Industrial Segment Energy Characterization

Tracking and forecasting energy use and assessing conservation potential are critical components of the NW Power and Conservation Council’s energy planning responsibilities. In order to update assumptions and resource potential for its upcoming 8th Power Plan, the Council contracted with Energy 350 to conduct an energy characterization of 7 key industrial segments in the Pacific Northwest, including:

  • Pulp and Paper
  • Sugar
  • Metals Fabrication and Foundries
  • Refrigerated Warehouses
  • Food Products
  • Municipal Water and Wastewater
  • Wood Products

Energy 350 first performed a total stock assessment for each segment by utilizing established lists of facilities in the region, cross-checking against program data, and verifying with online and secondary sources of information. We correlated unique facility characteristics data, such as cubic foot of storage space in refrigerated warehouses, or population served for water treatment plants, to energy use data we had access to in order to establish a scaling metric for energy use.

Applying our analysis to the stock of facilities in the region, we estimated energy consumption, identified the saturation of various efficiency measures, and characterized each industrial segment for use in the Council’s load forecasting and conservation potential assessment.

Available downloads:
Sample report

***link to Refrigerated Warehouse Segment Report PDF