Fox visited the energy recycling project at the Arcelor Mittal steel plant in Indiana, and notes that recycled energy, which it calls “The Other Green Energy,” has massive potential to slash energy costs and carbon emissions at the same time. Fox interviewed RED’s Tom Casten, who said, “What they’ve done at this plant produces about twice the amount of clean energy as all of the solar collectors in the U.S.” Tom explained that as a nation we are allowing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of energy to literally go up in smoke as wasted heat that could be captured and turned into useful, clean power. “We are the Saudi Arabia of waste heat,” he said. “You can either use it or lose it.”

Two-thirds of greenhouse emissions come from the production of power and heat. Although the industrial sector by far uses (and wastes) the most energy, efficiency advocates concentrate almost exclusively on homes and commercial offices. But in fact, manufacturing facilities provide the biggest chance to slash emissions while simultaneously reducing energy bills.

Read more about how waste heat recovery and cogeneration would allow our nation’s industrial sector to become far more efficient.

He writes: “The dramatic images of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico serve as a stark reminder that America needs to transition to a new clean energy economy… For the last 30 years, I have watched America increase our energy dependence and lose our competitive edge, in part because of a grossly inefficient energy system… Despite its potential to cut energy costs and greenhouse emissions while preserving manufacturing jobs, energy recycling languishes in the U.S. because of outdated and badly misguided energy policies… By enacting meaningful clean energy legislation, the federal government can finally unleash a wave of American innovation, cutting our dependence on fossil fuels while we develop both cleaner and cheaper domestic power.”

Read the full op-ed here.

Photo courtesy of NOAA.

Honey Lake’s giving us a new way to do what we do best: take energy that would otherwise be wasted and convert it into clean power and processed steam, i.e., recycling energy. Whether recycling heat that would otherwise be thrown away at a metals plant or recycling biomass waste that would clog landfills, the principal is the same.

We’re going to put our capital and our team’s extensive clean energy expertise to work enhancing the plant’s efficiency and production. These enhancements could reduce California CO2 emissions by 44,000 metric tons per year. That’s the equivalent of taking more than 8,000 cars off the road. Sweet.

As RED’s own Sean Casten pointed out at the Environmental Law & Policy Center’s recent forum on Chicago’s clean energy economy, the Windy City is home to several energy recycling companies. It also boasts numerous research institutions and associations focused on this kind of clean energy, including the Energy Resources Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Midwest CHP Application Center, which coordinates our region’s combined heat and power technologies.

Chicago also has several CHP and waste energy recovery projects nearby. For example, just south of the city, ArcelorMittal Steel’s smelters capture waste energy from their coke ovens and stacks in order to generate about as much electricity as a small coal-fired power plant, all without burning additional fossil fuel or emitting pollution or greenhouse gases.

Chicago as HQ for the leading energy-recycling businesses, research centers and installations makes it a great center for energy innovation.

No wonder we like it here.

The second is Carbon Nation, a “positive, solutions-based, non-preachy, non-partisan, big tent film about tackling climate change while boosting the economy.” That’s our kind of movie. The Castens appear in the film to lend their expertise about energy recycling.

Momentum is building for recycled energy. I believe it was Martin Luther King Jr. who said “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward efficient use of energy at industrial facilities.” Or something to that effect.

A slew of organizations have signed a letter urging Congress to pass bills that would promote energy recycling at industrial facilities. These organizations range from environmentalists to manufacturers to unions to contractors.

What’s this eclectic bunch pushing for? We want investment tax credits to encourage combined heat and power (CHP) and waste energy recovery, probably the best ways to slash greenhouse gas emissions and power costs simultaneously. The specific bills include:

• S. 1639, sponsored by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
• H.R. 4144, sponsored by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA)
• H.R. 4751, sponsored by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)
• H.R. 4455 sponsored by Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) and John Linder (R-GA)

These bills would encourage near-term, shovel-ready projects that will create and maintain thousands of jobs. Moreover, as I pointed out in a recent E&E TV interview, energy costs would fall through increased efficiency. Not bad.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin just signed legislation designating recycled energy a renewable source of power within the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS). That’s a big deal: it means utilities—which already have to buy a portion of their power from alternative and renewable sources—are now more likely to buy recycled energy from West Virginia manufacturers. The result will be a stronger manufacturing sector, more jobs, and a cleaner environment.

So what’s the takeaway here? It’s this: clean energy is clean energy, and it should be rewarded no matter what form it takes. Wind is clean. Solar is clean. Recycled energy is clean. All of it matters. We can’t be narrow-minded about what pathways to a clean energy economy we’re willing to pursue. If something works, we need to reward it.

West Virginia gets that. Which state is next?

The talk was put together by an excellent organization called the COMPETE Coalition, and my fellow panelists included representatives from FERC, NDN, and the Galvin Electricity Initiative. The consensus: to truly unleash innovation, government needs to set goals for clean energy and energy efficiency and let markets meet the challenge.