From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:
Focus on Energy provides $99,000 to boost energy saving efforts
Madison, Wis. – Since being acquired in 2001, Cortec Coated Products in Eau Claire, Wis. has prided itself on finding smart business solutions. The manufacturer has built on its knowledge and experience to become a global supplier and forerunner in the coated paper and film industry. With the help of Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, Cortec Coated Products has also been able to build on Focus’ knowledge and experience tobecome a leader in energy efficiency.
Cortec Coated Products received $99,000 in financial incentives from Focus on Energy after installing an innovative heat-recovery system and plant-wide lighting and steam
trap upgrades. These improvements will save the company more than 223,000
kilowatt-hours of electricity and 175,000 therms of natural gas annually – enough
energy to power 200 Wisconsin homes for a year. The company will also benefit
from $210,000 in savings on its energy bills each year.
The biggest energy saver is a unique heat-recovery system installed last [June] that provides extraordinary energy savings. The system captures “waste” heat from the facility’s oven exhaust system and instead of venting that hot air outside of the facility; the system extracts heat from the outgoing air and returns it to the oven inlet to start the process again. Reusing this heat enables the manufacturer to significantly reduce its natural gas use and saves $170,000 a year. Focus on Energy awarded $82,000 to help get the project off the ground and also provided $2,400 prior to install so a feasibility study could be completed to assure significant energy savings.