U.S. Industrial Companies Must Embrace Energy Management

April 10th, 2012 by Joshua S Hill

A new report released by cleantech market intelligence firm Pike Research shows that U.S. industries must take additional measures soon to ensure that they remain cost-competitive on a global scale.

Industrial and manufacturing companies in the U.S. are responsible for close to one-third of all the energy consumed in the country on an annual basis. That sensible management of energy is necessary is not news to these companies. Energy management initiatives are already regularly adopted by industrial companies in an attempt to maximise expenditure.

But the new Pike report notes that these same companies — which are already, in some cases, ahead of the game — must take additional steps to ensure they stay competitive. Unsurprisingly, one such energy management technique is the efficient use of energy that Pike suggests these companies can improve upon to ensure they remain competitive.

“The energy management industry is entering a dynamic period of renewal and innovation,” says vice president Bob Gohn. “New technologies are allowing greater insight into energy procurement and use, as well as the management of energy as an input to the industrial process. At the same time, a variety of assistance programs, plus new standards and certifications, are helping to drive energy performance initiatives into the organizational cultures of companies wishing to gain efficiencies in their industrial processes.”

The report notes that the realisation that energy and sustainability issues are a critical requirement for staying competitive will result in the growth of industrial energy management software and services through the rest of the decade, increasing from $960 million in 2011 to $5.6 billion by 2020, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.6%.

Source: Pike Research
Image Source: Scott Butner

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Tags: Energy, industrial, Manufacturing

About the Author

Joshua S Hill I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

Captivation

I’m not sure if energy costs are about to push corporations towards efficiency. After all, if renewable energy supplies keep growing they will eventually reduce oil prices despite our peak oil situation.
Instead I think the punishment for carbon burning economies will come in the form of exclusion from global trade partnerships. Having made large investments in green energy, we cannot expect Europe to continue trading with countries that refuse to follow its lead.