Energy Savings Add Up – Improving Industrial Carbon Footprint
Businesses know they can significantly improve their bottom line by reducing operating costs. One way to reduce costs and carbon footprint is through energy efficiency upgrades – particularly in an industrial environment. Energy cost savings directly impact the bottom line and can increase profit margins. For example, 5% to 15% annual energy cost reductions can be realized by conducting a retro-commissioning project to optimize your facility’s mechanical systems. The up-front cost of the retro-commissioning project is normally within a 1 to 2-year simple payback. So, to realize these financial benefits, here are some general tips demonstrating the benefits of implementing energy cost-saving projects.
Let’s start with a simple example. Say a company has a net profit of 5% and would like to increase its net profit. There are generally two ways to do this; either increase revenue or decrease costs. If your business were to look at reducing costs by implementing an energy project that would save them $1,000 annually, that would be equivalent to otherwise earning an additional $20,000 in revenue ($1000/0.05 = $20,000). An energy efficiency project of this type has the same impact on profits as increasing sales 20:1.
If the energy project has a return greater than the borrowing rate, then you can finance the project, and you may improve cash flow with relatively little risk. Let’s say a business finances an energy project with a $100,000 loan for 15 years at an interest rate of 10%. Your business has no up-front cost, but pays ~$13,100 each year for 15 years. The energy project you were considering was calculated to generate ~$14,900 each year in annual energy cost savings. Since the energy cost savings exceed the financed payments, the project exhibits a net-positive cash flow of $1,800 annually with no upfront costs.
Simple payback is an important financial consideration under many circumstances in conjunction with the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). If an energy project has an IRR greater than your business’s profit margin, energy cost-savings projects are where you should invest money. For example, suppose a business has determined they will consider energy projects with a 2% return above their net profit of 4.0% (i.e., anything >6.0%). In that case, an energy project with a lifespan of 20 years and an IRR of 6.5% fits their financial goals. In this scenario, the project’s simple payback is irrelevant to the goal of returning an established minimum IRR. Had the company insisted on a 2- to 3-year simple payback, an opportunity that could have far exceeded their financial expectations, would have been overlooked.
Consider looking at energy costs differently than currently viewing them. Energy savings realized from a potential energy project are conversely an existing waste stream (a penalty). By doing nothing, the excess energy consumption continues to drain your operating cash every month, not to mention the impact on your carbon footprint. Reducing energy costs and eliminating energy waste can add to a business’s operations’ efficiencies and impress shareholders looking for a lower carbon footprint.
How can you realize energy and cost savings benefits without knowing where to turn next? The first step under the umbrella of energy management is to perform a formal study to identify energy savings opportunities accomplished through an Energy Assessment. The Energy Assessment looks at how energy is consumed at your facility and, through the formal process, will provide you with the fundamental knowledge you need to make a case for implementing energy cost-saving projects. From there, you can work with the decision-makers to prioritize energy savings in your business. Below are a few ideas that may make sense for your business and lower your carbon footprint:
Building system performance can decline, and energy consumption can increase over time, even when performing routine maintenance on equipment. However, you can increase productivity, improve work environments, and reduce maintenance costs while saving money by conducting an energy assessment and investing in your business’s discovered energy savings opportunities.
About the authors:
Sam Cooke, PE, CEM, is a Vice President and Project Director at SCS Engineers. He has over 40 years of engineering experience specializing in manufacturing energy management assessments and implementation projects. Sam was the technical lead for projects involving the performance of energy assessments at over 100 manufacturing companies, including compressed air audits, compressed air leak surveys, process heating assessments, manufacturing HVAC assessments, lighting assessments/replacement, refrigeration efficiency assessments, etc.
