Superior Energy Performance™ (SEP) announces its new website—a valuable resource for manufacturers who want to prove their achievements in energy management and lower plant energy costs. SEP is a certification program and process applicable to facilities of all sizes in all manufacturing sectors. Built on the ISO 50001 energy management standard, SEP creates value by helping companies establish energy targets and then track, maintain, and verify sustained improvements in performance. Facilities with a strong record of energy savings can begin the SEP certification process, while others may use the SEP process to strengthen energy management skills and build toward certification readiness. Results from the facilities already certified show an average investment payback of 1.7 years. No-cost and low-cost operational measures have posted annual savings ranging from $87,000 to $984,000.

The Volvo Group's New River Valley Plant in Dublin, VA, recently celebrated its SEP certification (see the video). The plant improved its energy performance by 25.8 percent over three years while maintaining its daily truck production levels. Furthermore, Volvo's SEP certified Macungie, PA, facility (which assembles Mack Trucks) improved energy performance by 41.9 percent over 10 years. According to Volvo, "SEP provides … proven performance metrics to quantify actual savings—giving credibility to internal and external savings claims."

The DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office's Technical Assistance program worked with the U.S. Council for Energy Efficient Manufacturing (U.S. CEEM), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board to develop SEP as a transparent system for certifying improvements in energy performance and management practices.