In 2007, the Industrial Technologies Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)--in support of the Energy Policy Act (EPAct 2005)--defined its mission as: "improve national security, climate and environment, and economic competitiveness by transforming the way U.S. industry uses energy." It set a goal to "drive a 25 percent reduction in U.S. industrial energy intensity in 10 years (25 x 10 goal)" through its DOE Save Energy Now LEADER initiative.

This initiative is a good example of a public/private partnership which provides resources to companies in energy-intensive industries, that voluntarily commit to deliver energy savings results that are measurable and verifiable.

Of the 49 companies currently signed up, five are from the pulp and paper industry including: BPM, Inc., Flambeau River Papers, Gray's Harbor Paper, Thilmany Papers, and Verso Paper Corporation.

In addition to receiving national recognition from DOE for their commitment to saving energy, the LEADER Companies also receive tailored assistance with establishing an energy intensity (energy use per unit of output) baseline and developing an energy management plan to meet LEADER requirements. The companies also receive priority access to technical assistance and resources such as plant energy assistance, software tools, and training to find cost-effective ways to reduce energy use and carbon emissions while increasing economic viability.

For example, DOE provides Energy Savings Assessments (ESAs) to LEADER companies with a high level of annual energy use and significant potential for implementing energy efficiency improvements. These assessments focus on identifying energy savings opportunities that offer a significant return on investment. The following case demonstrates how one company transformed its business, changing the way it uses energy by implementing recommendations from its customized ESA.

FLAMBEAU AND VERSO
Flambeau River Papers, Park Falls, WI, received an ESA from DOE in 2007 and became a Save Energy Now LEADER in 2009. The ESA had identified several near-and mid-term opportunities to improve the plant steam system efficiency. The plant weighed all the recommendations in consultation with Wisconsin's Focus on Energy-a state-based program that provides resources for energy efficiency projects-and decided to implement 55 percent of the recommendations. As a result, the company has achieved US$ 10.5 million in cost savings as a result of energy efficiency projects. They also have 300 employees which makes them a major economic force for the city of Park Falls, a small town in northern Wisconsin.

Verso Paper Corporation is another Save Energy Now LEADER that has just been awarded nearly US$ 10 million by DOE in Recovery Funds for Immediate Deployment of Waste Energy Recovery Technologies at their pulp and paper mills located in Jay and Bucksport, ME, and Sartell, MN. These projects have an overall efficiency of 33 percent and will save an estimated 1.28 trillion Btu annually. Verso is one of North America's leading manufacturers of coated papers, and employs nearly 3000 people.

"Save Energy Now LEADER companies are taking bold and immediate action to reduce our nation's energy use and carbon emissions," said Douglas E. Kaempf, DOE Industrial Technologies Program Manager. "DOE is committed to helping these companies identify and obtain the resources they need to implement their energy savings plans."

DOE Technical Account Managers work with LEADER Companies and provide tailored assistance--from energy assessments and establishing the energy intensity base line, to identifying commercially available and emerging technologies to help these companies achieve their aggressive goals.

A GOOD FIT
The pulp, paper and forest products industry is a good fit to be a partner with DOE to address issues of national interest. As shown in the table below, it is one of the three top consumers of energy.

Industry	Gross Energy Usage1 (Quad)
Refineries	3.40
Chemical	3.30
Forest Products	3.00
Metals	1.50

¹Table from DOE Technology Roadmap Report

The industry has already reduced energy intensity by 25 percent since 1980, generated more power than all other industries combined using Combined Heat and Power, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions 14 percent from 2002 to 2006.

Additionally, our industry provides 1 million high paying jobs with US$ 54 billion annual payroll, which results in an additional 6 million indirect jobs. It is also primarily located in rural areas that are industry dependent.

We encourage pulp, paper and forest products companies to become LEADER Companies. To learn more about this program, please contact Masood Akhtar, President, Bioenergy Deployment Consortium, at makhtar623@gmail.com.

Contact Masood Akhtar at: MAkhtar@cleantechpartners.org, B. A. (Ben) Thorp at: bathorp@comcast.net, and Mark Daniel at: Mark.Daniel@versopaper.com