Better Climate Challenge Working Groups Non-Energy Benefits of Energy Projects-Improving Financial Payback

Kristina Armstrong, Sarah Cooney

Research output: NRELPresentation

Abstract

Energy efficiency is a key strategy recently identified by the United States Department of Energy as a pillar of industrial decarbonization. For manufacturing companies, improving energy efficiency will reduce money spent on energy utilities such as gas, electricity, and oil. Energy improvement projects also provide valuable benefits outside of simple operating cost reductions, such as reducing the carbon footprint, improving safety metrics and even enhancing quality and productivity. Unfortunately, energy efficiency projects have typically faced an adoption gap, even when they meet criteria such as payback period for capital projects. The inclusion and quantification of non-energy benefits (NEBs), also known as co-benefits, in the decision-making process for energy efficiency projects can improve the overall financial payback periods for those projects as well as potentially improve the company's key performance metrics aligned with business strategies. There are no readily available tools that facilitate this, however, and the most used tools for energy audits address NEBs in a perfunctory way if at all. We integrated research for finding and quantifying non-energy benefits of energy efficiency projects into a commonly recognized continuous improvement practice, the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) Process. This process, along with software and supplemental materials, guides energy assessments to find and to quantify NEBs associated with energy conservation opportunities. Our aim is to deliver an easy to use and effective process and software tool and to maximize return on investment for energy efficiency projects as well as contribute to companies' strategic performance goals.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages28
StatePublished - 2024

Publication series

NamePresented at the Better Climate Challenge Financial Analysis for Industrial Decarbonization Working Group, 14 November 2024

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/PR-5700-92410

Keywords

  • DMAIC
  • energy efficiency
  • JUSTIFI
  • NEBs
  • non-energy benefits

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