Bass to Kick Off Energy Efficiency Tour, Highlight 'Smart Energy Act' PDF Print
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Will visit several New Hampshire companies utilizing combined heat and power technology

April 2, 2012

WASHINGTON – Congressman Charles F. Bass (NH-02) will visit several New Hampshire companies during the April district work period to see firsthand how companies are using combined heat and power (CHP) technology to reduce energy costs and power their facilities.

This type of energy efficiency technology is a key feature of Bass' bipartisan Smart Energy Act (H.R. 4017), which will help put the federal government and many businesses on a path to reduce energy use. In its most general form, combined heat and power and waste heat recovery systems capture energy produced during electricity generation to heat additional buildings and use industrial waste heat as a fuel source to generate electricity, respectively.

As part of his energy efficiency tour, Bass will visit Velcro USA in Manchester this morning, tour Concord Steam Corporation on Wednesday, and stop by Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield the following week. All three companies rely on CHP technology to power their facilities or produce energy for their customers.

Bass said:

"It is estimated that our economy would be using 50 percent more energy today without the energy efficiency upgrades made over the last 40 years. Even with these achievements, our nation's energy demands are expected to grow by 20 percent over the next 20 years. During this time of economic recovery, improving our energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest, and cleanest way to meet our energy needs.

"Numerous companies across the state are already using innovative and energy efficient technology like combined heat and power to fuel their facilities and reduce costs. According to the Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee, reaching my legislation's CHP goal has the potential to create up to one million highly-skilled jobs and encourage more than $200 billion in private investment. I'm looking forward to seeing this technology in use firsthand and speaking with New Hampshire business owners about ways we can create even more advancements in this burgeoning field."

Bass' Smart Energy Act includes a provision that would establish a strategic plan to double the production of electricity through the use of CHP and waste heat recovery by 2020. Maximizing energy already created for both its thermal and electric generation capabilities is a core definition of efficiency.

Bass' legislation will also:

• Optimize the use of energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) to create jobs and improve performance of federal buildings by leveraging private sector investment in public building projects.

• Direct the agencies to take common-sense first steps—such as data center consolidation, personal computer power savings techniques, and participation in utility demand-response programs—to better manage energy consumption.

• Offer an economically-viable incentive program to commercial, industrial, and municipal entities that need seed capital to fund efficiency upgrades.

For a detailed description of the Smart Energy Act, please click here.

The Smart Energy Act has already garnered broad support among numerous trade associations and businesses, including the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, the Alliance to Save Energy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Danfoss Group, the Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition, Dow Chemical, EnerNOC, Ingersoll Rand, Johnson Controls, the National Electric Contractors Association of Greater Boston, Pew Charitable Trusts, Schneider Electric, United Technologies, and the U.S. Clean Heat and Power Association, among others.

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