and summer schedule

Certified Energy Manager (CEM)
Halifax – April 11-15
Winnipeg – April 18-22
Toronto – April 25-29
Quebec City – May 2-6 (offered in French)
Victoria – May 2-6
Vancouver – May 9-13
Toronto – June 6-10

Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP)
Toronto – April 5-7
Montréal – April 5-7 (offered in French)
Halifax – May 4-6
Vancouver – May 25-27

Certified Energy Auditor (CEA)
Toronto – May 31-June 3

Certified in the Use of RETScreen® (CUR)
Toronto – May 24-26

Motors, Variable Speed Drives & Energy Efficiency
Toronto – May 19
Montréal – May 26 (offered in French)

Energy Efficiency for Managers
Toronto – April 26
Montréal – June 8 (offered in French)

Certified Professional in Energy Performance Contracting (CPE)
Toronto – May 3-6

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

• Call for nominations for the 2016 CIPEC Leadership Awards
• Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation’s funding enables Encana and Cenovus to reduce GHG emissions and improve energy efficiency
• Upcoming process integration 3-day workshop in Vancouver promises to provide valuable tools for participants
• Hydro Québec offers attractive incentives for electricity measurement and management
• New internship program offers opportunities for both employers and graduates
• Clean Energy Ministerial Awards recognize global and national leadership in clean energy use
• Dollars to $ense Energy Management workshops – winter schedule
• Calendar of Events
• Call for story ideas

Call for nominations for the 2016 CIPEC Leadership Awards

Nominate a leader in energy efficiency for the prestigious 2016 CIPEC Leadership Awards from now until March 4, 2016. The 11th annual Awards will be presented at Energy Summit 2016 in Niagara Falls on May 17, 2016.

The CIPEC Leadership Awards showcase the outstanding achievements of CIPEC companies that have distinguished themselves in their efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Since 2011, the CIPEC Leadership Awards have also honoured post-secondary students and graduates whose projects or initiatives demonstrate energy efficiency improvements in industrial settings or applications.

Winning a CIPEC Leadership Award brings many benefits. Beyond the recognition at the Energy Summit 2016 awards ceremony, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) will recognize all winners in the CIPEC Annual Report and national news releases. Recipients will also be featured in CIPEC’s newsletter, Heads Up CIPEC, which is delivered to more than 10,000 industry and government officials.

NRCan will present the following six CIPEC Leadership Awards:

Corporate Stewardship Award – recognizes companies that promote energy efficiency at the corporate level, such as the creation and engagement of an energy management team, the development of a corporate energy management plan or policy, or the implementation of a formalized management system.

Process and Technology Improvement Award – recognizes companies that reduce energy intensity in an industrial process by improving procedures and equipment such as refrigeration or compressed air systems.

Energy Performance Management Award – recognizes companies that improve their energy performance through enhancements to their monitoring, measuring and reporting processes relating to facility or company-wide energy consumption.

Employee Awareness and Training Award – recognizes companies that raise employee awareness and understanding of energy efficiency and promote best practices through knowledge exchange.

Integrated Energy Efficiency Strategy Award – recognizes companies that improve energy efficiency at a facility or company-wide level through a range of initiatives as a result of an integrated strategy.

Future Leaders Award – recognizes individuals who are studying or have recently graduated and have completed a project (theoretical or applied) that advances industrial energy efficiency in Canada.

A panel of judges evaluates submissions against the following criteria:

• Energy performance – reduction in energy use per unit of production
• Innovation – ingenuity and creativity in the use of an improved or novel idea, method, or process
• Potential for broad application – transferability to other companies or industry sectors
• Environmental contribution – reduction in GHG emissions and improvement in environmental sustainability

All companies registered with Natural Resources Canada as a CIPEC Leader are eligible to be nominated. Future Leaders Award nominees must be energy-related practitioners who are either enrolled in an academic institution or have recently graduated (up to five years) and who have completed research or a project pertaining to energy efficiency in the industrial sector. Energy efficiency projects or initiatives must have been completed between March 3, 2014 and March 4, 2016.

The deadline for submitting completed nominations to CIPEC at Natural Resources Canada is March 4, 2016.

For more information on the nomination process, please send a request to
Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation
Natural Resources Canada
E-mail: info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation’s funding enables Encana and Cenovus to reduce GHG emissions and improve energy efficiency

In Alberta, large emitters have been required to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity since 2007. From  2007-2015, facilities that emitted more than 100,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent (tCO₂e) annually were required under the province’s Specified Gas Emitters Regulation to reduce emissions intensity by 15 percent, rising to 20 percent in 2017, below a facility-specific emission baseline.

