Weyerhaueser saved 1,381,850 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in one year!
Your Cooperative is proud to recognize Weyerhaeuser as its inaugural Energy Partner of the Year! Weyerhaeuser, which mills lumbers and plywood in Kalispell and manufactures medium-density fiberboard (MDF) in Columbia Falls, recently completed the Energy Smart Industrial (ESI) Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program offered through the Co-op and its wholesale power provider, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
Initially, Weyerhaeuser set a goal to reach 2% in energy savings per year. Through continued participation in the SEM program – and diligent, hard work – Weyerhaeuser more than doubled this goal, achieving 4.24% in energy savings! That equaled 1,381,850 kilowatt hours (kWh) in year one.
Andy Masa, Energy Services Supervisor for the Co-op, noted, “Weyerhaeuser’s savings are an incredible example to all of us, whether we’re huge commercial entities or 450 square foot apartment owners, that our energy efforts make a difference. The savings Weyerhaeuser has achieved are the equivalent to the energy use of 187 average homes in our area for a year – this is a big deal, especially on a transmission constrained system like ours.”
Masa continued, “However, it’s important to understand the difference between energy efficiency and energy conservation. When we talk about Weyerhaeuser’s savings, we’re saying that they are achieving the same amount of work but using over a million fewer kilowatt hours to do it. And it’s more than even the energy saved at that moment, or the money saved down the road. Every kilowatt hour Weyerhaeuser saves is a kilowatt hour that doesn’t have to be generated somewhere, whether by hydropower, coal, solar, etc., and then transmitted over transmission lines, purchased by a power provider like Flathead Electric, and finally distributed to the end user, in this case, Weyerhaeuser.”
As part of the SEM process, Weyerhaeuser’s energy team solicited energy savings ideas from coworkers that led to 47 completed energy projects. Today, their Energy Team meets every week to discuss current and proposed energy savings items. These regular meetings involving employees across multiple departments have led to incredible energy and money savings for Weyerhaeuser, and by extension, all members of Flathead Electric Cooperative.
“The cheapest kilowatt hour is the one the Co-op doesn’t have to buy,” reflected Mark Johnson, Co-op CEO and General Manager. “Every hour we don’t buy benefits every member on the system. I like to say that Flathead Electric Co-op is the only business you work with that wants you to buy less of what it’s selling – and we really do.”
Visit our rebates page to learn how you can improve your energy saving and/or energy efficiency efforts.