Tony Kriel, PE, LEED AP, is SCS Engineers’ National Expert on Facility Energy Management. He has 13 years of consulting experience as a mechanical engineer. His project experience includes specializing in Cx, RCx, ASHRAE Level I-III energy audits, and other design-related energy services. Tony has managed multiple large (>million square foot) projects and has worked with industrial, commercial, military, federal, state, municipal, and solid waste clients. He is a LEED Accredited Professional AP BD+C, and LEED AP O+M. His projects include Commissioning (Cx), Retro-Commissioning (RCx), ASHRAE Energy Audits, Energy Modeling, Geothermal Feasibility and Design, and Solar PV.
SCS Engineers specializes in industrial energy assessments and water conservation evaluations. For more information, please get in touch with Sam Cooke PE, CEM, Tony Kriel PE, LEED AP, or
Additional Resources:
What’s Environmental Consulting?
Jackie Rennebohm stands on a landfill in Madison, Wisconsin, pops open a monitoring well, bails some water, and dumps it on the ground while a cluster of neighbors looks on. They see she had no qualms about coming into contact with the liquid— it’s what a young professional does in a day’s work, she tells them.
“I explain that we strategically place the wells to monitor for contaminants that could leak from the landfill but let them know the site is lined for protection. In 30 years, there’s been no detection of pollutants from the landfill,” Rennebohm says.
She’s upbeat, sincere, and informative; they are interested and feel confident in her explanation of landfill science and engineering. Being a good neighbor is a goal of every landfill.
Gaining trust can go a long way on the job and is something Rennebohm has always prioritized. She figures it’s played a big role in her ability to climb the ropes at SCS Engineers and to offer her clients and project managers what they need—that and her attention to detail and her thirst to keep learning.
Her earliest charge as a new geology graduate seven years ago was logging soils and documenting details for groundwater management. She quickly began learning about different soil types; how to classify them; the features of each that affect their ability to carry contaminants; and how and where those contaminants might migrate.
Moving into new territories
As she’s developed in her career, she’s taken on greater roles and now owns more parts of larger environmental consulting projects.
Beyond monitoring groundwater at landfills and water in nearby private wells and reporting her findings to regulators, the ambitious scientist dedicates her time to the remediation of real estate properties. She begins with Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), scrutinizing topographic maps, soil maps, investigation reports from local regulatory agencies, and other historical data to determine if a property likely has hazardous contaminants. Depending on her findings, she digs deeper, conducting a Phase 2 ESA by testing soil and groundwater to confirm if the site is contaminated.
“I like doing Phase 1 Assessments, especially because they really challenge you to be meticulous in identifying issues that could be material concerns. You can’t miss a single detail, or an issue could come up later that could cost time and money for our clients.”
“Developers make huge investments, and if it were mine, I’d want to know I hired someone who will be as conclusive as possible.”
If Rennebohm’s due diligence confirms contamination to resolve, she transitions to remediation planning mode.
“That’s when we move from investigator to developing a sound strategy to protect the health of the neighbors, the environment, and the property developer’s bottom line,” she says.
The plan may entail removing or cleaning impacted soil and, in some cases, installing a vapor barrier to prevent volatile gases from migrating into buildings. The solutions are unique to each site, ensuring the groundwater stays pristine and any new structures are in healthy environments.
She’s gotten good at getting to the route of a problem and coming up with an action plan leveraging conceptual site models. She relies on these models to form a hypothesis, gather data, and then does more research to build on her initial findings. With that comes more knowledge to piece the puzzle together ultimately. “I might start by looking for potential groundwater contaminants, then work to determine where those contaminants would likely move downgradient. Once I collect enough preliminary data about the subsurface, I can form a scientific hypothesis. The deeper I go, the closer I get to having answers to inform possible next steps,” she says.
It takes a keen eye
One of her college professors would say that the best research geologist sees the most rocks. In her eyes, it’s the same principle as being the best environmental consultant.
“It’s about being out there and physically looking at soil sample after sample and analyzing groundwater in multiple scenarios. You get a solid understanding of site conditions across different parts of the state, weighing many variables. The more you observe, the more you learn, and you apply that learning in the field,” she says.
