Recycling Heat Energy
Tuesday, September 07 2010
by Will Michaels
Manufacturers may start recycling heat energy thanks to a state subsidy that went into effect last month. A process called co-generation captures heat energy given off from industrial exhaust and recycles it to power a facility's production. Preston Howard is the president of North Carolina's Manufacturers and Chemical Industry Council. He says facilities that produce small amounts of heat might not benefit enough from the process, but large facilities might recycle more heat than they could use. That's where the subsidy comes in.
Preston Howard: What the subsidy, I think, hopes to do is provide a delta, if you will, of cost that will make more projects cost effective to implement.
The subsidy would cover up to 35 percent of the cost to start a cogeneration process. Howard says it's not clear yet which manufacturers in the state might use the technology to power their facilities.
