It took five years and a $13.8 million investment in equipment efficiency upgrades, but the GreenField Specialty Alcohols plant in Chatham is now a world leader in energy efficiency.
GreenField celebrated the completion of the project, which included the installation of a second cogeneration unit and enhancements to the plant’s cooling system with project partners Entegrus, and the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
According to plant manager Angelo Ligori, the project will result in massive savings in energy costs.
“We’re expecting electricity savings to total nearly $2 million annually because of these two projects,” Ligori said. “That’s substantial savings that will give us a competitive advantage.”
The project was part of the IESO’s Save on Energy program, which GreenField qualified for and received an incentive of more than $5 million to help offset the cost of the upgrades.
Not only does the project increase efficiency and save energy costs, IESO Vice-President Terry Young said the upgrades save 40 gigawatts of energy, which is the equivalent of taking 3,800 homes off the energy grid for a year.
Young spoke to the assembled staff and guests, praising GreenField for taking part in the program.
“GreenField has demonstrated that it is a leader in its commitment to energy efficiency and to help foster a culture of conservation in Ontario,” Young said. “Conservation is not about doing less, it’s about doing more efficiently and getting more for less.”
With energy costs as the second most expensive budget item for GreenField, the cost savings will help the company remain competitive in the 40 countries around the world where they sell alcohol, said Malcolm West, from GreenField’s head office. He also thanked Entegrus for its valuable technical assistance in implementing the equipment upgrades.
Jim Hogan, president of Entegrus was also on hand, and had nothing but good things to say about the partnership, helping GreenField apply for and access the IESO incentives, and work done by his team over the five-year span of the project.
“Greenfield is now taking 3% of what they would be taking from us (in terms of energy consumption), taking similar to a local grocery store with these two generators; that’s amazing,” Hogan said.
“Entegrus has IESO funding available for our commercial and industrial customers looking to upgrade their inefficient equipment,” he added.
Customers can find about more about the incentives by visiting saveonenergy.ca or e-mail conservation@entegrus.com.