Expanding her knowledge and showing what she can do with it has been key to advancing in her career – and it ties into that priority she broached earlier: gaining trust.
She says you must show your project managers you are ready to work on more environmental consulting tasks.
“It’s been important to my supervisors to see that I understand the conceptual site model to know where we are starting with a project and where we need to go to reach the end goal. As important is offering ideas for how to get there instead of waiting to be told what to do. It’s rewarding that my team trusts my judgment.”
From researcher to environmental consultant
Rennebohm’s found her sweet spot in environmental consulting.
“In school, I really liked geological research, learning about life, time, processes, and change. Research is important, though I also enjoy working in the field to help make meaningful changes. It’s gratifying to see blighted properties transform into valuable assets with purpose. Or to be part of a team drawing up a proposal and winning it. You own your work, and it’s a proud feeling,” she says.
She’s left to run with more these days. She serves as the primary author and reviewer of large environmental reports when she formerly contributed short summaries. And she spends more time with clients than in the days when she’d make a quick call from the field to brief them on one point in the big picture. Now Rennebohm’s their point of contact for scheduling requests, coordinating work, writing proposals, and preparing quotes.
What’s ahead
“I see myself doing a lot more on the client relations side. I like interacting with them and coordinating the work needed to meet their goals,” she says.
And she wants to venture further into another territory: business development, a space she hadn’t envisioned herself entering a few years ago.
“While I have a customer service backbone, I thought, I’m a scientist, not a salesperson. But I think differently now that I’ve grown at SCS.”
She’s networking at business conferences and meetings, explaining to residents the important roles of landfills and telling developers how consultants who do environmental site assessments can help them protect their investments.
“I’ve come to realize business development isn’t exactly selling. It’s listening, then working with people. It’s providing clients with the insight to reach their goals,” she says.
Environmental consulting builds mental dexterity. She believes that branching out into more roles and working with more people helps build character.
“I’m becoming more open-minded and breaking out of my shell, and I can contribute more to the big picture. In all I do, I’m working to protect people and the environment.”
Contact SCS Engineers to join our professionals with rewarding careers. in environmental consulting.
SCS Engineers welcomes Michael Wright to the firm as Senior Project Manager in Environmental Services. Wright’s work takes underutilized or contaminated properties and returns them to productive use.
Wright comes to SCS as a licensed professional geologist, geophysicist, hydrogeologist, and licensed general contractor. He has more than 35 years of experience on national projects, including work for the Federal Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, Forest Service, and Caltrans. His clients include those in commercial real estate, finance and manufacturing, and port authorities, including the Port of Los Angeles. Wright also has an extensive background in conducting environmental insurance claim investigations and providing litigation support.
Wright holds specialty certifications in OSHA Health and Safety, OSHA Hazard Recognition, and Constructions Quality Management for Contractors. Wright holds professional affiliations with the Bay Area Geophysical Society, Groundwater Resources Association, and National Ground Water Association.
Pennsylvania has a problem. A $2 billion problem.
From 2005 to 2015, I managed the plugging of nearly 1,000 wells in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia. Many of the wells were old wells open to the atmosphere, leaking water, gas, or oil. My research indicated one firm had drilled tens of thousands of wells until the 1990s. Responsible companies like Shell Oil Company plugged many of the wells during my tenure after they learned they had acquired old wells through land transactions.
Many more wells were abandoned or orphaned for every responsibly plugged well.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) stated there are nearly 27,000 abandoned and orphaned wells on the state and private property. PADEP estimates it will cost $1.8 billion to plug the known wells. In addition, there may be as many as 200,000 unaccounted wells. Large and smaller operators abandoned many of these wells 50-100 years ago. By 1880, 4,000 wells were producing in the Bradford Oil District alone, yielding 50,000 barrels of oil daily. Oil City had 2,000 wells along the shores of the Allegheny River. In the 1940s, the Drake property near Bradford, Pennsylvania, had over 800 wells on 1,200 acres. Many of these wells had since been abandoned or orphaned.
