Industrial Utility Efficiency    

Energy Manager


Corporate Sustainability Programs

How does 3M work with energy? What can other companies learn from their experience? I brought these questions to Andrew Hejnar, Energy Manager of 3M Canada, and the results of our conversation are shared in this interview article.
Since 2002, Energy Trust of Oregon has saved and generated 728 average megawatts of electricity and 52 million annual therms of natural gas. This is enough energy to power Multnomah and Washington counties while heating Deschutes County homes. ETO has saved enough energy equal to the output of a power plant and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. In total, they have invested $1.5 billion to save customers more than $6.9 billion on their energy bills over time. They have also added $5.7 billion to the local economy, including $1.7 billion in wages, $312 million in small business income and employment equal to 4,700 full-time jobs lasting a decade.
The WEEC is the largest energy conference and technology expo held in the U.S. specifically for business, industrial and institutional energy users. Widely known for its recognized energy certification programs, including the Certified Energy Manager CEM® program, the AEE has led the development of the fields of energy engineering and energy management since its’ founding in 1977.
In many parts of the country—and especially the Pacific Northwest—interest has surged in completing energy-saving compressed air system upgrades. The financial assistance from incentive programs, combined with the falling costs of efficiency-increasing technology, has made these projects very attractive to all those involved. The benefits for society, power companies and customers are immense.
Imagine a dairy farm. Do pictures of idyllic pastures populated by grazing, happy cows come to mind? What about the not-so-idyllic image of farmers milking cows by hand? Modern dairy farms work a little differently. Darigold, a farmer-owned dairy co-op located in the Pacific Northwest, has the happy cows, but production is more sophisticated. The company has eleven state-of-the-art production facilities churning out high-quality dairy products at mind-boggling rates. Milk, for instance, is produced to the tune of 2.6 million gallons per day. To maintain efficient production at scale, Darigold also has an innovative energy management program in place.