Electric motors and drive systems are common to most industrial processes, from the compressor in a refrigerator, to a 5,000 horsepower coal mining shovel. Motors can consume up to 20 times their purchase value in electricity each year. This amount of electricity is the equivalent of over 150 large coal or nuclear power plants. Co-generation is the production of both electricity and heat from the same fuel. The remaining two-thirds of the energy is discarded as heat into the environment.
Many industries require both electricity and process heat.
Co-generation units such as gas turbines, produce electricity and capture the excess heat. Recycling is another area in which a wide variety of industries can save energy. In the manufacturing of metals, paper, glass and plastics, it is much more efficient to produce new materialfrom recycled products than from virgin raw materials. Even when energy efficiency improvements are cost-effective, there are still some barriers which prevent their implementation in industry. In some industries, energy costs represent only a small portion of overall costs.