Energy performance indicator for integrated mills

The US Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program and researchers at Duke University have worked with companies in the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry to develop the Energy Performance Indicator (EPI), a statistical model that lets integrated mills in the US compute their mill energy efficiency based on net demand for Total Source Energy per ton of product produced. Biomass generated at the plant is also not included in the net purchased energy accounting. The alternative is to account for the net energy consumption which presents several data challenges, so the system boundaries for the EPI are based on net energy demand. The statistical analysis finds that, while energy is needed for debarking and chipping, this process is also a net energy creator. By accounting for the type of woods used as an input to production, the EPI adjust for the availability of hog fuel when round wood is used by the plant versus the need to purchase more energy when chips are used.

Duke Scholars

Author Gale Allen Boyd Social Science Research Institute