Organizations that are unable to meet their targets through facility improvements have various options to comply. These include the purchase of Alberta-based offset credits, emission performance credits or payments of $15 per tCO₂e into the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund. In 2015, the Alberta Government announced a new climate change policy that would increase the fund credit price to $20/tCO₂e in 2016 and $30/tCO₂e in 2017 and broaden the application of the carbon price beyond large emitters to cover an estimated 78 to 90 percent of the province’s GHG emissions.

The Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC) is one tool the Government of Alberta uses to advance its Climate Change Strategy and accelerate a move toward a stronger and more diverse lower-carbon economy. The organization has funded more than 100 projects since inception.

Included in that count are two large-scale projects at Cenovus Energy and Encana that have led to improved energy efficiency and significantly reduced GHG emission intensity for both companies.

Jamie Callendar, Environmental Engineer at Encana, notes that the organization has allocated significant resources towards developing and implementing solutions to improve environmental performance. From 2008 to 2015, a total of $76 million was invested into environmental and energy efficiency projects through Encana’s Environmental Innovation Fund, which was a dedicated capital budget for energy efficiency and emission reduction projects.

Although the company’s Environmental Innovation Fund was essential in implementing these energy efficiency and emission reduction projects, the low price of natural gas often challenged project economics so larger-scale endeavours sometimes required third party funding or revenues from carbon offsets to be viable. As an example, Callendar credits the economic success of its recent compressor retrofit program to CCEMC funding and the generation of offset credits. Without the CCEMC grant and the ability to generate offset credits, the $5.3 million project would not have met Encana’s economic threshold for funding.

Callendar explains that the vent gas capture project started in 2010-2011, when the company partnered with Spartan Controls, a Calgary-based company to pilot Spartan’s new SlipStream® vent gas capture technology at two of Encana’s natural gas compressor stations in Alberta. The SlipStream technology, applicable to natural gas-fuelled engines, is a process-control technology that safely manages the flow of natural gas, otherwise vented during normal operation of equipment at the compressor stations, and feeds this gas back into the compressor engine to reduce fuel usage and reduce methane emissions. Once the business case was made for the technology showing that it not only reduced fuel usage but also GHG emissions, the company secured a $2.4 million grant from CCEMC to build on the success of the initial pilots and roll out the new technology to 59 other Encana compressor stations across southern Alberta.

According to Callendar, the project achieved a GHG abatement efficiency of just over $3 per tCO₂e, which is much lower than many other GHG emission reduction opportunities. “It’s a very cost effective way to achieve significant GHG emission reductions.” He adds that the project, completed at the beginning of 2015, was successful in part due to economies of scale by pre-fabricating equipment for a large number of compressors, significant savings were gained.

The compressor retrofits are expected to reduce GHG emissions by more than 67,000 tCO₂e a year and Encana has already verified and registered over 85,000 tCO₂e worth of offset credits from the project up to January 2015. Over the estimated 10-year life of the compressor stations, this will lead to a permanent reduction of over 750,000 tCO₂e.

Looking into the future, Callendar sees potential for even greater methane emission reductions using similar technologies at Encana’s over 1,000 well sites in Alberta and BC. “We can take the lessons learned and tackle bigger opportunities now.”

CCEMC funding also enabled similar retrofits at Cenovus Energy. The project there involved the installation of two engine technologies: a REMVue® air/fuel ratio controller and a Slipstream vent-gas injection controller. 

The Cenovus project is part of the company’s Energy Efficiency Fund that targets projects with potential efficiency gains and emission reductions. Milos Krnjaja, Senior Engineer at Cenovus, notes that the company’s fund was established to promote environmental projects that often have longer payback periods and do not easily compete with other capital projects.

CCEMC contributed $2.68 million towards the $7.71 million project that entailed the retrofit of 28 compressor engines with SlipStream technology, 11 of which also had REMVue air/fuel ratio (AFR) controllers installed. “By modernizing our compressor equipment, we gained performance efficiencies, reduced our primary fuel needs and decreased our GHG emissions” says Krnjaja.

Installation of the AFR controllers gave Cenovus greater ability to control the engines’ AFR. “By tuning the engine AFR from rich to lean; fuel efficiencies can be achieved,” notes Krnjaja. The pilot project started in late 2010 and was completed in late 2014 once all the suitable compressors in southern Alberta had been modified.

