Bill Krueger, Nissan North America’s vice president, told the group that “the whole idea is to build a collaborative network of best practices.” Nissan hosted the event in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program.
The showcase highlighted the value of public-private sector partnerships in reducing energy intensity in the industrial sector. Nissan’s three U.S. manufacturing plants have received a combined total of nine energy assessments sponsored by ITP in conjunction with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and DOE Industrial Assessment Centers at Tennessee Tech University and Mississippi State University. In addition to assessment support, they have rallied their supply chain, local utilities and state governments to help implement the energy efficiency projects that are saving Nissan more than $10 million annually in reduced energy costs. The projects include:
- Installing variable-frequency drives.
- Reducing the number of air compressors.
- Lowering air pressure.
- $1.4 billion loan guarantee for retrofitting the Smyrna plant and building a lithium-ion battery plant onsite to assemble the zero-emissions electric Nissan Leaf.
- DOE State Energy Program grant for 70 percent of the cost to implement eight energy-efficiency projects at its Mississippi plant. The projects are expected to save $700,000 in energy costs annually.
- DOE grant for deployment of methanol fuel cells to power small tug mobile equipment.
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