The abandoned/orphaned wells present several potential problems: surface water contamination, groundwater, or drinking water; methane migration to water wells or basements; hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and open holes.
Why have so many operators abandoned their wells without plugging them? And why are wells not properly plugged? The answers are multifaceted.
Inadequate plugging. In the early days, regulation of the oil and gas industry was motivated by the need to protect the oil and gas resources and not the environment. Many wells before the 1950s were either not plugged or plugged with little cement. Often tree stumps, brush, wood, and rocks, with a sack of cement thrown in, were used to plug wells. Even wells plugged in the 1950s and 1960s are not adequately plugged. When cleaning out old wells, we found junk in the hole like a deer skull, tools, brush, wireline, and trash.
Funding and Grant Programs
To address these environmental and safety issues, on November 15, 2021, the federal government enacted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocated $4.7 billion to create a new federal program to address orphan wells. Nearly every state with documented orphaned wells submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI) indicating interest in applying for a formula grant to fund the proper closure and cleanup of orphaned wells and well sites.
Pennsylvania applied for and has received an initial grant of $25 million. The state applied for and received a Phase One Formula Grant of $79 million and is eligible for an additional $315 million Performance Grant in future years. The law also provides a separate $500 million program for the remediation of orphan wells on federal land, which the Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Land Management will implement.
The DOI released draft Formula Grant Guidance to the states and the public on January 23.
Pennsylvania Act 136 of 2022 (Act of November 3, 2022, P.L. 1987, No. 136 Cl. 58 – OIL AND GAS) became effective January 3, 2023. This legislation amends Title 58 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to provide a mechanism for using grant money. It provides $40,000 for every eligible orphan well plugged with a depth of 3,000 feet or less or the actual cost of the qualified well plugger to plug the well, whichever is less. The Statutes also provide $70,000 for every eligible orphan well plugged at a depth greater than 3,000 feet or the actual cost of plugging, whichever is less.
In the event the qualified well plugger encounters unusual technical difficulties due to the condition of an orphan well, the department may, at its discretion, amend the grant award to cover the additional cost, with adequate documentation of those unexpected additional costs, if it doesn’t exceed the amount of the grant for a specific orphan well.
Success in managing this pressing issue requires dedicated effort and expertise from environmental professionals, in addition to government funding, who consider these factors:
Ownership due diligence. Researching ownership through title and tax records.
Where there are challenges, there are opportunities.
The investments to plug and remediate abandoned and orphaned wells create jobs, advance economic growth, reduce hazards, and greatly reduce GHG emissions to meet carbon reduction goals.
The process requires close coordination between the state, geologists, environmental engineers, and drillers. All are benefactors, and beneficiaries, along with the general public and the environment.
A couple of decades ago, industry Environmental Managers (EM) reviewed and interpreted regulations, permit requirements, and reporting obligations and educated their operations personnel on requirements from the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. As usual, time flies, and those major pieces of environmental legislation are more than 50 years old now, and much of the framework remains unchanged. There have also been advances in the best control technologies and great strides in automated record keeping and reporting, enabling us as environmental compliance professionals to be more efficient and offering “clear skies” regarding a manageable workload. Sure, occasional exceedances, deviations, or releases require a four-alarm fire drill as an appropriate response or the integration of the most recent ISO 14001 version release. Still, for the most part, times were good.
Sustainability changes everything.
Environmental Managers read press releases from CEOs making bold claims that their company is adopting “zero” carbon or “net neutral” goals without a real baseline carbon inventory or a roadmap for accomplishing such aggressive measures. Not to say that setting stretch targets are a “bad thing.” On the contrary, they are good targets that improve environmental stewardship for companies that may not otherwise focus on such activities. John F. Kennedy’s famous “We choose to go to the Moon” speech set a bold target for landing on the moon, stretching our space program to new limits.