With the AFR units, Cenovus will save 205,400 cubic feet (ft3) of natural gas and reduce GHG emissions by 4,800 tCO₂e per year. The SlipStream technology captures 101,400 ft3 of natural gas and diverts 12,700 tCO₂e per year. Krnjaja adds that, “the project payback period was significantly reduced with CCEMC funding in addition to receiving emission offset credits at $15 per tonne.”

“The installed technology’s success increases with  the amount of venting,” says Krnjaja. “The more gas venting sources are available, the better the economics of the combine AFR and SlipStream technology.” Improved maintenance is also expected with the upgraded equipment and Krnjaja believes that it will help Cenovus meet future emissions regulations.

Krnjaja notes that Cenovus is always looking to improve operations in its commitment to process and extract natural resources responsibly. “This project improved the company’s operational efficiency and its environmental performance at the same time; it was a win-win for us.”

Upcoming process integration 3-day workshop in Vancouver promises to provide valuable tools for participants

“Participants can expect a challenging technical course, which will be rewarding and applicable to their work,” says Michael Ross, of RER Energy, and co-facilitator of an upcoming process integration (PI) course in Vancouver, B.C. The course, to be held from April 5 to 7, 2016, will give participants an invaluable toolkit with which to identify energy saving projects.

Engineers and plant managers will be able to evaluate heat recovery projects and improve equipment operating conditions in a systems approach. PI relies on a global understanding of the plant that often reveals energy savings that are not evident when individual plant processes are examined. Many case studies will be presented that demonstrate the applicability of the approach.

Participants will take away a new understanding of the complex energy flows within their plants and will be able to determine the scope for energy savings, say both Ross and Dr. Alberto Alva of Process Ecology and workshop co-facilitator.

Workshop attendants will be introduced to powerful concepts such as composite curves, and learn to calculate targets for minimum energy consumption and process heat recovery potential. They will also appreciate discussions on the identification of sources of energy inefficiency as well as the influence of operation parameters on process efficiency.

Participants will become proficient at the use of CanmetENERGY’S INTEGRATION software that assists in the construction and interpretation of composite curves and the investigation of improved plant configurations. The software also includes modules dedicated to common, energy-intensive utility systems – steam, refrigeration, and compression – that allow rapid analysis of the influence of operating conditions and the impact of common efficiency measures.

Participants will receive the INTEGRATION software courtesy of Natural Resources Canada along with other course materials. The workshop is limited to 15 participants.

Similar PI workshops are being planned in Canada, along with free webinars introducing PI and CanmetENERGY’s INTEGRATION software. The first webinar will be held on February 17th, 2016 at 10:00 AM PST.

For more information and to register for either the course or a free webinar, contact Michael Ross at michael.ross@rerinfo.ca or 514-564-9089.

Hydro Québec offers attractive incentives for electricity measurement and management

Hydro Québec is offering its industrial clients financial incentives for the implementation of electricity management systems. The Industrial Systems Program is targeted at manufacturing companies with an annual electricity bill of more than $750,000; municipal utility and off-grid system customers are also eligible.

Through this program, Hydro Québec aims to promote management systems that use operational controls to measure real-time power consumption of main processes, systems and hardware as well as resource allocation for related activities.

Companies can receive financial assistance for both continuous measurement and electricity management projects. For example, Hydro Québec will support the purchase and installation of monitoring instruments across an entire plant that lead to a better control of electricity consumption. The Program also provides financial assistance for the development, implementation and improvement of electricity management systems that are based on continuous measurement.

Hydro Québec will finance 50 percent for up to a total of $75,000 of eligible purchase and installation costs of continuous measuring equipment per site or service contract. Similarly, the utility will subsidize 50 percent (to a maximum of $75,000) of the development and implementation costs of an electricity management system with a minimum of one year measurement. Each site or service contract can reach a cumulative maximum of $150,000 since May 1, 2015. Companies are also eligible for an additional annual savings of $0.01/kWh depending on the energy efficiency measures implemented.

The benefits of improving electricity management include the use of operational controls to continuously identify electricity savings, reductions in payback periods, little or no investment to enhance operational measures, and the ability to prioritize energy projects. The implementation of an electricity management system in particular incorporates organizational, technical and behavioural measures into the corporate culture as a sustainable way of doing business.

For more information and an application guide, visit www.hydroquebec.com/business/energy-efficiency/programs/industrial-systems-program/continuous-measurement/.

New internship program offers opportunities for both employers and graduates

A new program launched by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) connects employers with technically skilled graduates while offering interns the opportunity to apply their practical knowledge in the area of clean technology. Lisa Daigle, Senior Program Officer, Canadian Partnership at CICan says that this “is an exceptional opportunity for employers to work with qualified candidates in different disciplines from across Canada to create new jobs in the area of clean technology.”

