WASHINGTON — President Obama has signed an executive order to accelerate investments in industrial energy efficiency, including combined heat and power (CHP). The executive order states that these investments can improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing, lower energy costs, free up future capital for businesses to invest, and create jobs. Despite these benefits, independent studies show under-investment in industrial energy efficiency and CHP as a result of numerous barriers. The goal is to overcome these barriers.

The executive order:

• Sets a national goal of 40 gigawatts (GW) of new CHP installations over the next decade;

• Directs federal agencies to foster a national dialogue through ongoing regional workshops to encourage the adoption of best practice policies and investment models that overcome the barriers to investment, provide public information on the benefits of unlocking investment in industrial energy efficiency, and use existing federal authorities that can support these investments; and

• Directs the Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to coordinate actions at the federal level while providing policy and technical assistance to states to promote investments in industrial energy efficiency.

Publication date: 9/10/2012