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Cascades saves energy by grabbing low-hanging fruit
We took advantage of easy-toachieve energy savings," says Jérôme Morneau, energy project manager for Cascades Canada Inc., explaining the company's decision to undertake lighting and air compressor retrofits during the summer of 2008 at Norampac's facilities in Drummondville, Quebec. The case study was reported in the May issue of the Cipec Newsletter from Natural Re - sources Canada. Corrugated packaging materials are designed and manufactured at the plant, which, with 165 employees, runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, yearround. With the plant's annual energy bill close to $C860, 000, representing about 16 500 gigajoules (GJ) in electricity and 50 000 GJ in natural gas consumption, Morneau saw opportunities for savings. Supported by the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiency's ecoENERGY Retrofit Incentive for Industry program, the company replaced 358 metal halide fixtures and 343 T-12 fluorescent fixtures with 579 energyefficient T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts. In the six months since the retrofit, Morneau has already seen a reduction in energy consumption, noting that the payback period of 1.5 years will be easily met. For its second retrofit project, the facility's two old 100-hp compressors and purgers were replaced with one more energy-efficient 150-hp compressor and purgers with a payback period of about 2.5 years. The lighting replacement cost about $100,000, while the compressor retro - fit cost $90,000 of which $38,000 was covered by the ecoENERGY incentive. Hydro-Québec also contributed to the cost. Both retrofits are expected to save about 4300 GJ in electricity per year, for about $80,000 in savings. Morneau highly recommends going after the "low-hanging fruit" such as lighting and air compressor retrofits, where the investment can be recovered in under two or three years. Both retrofits are part of Cascades Canada Inc.'s overall goal to reduce energy consumption in all its facilities. Morneau has other projects in mind, such as retrofitting the plant's corrugating machines for increased energy efficiency. |
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