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Analysis of US Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) implementation

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  • Miera, Kalie
  • Abbas, Ahmad I.
  • Nimbalkar, Sachin
  • Wenning, Thomas

Abstract

Industrial energy assessments are a fundamental action toward developing a decarbonization strategy at any level. They provide an understanding of where energy efficiency opportunities exist and help to make informed business decisions about the costs and benefits of implementing sustainable policies and practices. This paper examines the effectiveness of the Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Centers Program at providing useful energy-efficiency audits as well as the barriers faced by the program and plans for future growth and improvement. This paper presents an analysis of the program between 1981 and 2022, covering 20,290 industrial assessments and 151,198 recommendations, with $2.6 billion of recommended savings. The analysis includes a breakdown of the IAC recommendations and implemented projects based on both the industrial subsectors according to the Standard Industrial Classification code, energy type, and systems evaluated. The results include a 47 % implementation rate, a gap analysis to understand the missed opportunities, and a discussion about reasons for recommendation rejection. A comparison of the IAC Program with other country-level energy auditing or assessment programs was conducted, and suggestions for improving implementation rates were mentioned.

Suggested Citation

  • Miera, Kalie & Abbas, Ahmad I. & Nimbalkar, Sachin & Wenning, Thomas, 2025. "Analysis of US Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) implementation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:315:y:2025:i:c:s036054422500057x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.134415
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Schleich, Joachim & Fleiter, Tobias, 2019. "Effectiveness of energy audits in small business organizations," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 59-70.
    2. Kalantzis, F. & Revoltella, D., 2019. "Do energy audits help SMEs to realize energy-efficiency opportunities?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 229-239.
    3. Backlund, Sandra & Thollander, Patrik, 2015. "Impact after three years of the Swedish energy audit program," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 54-60.
    4. Dalzell, Nicole M. & Boyd, Gale A. & Reiter, Jerome P., 2017. "Creating linked datasets for SME energy-assessment evidence-building: Results from the U.S. Industrial Assessment Center Program," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 95-101.
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