OSU Energy Efficiency Center

ITAC Assessments

Tacoma Wastewater Treatment Plant

The OSU ITAC team identified notable cost savings in the following systems:

• Natural gas production
• Sludge heat exchangers
• Yard water pump system
• Odor control ventilation

$1,180,000

 

Annual Identified Cost Savings

<1 Year

 

Overall Payback Period

5

 

Recommended Opportunities

Deschutes Brewery

The OSU ITAC team identified notable cost savings in the following systems:

• CO2 recovery
• Rinse nozzles
• Blowers
• Ventilation

$240,000

 

Total Identified Cost Savings

0.6 Years

 

Overall Payback Period

233,000

 

kWh Saved Annually

ITAC Nationally

As of September 2024, the national ITAC program had conducted more than 21,000 assessments with over 160,000 associated recommendations, saving U.S. companies more than $2.7 billion through efficiency and productivity improvements.

The Oregon State University EEC/ITAC has recommended more than $185 million in annual cost savings through over 800 assessments. Twenty-four percent of recommendations have been implemented, equaling $44 million in savings to manufacturers. 

Who Wins?

• Industry

  Facilities who receive an assessment and implement recommendations:

  • improve process efficiency
  • reduce energy costs and waste; average energy savings are $20,000 annually and non energy savings are $98,000 annually
  • demonstrate their commitment to sustainability

• Participating University Faculty

  Through the ITACs, universities:

  • build valuable local industry relationships to maintain a practical focus in their engineering curriculum.

  • gain an edge in attracting and retaining top undergraduate and graduate engineering students.

• Participating Students

  The next generation of energy-savvy engineers is being prepared in today's ITAC program. Each year, over 700 students participate nationally, gaining valuable hands-on experience that can jump-start their engineering careers:

  • collecting data on audits, making recommendations and preparing reports
  • building professional relationships with local industry
  • understanding key industrial operations, systems, and processes
  • receiving in-depth energy efficiency training from faculty and student mentors

• U.S. Taxpayers

  The Department of Energy's Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains provides financial and technical support to the ITACs. The nation's economy benefits from more competitive small and medium-sized manufacturers--- a sector that accounts for over 50 percent of U.S. manufacturing employment. Other returns include:

  • enhanced energy security
  • environmental benefits from decreased energy and resource use
  • highly trained efficiency professionals

The primary objective of the ITAC is to identify and evaluate opportunities for increased productivity, energy conservation and waste minimization through visits to industrial sites.