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News Release from: Volvo Europa Truck
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 16 February 2007
Truck plant cuts specific energy use by
29%
Investing in alternative means of energy production and dropping natural gas and national electrical consumption, a Belgian truck plant expects to see payback within two years.
A 29% reduction in specific energy consumption - and recovery of the capital cost within two years This is one of the environmental targets of the Volvo Trucks production organisation
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 6 Jan 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Volvo Trucks operates production units in many countries and in most parts of the world.
In 2003, the company took a decision to cut specific energy consumption within Global Manufacturing by an average of 29% per plant by 2006, with 2001 as baseline.
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Since operating conditions differ from plant to plant, the individual targets vary.
Volvo Trucks operates an assembly plant in Ghent, Belgium, which is also the site of the Volvo Group's central parts warehouse.
Both units are part of the national voluntary energy conservation programme.
The aim is to achieve 'world class' in the area of energy consumption within three years under Belgian energy authority guidelines, which are based on its commitments under the Kyoto protocol.
In 2002, the gap between current energy consumption and 'world class' was 11.8%.
This figure was reduced to 3.4% in 2005 and eliminated completely in 2006.
Specific energy consumption in Ghent was reduced by 36% between 2001 and 2006.
Investment in 2005 will be an estimated SEK1 million, yielding a reduction of 3,300MWh in energy consumption.
Measures to be introduced include the installation of energy-efficient lighting with lower environmental impact and more efficient reflectors, improved control of hot water systems, ventilation systems and air flows in spray booths, improved temperature control and more efficient hydraulic power tools.
The replacement of light sources alone has halved electricity consumption for lighting and the investment payback time is expected to be as short as two years.
This programme has also benefited from a tax rebate of 25% of the investment cost.
"Results to date in Ghent have really shown that well-considered environmental measures are relatively easy to implement, as well as economical," commented Lars Martensson, environmental director of Volvo Trucks.
Movement detectors Another example is provided by the truck plant at New River Valley in Virginia, USA, where a seven-year energy conservation programme is under way in collaboration with Siemens.
The first step was to replace all light sources with low-energy types.
The plant lighting is controlled automatically and is operated as needed.
In some sections of the plant operating on a two-shift basis, lighting levels can be reduced at certain times, whereas this is more difficult in threeshift areas.
In addition, the lighting in the warehouse areas has been equipped with detectors to monitor movement or activity.
If no movement is detected for a period of time, the lighting power is reduced by approximately 35%.
The primary activity of the Siemens programme was to install thermostatic controls to save energy in the heating and cooling systems throughout the New River Valley plant.
All of the investment has been undertaken by Siemens in return for an agreed percentage of the savings achieved.
As in Ghent, the capital cost is expected to be recovered in just a few years.
"A Group-wide project directed by Volvo Technology has developed a model for the Group's energy consumption," said Martensson.
"The Volvo Trucks environmental group for global production has used this model in the current programme.
We have made significant progress in this area by adopting a holistic view and applying common methods." Ground water colder than river A comprehensive programme to reduce energy consumption has also been undertaken at the Volvo Trucks cab plant in Umea, where a total investment of about SEK25 million, including SEK8 million in the form of a government grant, has been committed to three sub-projects.
These involve the replacement of river water by ground water for cooling requirements in summer, developed heat recovery in the paint shop process, and the reduction of electrical losses in operating machinery and other equipment.
The grant for this climate investment programme is conditional on a maximum payback time of six years.
"There are several reasons why Volvo Trucks is investing so heavily in cutting energy consumption in its production operations," explained Martensson.
"Our ongoing environmental activities obviously form the basis.
But economics are also a large part of the rationale; we must reduce our dependency on oil as resources become scarcer and prices skyrocket, as well as reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases." * Figures for specific energy consumption are based on units of production.
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