Emerson Exchange 365

A Q&A with Chip Rennie - Director, Global Industrial Energy, Emerson Process Management

The Emerson Exchange Industrial Energy Industry Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 2, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Go here for more information on Emerson’s Industry Energy solutions

What are the major issues and trends facing industrial energy producers?
Energy is a significant cost to industrial producers, and the volatility in energy prices is a risk to industrial process businesses. For many sites, energy is the largest percentage cost of production after raw materials. Long-term demographic trends suggest that increased energy costs in the future are likely. Industrial producers that wish to remain competitive must manage and reduce their energy intensity.
Energy, environmental, and emissions regulations continue to increase globally. Whether it is Boiler MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) in the U.S., the European EED (Energy Efficiency Directive), or legislation in other world areas, the trend continues to regulate energy performance and emissions more tightly. Industrial producers will be required to comply with the laws in their country and region, and those that accomplish this most proficiently will gain advantage.
Reliability performance and energy performance are related. One real-world strategy for improving energy performance is to increase reliability. It is possible to simultaneously advance energy performance while achieving increased production and quality through reliability improvement.

What are the biggest challenges/barriers facing producers?
Operating safely, reliably, and within regulations, while simultaneously optimizing cost, is a challenge. After safety, reliability is the key performance metric in the energy-intensive industrial utility operation. Sometimes cost is sacrificed to achieve reliability. In the long run, this compromise weighs on business results

What are the biggest opportunities facing the industry?
According to a study published by the U.S. Department of Energy, nearly one third of industrial energy is lost due to low conversion efficiency, leaks, venting, and flaring. Though no manufacturer will ever achieve close to zero energy loss, obviously, this still represents a huge opportunity for potential improvement.
A large portion of this opportunity can typically be captured through the application of known technologies and work practices. Instrumentation, controls, and automation technologies are being leveraged very successfully in industry to lower energy loss.
The use of waste and low-cost alternate energy sources and having fuel flexibility are also opportunities for various industrial sites. Examples include refinery gas at refineries, excess hydrogen or waste liquids at chemical plants, coke oven and blast furnace gas at steel mills, and waste wood at pulp and paper mills. Effectively integrating and utilizing these energy streams in production or utility operations is typically a key to optimal energy and business performance.

What can Emerson do to help its industrial energy customers?
Emerson takes a holistic approach to improving industrial energy processes. This approach delivers results that are both immediate and long-lasting. We work from the bottom up and provide clients with robust, maintainable improvement solutions.
Emerson understands the operating priorities and difficulties in the industrial utility environment. Changing demands, often a variety of fuels, and equipment reliability can be challenges. Emerson has specially designed control solutions for industrial utility applications that particularly address site operating issues and drive costs lower.
Maximizing improvement success requires combining technology, an implementation methodology, and people. For industrial energy applications, Emerson leverages a dedicated team of subject matter experts, delivers unique intellectual property and partners with clients to improve business results.

What is your take on the long-term outlook for industrial energy?
The long-term outlook for industrial energy revolves around the trends of steadily increasing energy costs and more restrictive environmental regulations. These two macro trends will put pressure on industrial manufacturing businesses to be more efficient in their energy use and conscious of their environmental performance. Businesses that are more successful in these efforts will enjoy a strategic advantage over their competitors. The industrial energy macro trends are especially driven by the continuing increase in global population and the increase, on average, of energy use per person as developing economies emerge. In addition, traditional fossil fuel sources are being consumed and fossil fuel production is moving to places that are more difficult and expensive to reach. This combination of supply and demand factors will continue to result in upward energy price pressure.
In the near term future, there is considerable increase in the volume of environmental and efficiency rules and regulations that are affecting industrial producers. For many sites it is a good business decision in general to improve energy performance, but there is also the potential for additional burden to be placed on sites in terms of reporting and also at times process equipment upgrades. Examples of recent legislation that is affecting industrial sites include Boiler MACT in the U.S., the Energy Efficiency Directive in Europe, and the Energy Conservation Act in Singapore.