Meeting the New Challenge
The challenge for you, the EM, comes into play when the responsibility of this relatively new sustainability practice is now on your desk. Larger companies are hiring Sustainability Directors at a record pace which is vital to the planning and programming of new sustainability initiatives. But even then, there are situations where EMs are responsible for implementation and retrofitting plans or projects that are conceptual in nature. And if you don’t have the luxury of a Sustainability Director to lean on, you now have the additional responsibility of developing road maps and strategies.
Where can an Environmental Manager focus on impactfully?
After concluding your version of the Serenity Prayer, we suggest starting in these three areas:
These steps will go a long way toward planning, programming, and launching sustainability initiatives with measurable results. Environmental Managers are making a difference by collaborating with operations to convert sustainable ideas and goals into reality. SCS works with large and small public and private entities to support their actions.
About the Author: Steven D. Stewart, P.E. PMP, SCS Engineers. Project Director. LinkedIn. I look forward to hearing, ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for Environmental Managers.’ If you need help with your sustainability program, don’t hesitate to contact us at SCS Engineers. Look for Steve this week at the GreenBiz 2023.
Additional Resources:
Growing consumer demand for environmentally responsible companies that offer new carbon-neutral products and services creates competitive positioning and market value for “green” organizations. In the environmental business, we call this Sustainability.
In addition to complying with regulations and mitigating economic risks, many organizations are concerned about environmental stewardship and corporate responsibility. Our clients provide important services to society; we are pleased to assist them while also helping to minimize adverse environmental and economic impacts.
In this blog, we’d like to introduce you to Erin Quinn. Mr. Quinn has two decades of experience in environmental consulting, specializing in air quality, environmental assessments, and greenhouse gas (GHG) consulting, reporting, and verification. He has participated in over 550 GHG verification projects throughout the United States.
As a specialist in air permitting and reporting, we asked him to step us through the verification process to provide us with time and cost-saving tips while making the verification process smoother.
Erin’s Tips
Check your firm’s qualifications. Seek a firm with a successful record of GHG emissions inventories, estimating GHG reductions, and a thorough knowledge of navigating the Cap and Trade Program. If you are experiencing a gap between your plan and your actual results, they could help identify how to close the gaps depending on their certifications and background.
Go local. For example, on the west coast, look for experience with CARB and ODEQ projects from various industries such as natural gas, coal, biogas and biomass, solar electricity generation, food processing, oil and gas production, electricity and transportation fuels transactions, and paper mills.
Preparation and understanding of a reporter’s GHG emission sources, CARB designation of the facility, or EPE as described in §95101 of the regulations, and any issues the reporting entity may have had while developing its GHG emissions report will facilitate report completion. This takes experience in combination with industry and specific agency requirements.
Investigate that your third-party verification is transparent. Third-Party Verification of GHG emission inventories and reduction credits under state agencies requires an efficient, transparent, and direct methodology for verifying GHG emissions reports.
Steps in the GHG Verification Process
SCS submits a conflict of interest (COI) and notice of verification services (NOVS) to CARB for their approval as soon as an agreement for verification services has been reached. A simple thing, but one that allows us to begin verification service as soon as the reporting entity submits its verification report to the agency, thus streamlining the process.
Next, we set up a kickoff meeting with the reporting entity and a consultant if you’re using one. At the meeting, we discuss the data that will or may, be required for a transparent verification process and documentation. The meeting helps clients understand all the data used in calculating and reporting their emissions, making the data review process seamless. Immediately following, we provide a formal initial data request.
Now we get to work. We begin by reviewing the provided data to develop a verification plan, a sampling plan, and an issues log. We share this with our client and provide any further explanation within the regulatory framework. During this phase, we often communicate with our client as a part of our quality management methodology.