Under the internship program, employers are eligible for a subsidy of up to $12,000 when they hire college or institute graduates from a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) program. Daigle explains that while employers may look for their own interns, they can also ask CICan to assist them with finding potential candidates. “STEM college and institute graduates are also eligible to apply as are those on currently on leave,” says Daigle, noting that co-op students, however, are not eligible.

Daigle explains that the program is currently accepting applications on a continuous intake basis. Given the benefits to both the employer and intern, and to furthering of clean technology, Daigle expects that the program will continue.

Applications have come from across the country from all industry sectors. Submissions include positions in such areas as clean technology software development, solar panel installation and identification of energy efficiency measures.

Daigle notes that STEM graduates bring a valuable skill set that can help employers realize their clean technology projects and improve environmental and economic outcomes in Canada.

For more information on the program, visit http://cleantech.collegesinstitutes.ca/.

Clean Energy Ministerial Awards recognize global and national leadership in clean energy use

The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is inviting submissions for its first edition of the Energy Management Leadership Awards to be presented at the CEM7 conference on June 1 and 2, 2016 in San Francisco, California. Several prestigious awards in clean energy leadership will recognize organizations that have developed an energy management system (EnMS) that has been third-party certified to the ISO 50001 standard.

The CEM’s Energy Management Working Group (EMWG), which administers the awards, includes representatives from Australia, Canada, Chile, China (observer), the European Commission, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden and the United States. With these awards, the EMWG hopes to acknowledge high-achieving companies and raise awareness of EnMS as a solution to energy and economic challenges.

Eligible industrial, commercial or public sector organizations, at the corporate- or facility-level, can submit structured case studies that detail the benefits of having an ISO 50001-certified EnMS. Entries will be considered for (1) the CEM Award of Excellence in Energy Management, (2) National Energy Management Awards, and (3) Energy Management Insight Awards.

The CEM Award of Excellence in Energy Management will provide global recognition for efficient energy management to three winners. Individual governments can also decide to honor organizations with National Energy Management Awards, while the Energy Management Insight Awards recognize organizations that have advanced global insight on the benefits of EnMS.

By sharing the qualifying case studies of leaders in energy efficiency, the CEM also hopes to:

• Accelerate EnMS uptake to meet national and global change goals;
• Provide convincing business cases supported by existing data and experiences;
• Enhance international and national energy efficiency programs; and
• Reinforce the benefits of EnMS implementation and measurable results.

An initial review will ensure the eligibility and completeness of submissions. Accepted entries will then move on to the selection stage. Every case study will be reviewed and scored, on a scale from 0 to 100, by two experts and each expert will review up to 15 case studies. The highest-scoring entries will be considered as finalists for the awards and will again be reviewed and scored to arrive at the three CEM Award of Excellence finalists.

Finalists will be selected based upon an extensive set of evaluation criteria, which include a high-quality and replicable description of ISO 50001 implementation and the resulting business benefits – the criterion with the most points possible. Other criteria include detailed descriptions of the business case, tools and resources, the development and use of professional expertise, training and communication as well as a cost-benefit analysis, lessons learned, quotes and visuals.

Organizations intending to submit case studies must use the CEM’s Case Study Template  where all the evaluation criteria are detailed and examples provided. The submission deadline for case studies of up to eight pages is March 1, 2016 at 22:00 UTC.

For more information about the awards, visit www.cleanenergyministerial.org/Our-Work/Initiatives/Energy-Management/Leadership-Awards/Official-Rules.

Dollars to $ense Energy Management workshops – winter schedule

Workshops offered in collaboration with Langara College
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
To register, call the Langara College’s Continuing Studies Registration Office at 604-323-5322

Energy Monitoring
Date: February 26

Recommissioning for Buildings
Date: March 11

Energy Efficiency Financing
Date: March 25

Notice: Please allow eight to 10 weeks from the planning to the delivery of a customized Dollars to $ense workshop.

Calendar of Events

Call for story ideas

Has your company implemented successful energy efficiency measures that you would like to share with Heads Up CIPEC readers? Please send your story ideas for consideration to the editor, Jocelyne Rouleau, by e-mail at jocelyne.rouleau@canada.ca.

If you require more information on an article or a program, contact Jocelyne Rouleau at the above e-mail address.

You can also use the subscription page to update your contact information, or to unsubscribe or subscribe to the Heads Up: Building Energy Efficiency newsletter, our sister publication for commercial, institutional and federal government buildings. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the subscription page, send an e-mail to info.ind@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.