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Energy Summit 2016 tips hat to innovation & energy managers

He couldn’t be more right, as the rest of the Summit attested to. The power to do something about energy lies in our hands (and ideas)—that was the resounding takeaway. Other sessions took a look at energy efficiency opportunities in food and beverage industry, such as the CHP system Campbell’s recently powered up at its Toronto plant; global carbon markets; turbocharging energy performance with energy managers; as well as how to monitor and track energy.

Danielle Fong—the 28 year-old Canadian co-founder and chief scientist of California-based energy storage company LightSail Energy—kicked Day 1 off with a keynote speech, noting scaling down carbon emissions is “the largest business opportunity ever”. She also touched on her company’s technology, which uses carbon fiber and a simple water spraying process to store energy from the heat produced from compressed air. Fong is in the middle of bringing a pilot project involving this technology to Canada.

Energy managers Danielle Piluso (Niagara College), Flyn McCarthy (SysEne Consulting Inc.) and Matthew Curtis (Goldcorp Inc.) shared stories of how they stepped into the role and the projects they’re undertaking at their businesses such as building control through automation, adjusting chillers and mining ventilation systems.

“A fear of the new and lack of capital means the technology you introduce as an energy manager will probably have to be low-cost or an operating opportunity—like working with the building control system already in place,” explained McCarthy. “People who use the energy need to be accountable and that comes through training and developing metrics for managers to be responsible for.”

Jon Feldman, engineering lead for the Industrial Accelerator Program with the IESO, said Piluso, McCarthy and Curtis illustrate that “energy managers are not born but created… and it takes a special person to be one, with the technical skills like thermodynamics and heat transfer calculations but also practical experience for dealing with people who don’t like change. You have to have a balance of both.”

According to Feldman, there were 86 active energy managers by the end of 2015 and 4064 projects conducted, but he noted this was unverified information from the IESO Energy Manager program.

Terry Young, vice-president of conservation and corporate relations with the IESO, also gave a keynote, calling energy managers “crown jewels”, and later told Energy Manager the IESO is looking at providing a more supportive network for energy managers, such as boosted training and help desks, for a full suite of services.

CIPEC—celebrating its 40th anniversary—also hosted its Leadership Awards dinner and ceremony on Tuesday evening to recognize companies who have “distinguished themselves in energy efficiency”. Congratulations to the following winners:

• CIPEC Energy Management National Award: New Gold – New Afton Mine, and 3M Canada,
• Corporate Stewardship: Cascades Inc., and ArcelorMittal Dofasco,
• Process & Technology Improvements: Barrick – Hemlo, and CAE Inc.,
• Energy Performance Management: Catalyst Paper Corp. – Powell River, and Shell Canada,
• Employee Awareness & Training: Canfor Pulp, and 3M Canada – Brockville,
• Integrated Energy Efficiency Strategy: Global Wood Concepts Ltd, and Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee.

CIPEC includes more than 2500 companies, representing over 21 industrial sectors and over 50 trade associations. This partnership “encourages best practices in energy management through customized workshops, industry networking opportunities and cost-shared assistance”.

This was the 2nd EMC/CIPEC Energy Summit, the first being held in 2014.

Gib Wood with Intellimeter Canada Inc. explains the company to a show attendee.

See yourself in the gallery? Want a copy? Email rfrancoeur@annexweb.com.