After reviewing and addressing any issues, SCS completes the verification report and has a final meeting with our client within days of receipt so that SCS can submit it to the agency. The end result is a cost-effective, timely, and defendable verification that meets client and agency expectations and all requirements.
GHG Services at SCS Engineers
Our diligence has helped SCS develop excellent working relations with clients, various regulatory agencies, and voluntary registry. Our long experience enables us to understand your needs and how a regulatory agency or registry will interpret an unusual situation.
The firm has delivered verifications for over a decade and has 52 years of environmental compliance expertise for municipalities and industries. Our GHG verification team has completed hundreds of validation and verification projects, from mandatory GHG reporting in California and Oregon; LCFS validation and verification and offset verifications throughout the U.S.
To learn more about the process or to speak with Erin or another team member, please contact us at .
Additional Resources
From the USEPA to headlines in the media, coverage of PFAS moving from wastewater to drinking water is a major concern. Furthermore, there are growing concerns about how much PFAS is in by-products that are recycled or reused from waste products. Topping that list is fertilizer.
Retail fertilizer products made from at least 50% biosolids commonly sold to the general public and used in farming contain PFAS, which could get into crops and stock, eating those crops. The Environmental Protection departments in some states are beginning to consider or pass state-level specific regulations on the content of PFAS in biosolids.
The December 2022 USEPA memo to states (pages 4-5) made these recommendations on biosolids as follows:
Tony Kollasch, an environmental consultant specializing in remediation, tells us to use precaution and learn more about what plans are underway in your state. In his Wisconsin Agri-Business article, BIOSOLIDS and PFAS – NUTRIENTS with a SIDE OF CONCERN, he walks readers through the most recent reports and studies using plain language.
The issues and questions that come up are solvable. There are treatments for removing PFAS, and as an environmental engineering and consulting firm, we solve these types of challenges. We encourage the safe use of by-products and urge you to learn more about specific products by joining associations where you can educate yourself – it’s good for business and for understanding pending regulations that may impact your operations. It will help you run your business sustainably by making sound decisions based on human health, the environment, and economic demand.
Additional Resources:
On January 11, 2023, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency posted the General NPDES Permit for Industrial Storm Water Discharges (NPDES Permit No. ILR00) for public review and comment.
Please note that numerous modifications and additions are proposed for Attachment 1 of the NPDES Permit No. ILR00. The Attachment was just made public by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. We are preparing a summary of the changes associated with each subsector.
Modifications and added parts or sections are summarized below:
All comments on the draft permit and requests for a public hearing must be received by the IEPA no later than February 11, 2023.
Our team of Storm Water professionals in Illinois includes Spencer LaBelle and Scott Knoepke, who are ready to answer your NPDES Permit questions and discuss how the proposed modifications to the permit may impact your operation.
On January 11, 2023, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency posted the General NPDES Permit for Industrial Storm Water Discharges (NPDES Permit No. ILR00) for public review and comment.
Please note that numerous modifications and additions are proposed for Attachment 1 of the NPDES Permit No. ILR00. At the time of authoring this blog, Attachment 1 has not been made public by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Once this document is made available, a follow-up post will be prepared to summarize the changes associated with each subsector.
Modifications and added parts or sections are summarized below:
All comments on the draft permit and requests for a public hearing must be received by the IEPA no later than February 11, 2023.
Our team of Storm Water professionals in Illinois includes Spencer LaBelle and Scott Knoepke, who are ready to answer your NPDES Permit questions and discuss how the proposed modifications to the permit may impact your operation.
Join SCS Engineers at Oklahoma State University’s STEM Career Fair on March 2, 2023.
SCS is an employee-owned, award-winning environmental engineering, consulting, and construction firm with offices nationwide. We are seeking a wide variety of dedicated, hard-working professionals with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) backgrounds.
The fair is FREE to students.
Click for more information and registration
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