The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that it has launched a "Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative." This is a combined effort of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office. The initiative has the two pronged objective of increasing U.S. manufacturing competitiveness (1) in the production of clean energy products, and (2) by increasing energy productivity.
As an example of the first objective, the initiative was announced at the ribbon cutting ceremony for a brand new state-of¬-the-art Carbon Fiber Technology Facility that is designed to provide a test bed for the development of materials and manufacturing processes.
The second objective includes implementation of energy efficiency measures, capture of combined heat and power, and using low-cost natural gas to help U.S. manufacturers compete.
According to DOE, key elements include:
- Increasing funding for clean energy manufacturing R&D
- Providing additional energy productivity training and assistance for manufacturers
- Leveraging the capabilities of national labs to conduct targeted analysis of the U.S. competitive position and prioritizes strategic investments
- Launching new public-private partnerships
While it is difficult to predict whether any of these efforts will have a major impact, the manufacturing sector is a significant user of energy and efforts to reduce energy use and the energy intensity of manufacturing activity could prove to be significant.
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