Roundtable Focuses on Energy Efficiency Savings for Businesses Across Indiana
Indianapolis event highlights energy savings opportunities for residential, commercial, and industrial customers
Indianapolis, August 24, 2017 — Today, the nonprofit Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEE Institute) convened a discussion with Indiana’s leading businesses, energy efficiency providers, regional chambers of commerce, universities and thought leaders to share their experiences saving energy and money by implementing effective energy efficiency programs. These conversations allow stakeholders to learn from efficiency leaders and help shape Indiana’s policies to enhance the state's energy productivity for competitiveness and economic growth.
“In Indianapolis, a city that thrives on energy-intensive manufacturing operations, efficiency plays a critical role in economic development. Any investment that allows the city’s largest energy users to reduce their energy costs even as they expand their operations is good for prosperity in the region,” said J.R. Tolbert, vice president of state policy, Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a national business group affiliated with AEE Institute. “Collaborative, productive efforts like today’s roundtable show how Indiana can lead the Midwest in energy innovation – and benefit from savings, growth, and economic competitiveness.”
For today’s roundtable, AEE Institute brought together more than 20 energy experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges for residential, commercial and industrial energy efficiency in Indiana. The roundtable was hosted by Salesforce – the world’s leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software and cloud-based applications – at its Indianapolis office.
Participants included corporate energy purchasers Eli Lilly, Cummins, Haynes International, Salesforce, U.S. Steel, and Tate & Lyle; advanced energy technology companies Oracle, CLEAResult, and FirstFuel, along with interested stakeholders like the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Indianapolis, and The Luger Center.
"We are pleased to host this event, which puts a spotlight on the impact companies can have when they implement energy efficient measures," said Patrick Flynn, senior director of sustainability, Salesforce. "At Salesforce Tower Indy, as part of our sustainability commitment, we're pursuing LEED Gold and our design includes efficient lighting that uses 40 percent less power than typical options, our office equipment is Energy Star certified and our efficient faucets and fixtures use 35 percent less water than standard devices. Roundtables like this one bring companies together to benefit from collective experience and engage community leaders and policymakers in the search for even greater savings from efficiency."
The discussion highlighted successful projects throughout the Hoosier state’s residential, commercial and industrial sectors, the critical role access to energy data plays in capturing energy savings, and the financial benefits of pursuing energy efficiency investments in Indianapolis and throughout Indiana.
Taken together, Indiana’s commercial and industrial sectors account for nearly 68% of the state’s end-use energy consumption. Indiana’s industrial sector includes manufacturers of aluminum, chemicals, glass, metal casting, and steel. All these industries have significant opportunities to reduce their energy costs and become more competitive through the deployment of energy efficiency and demand-side management programs.
“Business customers have become more interested in efficiency as the technology has gotten smarter, faster, and more accessible,” said Vince Griffin, executive director of Indiana Advanced Energy Economy, the state branch of AEE. “By undertaking a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy, commercial and industrial businesses can reduce their operating costs while increasing their competitiveness and productivity.”
A wide range of available technologies and services, like demand response and combined heat and power, can make large energy users more efficient and save them money. While large cities like Indianapolis are making progress on energy efficiency, more can be done. The roundtable focused on sharing best practices to capture savings for customers of all sizes. For example, Cummins shared an example of a virtual power purchase agreement they structured to acquire energy from a recently built 75-megawatt wind farm in Northwest Indiana.
Energy efficiency represents a significant share of the total $200 billion U.S. advanced energy industry, which is equal to pharmaceutical manufacturing by revenue and approaching that of consumer electronics, and today supports more than 3 million jobs across the nation, nearly 2 million of them working in energy efficiency. For more information on the role and size of the energy efficiency sector in the United States, download Advanced Energy Economy’s Advanced Energy Now 2017 Market Report. To learn more about various energy efficiency technologies, download This Is Advanced Energy, a comprehensive technology directory with descriptions, photos, and case study examples.
About Advanced Energy Economy and AEE Institute
The Advanced Energy Economy Institute is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to raise awareness of the public benefits and opportunities of advanced energy. AEE Institute provides critical data to drive the policy discussion on key issues through commissioned research and reports, data aggregation and analytic tools. AEE Institute also provides a forum where leaders can address energy challenges and opportunities facing the United States. AEE Institute is affiliated with Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a 501(c)(6) business association, whose purpose is to advance and promote the common business interests of its members and the advanced energy industry as a whole. AEE and its State and Regional Partner organizations are active in 27 states across the country, representing more than 1,000 companies and organizations in the advanced energy industry. Visit AEE Institute here and AEE here.