Registration for the 2019 Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit is Live! 

Register today for the 2019 Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit! The Summit will be held July 10-11 in the Washington, D.C. metro area (Arlington, Virginia) with pre-conference activities on the afternoon of July 9. The 2-day event will feature interactive sessions with industry experts and market leaders, as well as many opportunities to network with peers. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore emerging technologies and share innovative strategies in energy and water efficiency with fellow professionals. 

• Registration
• Agenda At-a-Glance
• Reserve Your Hotel Room

A full industrial agenda is forthcoming.

Join an Industrial Tour at the Summit

We're pleased to announce that Better Plants partners Volvo and MedImmune will be opening up their local facilities for tours on July 9 as part of the Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit. Please RSVP for a tour by emailing BetterPlants@ee.doe.gov.

Volvo/Mack Truck - Hagerstown, Maryland

The Volvo/Mack Trucks powertrain plant is a 1.5 million square foot manufacturing plant that makes engines and transmissions for Volvo Trucks and Mack trucks, Prevost and Volvo Buses. Built in 1961, the plant has undergone significant upgrades. Its 1,800 employees produce more than 50,000 engines, 40,000 transmissions and 24,000 axles per year.

The tour will cover all operations with an emphasis on the machining and finishing operations of the crankshaft grinder machines. For more information, check out this video.

Aztra Zenica/Medimmune - Gaithersburg, Maryland

MedImmune is the global biologics research and development (R&D) arm of AstraZeneca. With one of the largest, most robust pipelines in the industry — including more than 120 research projects and product candidates — MedImmune comprises nearly half of AstraZeneca’s overall pipeline. The partner focuses on three core therapeutic areas: Oncology, Respiratory, and Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolic Disease. The Gaithersburg Campus includes R&D laboratories, pilot-scale manufacturing of biologics medicines, and office workspace and supporting site operations for MedImmune and AstraZeneca employees and contractors.

This plant recently invested in a 2.5 MW CHP system. The tour will be a walking tour that will showcase their campus and recent energy efficiency accomplishments. For more information on the facility, please click here.

2019 Technology Days Confirmed for the California Bay Area

The 2019 Technology Days have been scheduled for April 9 and 10 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), respectively, in Northern California.

Technology Days are unique opportunities for industrial energy and R&D staff to explore national lab facilities, learn about innovative technologies under development, network, and discover opportunities for lab-industry partnerships. You can learn more about the annual event and the previous Technology Days at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory online here.

This is the first time that attendees will have a chance to tour two different labs. While a full agenda is being finalized, attendees will definitely have the opportunity to tour LBNL's FLEXLAB and LLNL's Advanced Manufacturing Lab. FLEXLAB is the most advanced building efficiency test facility in the world, enabling users to develop and test energy-efficient building systems individually or as an integrated system, under real-world conditions. Its test beds can monitor and assess heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, windows, building envelope, control systems and plug loads, in any combination. Meanwhile, the brand new Advanced Manufacturing Lab is a first-of-its-kind facility that features a large wet lab with a dozen fume hoods, where 3D printing, materials research, chemical work, carbon capture technology and other research activities can be performed. A 5,000 square foot dry lab houses industrial-size manufacturing machines, including laser powder bed fusion and diode-based metal additive manufacturing systems, with space for metrology and characterization as well.

Please RSVP by March 15 by emailing BetterPlants@ee.doe.gov. Foreign nationals - anyone without U.S. citizenship or a green card - should RSVP by March 1 as their access to the labs will take longer to process.

In-Plant Trainings Schedule Updated

Many of the In-Plant Trainings (INPLTs) awarded in the fall of 2018 have been scheduled for the first half of this year. A select number of the trainings will be open to outside participation from other Better Plants partners and prospects. If you are interested in attending an INPLT, please contact your Technical Account Manager. The application period for the next round of INPLTs will open later this year. 

Apply for 2019 Better Practice and Better Project Awards

The application period for 2019 Better Project and Better Practice awards is open! These awards are meant to honor and highlight partners' innovative energy work:

• Better Project: recognizing the work of partners to demonstrate what's possible in individual facilities.
• Better Practice: recognizing partner efforts to drive organizational and cultural changes.

Partners can view previous award-winners and access application forms here, or find them attached to this email. Applicants can choose to nominate themselves by filling out a form or they can be nominated by their Technical Account Manager (TAM). Multiple awards will be given out for each category, with winning organizations representing a variety of different partner sizes and sectors. All applications are due by May 1, 2019.

Awardees will be given certificates at the annual Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit or AEE World, will be promoted in program materials and may be provided an opportunity to make a presentation at Better Plants-sponsored conferences.  Better Plants will try to promote all applicants, either on the online Solution Center or through other means.

More Time to Apply for the ITEAM Prize

The application deadline for the Individuals Taking Energy Action in Manufacturing (ITEAM) Prize has been extended to May 15, 2020. Through the prize, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking to bring attention to employees on the plant floor all around the country who not only recognize the importance of saving energy, but are making it happen, strengthening their company’s competitiveness and driving cost savings in the process.

Each ITEAM winner will be awarded a cash prize of $5,000. DOE will select up to 5 winners in each category of small, medium, and large manufacturers, for a total of up to 15 winners. In addition to the cash prize, the winners will be recognized at the annual Better Buildings Summit and will have their winning ideas and practices highlighted on the Better Buildings Solutions Center.

Applicants will also now have the option to decline the cash prize if selected and still be recognized as a winner and participate in the events and activities described in the prize rules. Learn more about the ITEAM prize and the application process here.

Welcome to New Partners Flowers Foods, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Shape Corporation, and Xerox Corporation

Since the last newsletter, Flowers Foods, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, and Shape Corporation have joined Better Plants at the program level, with Xerox Corporation joining at the Challenge level. All four are energy efficiency leaders and by partnering with Better Plants have pledged to reduce energy intensity by at least 25% in their U.S. manufacturing operations within ten years.

• Flowers Foods, one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, including brands such as Nature's Own, Sunbeam, and Wonder;
  
• Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, a manufacturer of electric and electronic automotive components;
• Shape Corporation, an automotive and industrial component supplier, and
  
• Xerox Corporation, maker of print and digital document products and services.
  

New Implementation Model Highlights the Benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning Software for Energy Management

Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) recently published an implementation model on integrating enterprise resource planning (ERP) software into its existing IT and digital control infrastructure. It outlines how they arrived at the decision to move forward with the project, as well as the evaluation process behind selecting and implementing a software product. 

To date, BCWSA has been able to successfully monitor over 125 pumping stations with various sensors clustered across three facilities, with a proposal to incorporate a fourth facility once capital improvements at that location are completed. Since the implementation of the ERP platform, Bucks County has made operational adjustments to optimize energy consumption. The software helps the Authority identify areas that may need improvement, whether an operational fix or installation of capital equipment. Good results in one facility will lead to a request for additional funds, per BCWSA’s capital investment plan, for each additional facility. Software data results have also driven adjustments in operations. For example, BCWSA has a 100,000 kWh/year solar array and the Authority has used software data to determine time frames for energy use reduction to shave peak loads whenever possible. Check out the implementation model to learn more!

2015-2018 Better Buildings Summit and AEE World Presentations Online

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