Industrial Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency repowers U.S. manufacturing

Waste heat keeps industry powered up. Harness the heat to save energy, cut costs, and keep the power on.

Combined heat and power, or CHP, provides the U.S. industrial sector with an economical, timely solution to the problem of energy use and cost, while promoting economic growth and addressing future energy needs. The United States already avoids more than 5 percent of the industrial sector's energy use by employing CHP. 

This country has the world's largest manufacturing economy, responsible for 18.2 percent of global manufactured products. U.S. manufacturing generates $1.8 trillion of value each year, or 12.2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. Manufacturing is the source of 11.9 million American jobs, or nearly 9 percent of the total U.S. nonfarm workforce. 

At the same time, industrial activities consume large amounts of energy and generate significant quantities of carbon dioxide. The industrial sector uses more energy than any other sector and accounts for one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions generated in the United States each year. One large industrial plant can demand as much energy as 20,000 homes.