New Tool Helps Cement Firms Get Energy Star Rating

Cement plants have a new score to settle – and hopefully it’s 75 or above.

The 115 cement plants in the U.S. can now rate their energy efficiency via an Energy Performance Indicator, a tool part of the EPA’s Energy Star program. The program allows plants to evaluate energy consumption using census data and industry data from the Portland Cement Association. A score of 75 or higher on a scale of 100 allows a plant to label itself Energy Star compliant, which boosts its competitiveness while promoting energy efficiency, says Andy O’Hare, vice president of regulatory affairs for the association.

The evaluation isn’t mandatory, and owners can do it in the privacy of their own office without worrying about competitors getting a hold of the results, O’Hare says. Plants can evaluate themselves every year when both sets of data are updated.

“It encourages continuous improvement, so you can’t just rest on your laurels,” O’Hare says. “We found these tools are highly effective in stimulating activity.”

Cement manufacturing is a high-energy field. The evaluation checks energy consumption per ton of product produced and how much electricity is used during the process, among other factors.

Improving energy efficiency shouldn’t be the only benefit. The EPA hopes the tool helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve conventional energy supplies and lower production costs. O’Hare estimates about 25 percent of the plants using the tool have a score of 75 or above; he figures 80 percent of the multinational plants evaluate themselves.

Since the program became available this summer, “they’re aggressively seeking the Energy Star rating,” O’Hare says. “They’re showing they care.”

The EPA, he says, hopes to bring a similar evaluation tool to other industries, such as steel and aluminum.