Volume 3 of the US Department of Energy’s “US industrial and Commercial Motor System Market Assessment” was released on July, 2022. The study reviews the energy performance improvement opportunities for the installed base of commercial and industrial motor systems in the United States. It is noted in the report that electric motors and related systems play a critical role in decarbonizing the economy. Previous posts associated with Volumes 1 and 2 can be found:
In Perspective: USDOE’s Study Of Electric Motor Systems, 2021 Edition (Part I) | THE RAM REVIEW
In Perspective: USDOE’s Study Of Electric Motor Systems, 2021 Edition (Part II) | THE RAM REVIEW
In Perspective: USDOE’s Study Of Electric Motor Systems, 2021 Edition (Part III) | THE RAM REVIEW
In Perspective: USDOE’s Study Of Electric Motor Systems, 2021 Edition (Part IV) | THE RAM REVIEW
Volume 3 of the three-part series looks at potential reductions in energy consumption and GHG (Greenhouse Gas Emission) through energy efficient actions and advanced technologies. The primary reason is that it is estimated from the study that over 1,000 terawatt-hours (TWh), or 29% of the US electric grid loading, is presently consumed through commercial and industrial electric motor driven systems. This represents 765 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2 emissions and $166 billion in electricity costs (pre-2020 values) each year.
Volume 3 of the study identifies that these costs and emissions can be reduced through:
- Improved load matching;
- Replacing older less efficient motors with new premium efficient motors; and,
- Improve air/water/compressed air distribution.
In effect, the same recommendations that were developed in the Challenge programs in the 1990s (which can now be found as part of the US DOE’s Better Buildings programs – Better Buildings Initiative | U.S. Department of Energy). For instance, 47% of industrial and 50% of commercial motor systems operate under 75% loading. With peak efficiency averaging at 85% of the motor full load, this can represent an improvement of 1-2% efficiency. Even though there was a largely successful push for variable frequency drives in the 1990s and early 2000s, installation of VFDs in remaining opportunities still has the potential of 115,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh/yr). This translates to $13.2 billion and 81.7 MMT of CO2 – of which the energy costs have a direct impact on the company’s P&L. With these upgrades also being primarily capital projects, the improvements show an improvement in company investment having an impact on several fronts.
Upgrading to premium efficient motors, which has finally been defined in NEMA MG-1 (the 2021 edition is now a free download – Motors and Generators (nema.org) – normally over $700), as well as advanced motor technology, has the potential of 32,458 GWh/yr. This translates to $3.6 billion and 23 MMT of CO2 reduced.
Also previously discussed is the improvments related to electric motor maintenance and repair. Implementing and improving electric motors and driven equipment maintenance results in a potential improvement of 40,457 GWh/yr, $4.2 billion in reduced energy spend and 28.7 MMT of CO2.
It also appears that additional opportunities exist. When this study was initiated, MotorDoc was one of the companies that was to work on the study along with a utility R&D facility. Part of the original suggestion was to review present condition of electric machines, a program we had developed for PG&E in the late 1990s. Unfortunately, while not included in the 2021/2 study, some of the information can be gleaned from the database (MSMA Online (lbl.gov)) and can have an impact exceeding the combined opportunities mentioned earlier in this article. It has been evaluated and discussed that looking at improving facility power, including power, neutral and ground harmonics, electrical system maintenance and electric motor maintenance can reduce a site’s overall electrical spend by at least 25%.