Contact: Megan O’Neil
Tel. (770) 447-5083 x229
Email: megan@aeecenter.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Energy leaders recognized at WEEC, October 30, 2012
at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA (October 30, 2012) – Through its International Awards Program, the Association of
Energy Engineers, a nonprofit professional association of over 16,000 members, recognizes the
important work being done in energy by individuals, organizations, agencies, and corporations. The
following awards will be presented October 30th at the 35th World Energy Engineering Congress in
Atlanta, GA.
Energy Engineer of the Year Award
Brett Rasmussen is a senior energy engineer at Nissan North America, Inc. Canton Plant. He has
designed, engineered, and supervised installations of over 18 energy efficiency projects at a motor
vehicle manufacturing facility since 2007, saving close to $7 million and over 330 billion BTU. He
has completed over 15 ASHRAE level 2 energy audits in the state of Mississippi, helping other
industrial facilities save energy. In 2011, he helped three schools become ENERGY STAR rated, the
first for the state of Mississippi. This year, he helped four more schools become ENERGY STAR
rated. Brett’s innovations led the Nissan North American, Inc. Canton Plant into the nation’s top
quartile of auto assembly plants by helping it meet EPA guidelines for superior energy efficiency, and
is responsible for the plant earning the ENERGY STAR rating from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency every year since 2006. Brett is the Energy Committee Chairman for the Mississippi
Manufacturing Association, a Board Member of Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and an AEE
Legend in Energy.
Corporate Energy Management Award
Sims Metal Management is the world’s leading recycler in metals, electronics and municipal
recycling, with over 250 locations worldwide and over 6,200 employees. Sims Metal Management has
a strong commitment to the environment, sustainability and the health of the communities in which
they operate. In addition to being the world’s leading recycling company, Sims Metal management
strives to also become the cleanest, most energy efficient and socially-focused company within the
industry. In pursuit of that goal, Sims constantly promotes environmental sustainability in their
everyday operations. In recent years, the company has implemented a corporate initiative to
consciously work toward carbon reduction at its operating facilities and become more sustainable.
Toward this effort, the company has implemented energy efficient programs such as lighting retrofits,
installed VFD’s and capacitor banks on manufacturing equipment, participated in Demand Response
programs (where available and applicable), obtained approval for and in the process of implementing
wind and solar projects, and invested in monitoring devices and controls to better manage the large
energy-consuming equipment to ensure optimum performance.
Energy Professional Development Award
Ron Willhite is the Founder and Director of the School Energy Managers Project for the Kentucky
School Board Association, and provides his energy specialist services to 144 public school districts
around the state. The hiring of 35 energy managers, along with the partnership of 14 existing energy
managers, led to over $4.5 million in annual avoided costs unleashed for school districts in the first
year of the program. Kentucky has experienced a rapid rise in the amount of ENERGY STAR schools
since the start of the SEMP Program, with a current total of 125. Many of the school energy managers
were also provided with the opportunity for Certified Energy Manager (CEM) training in Summer
2011. Ron’s leadership for the SEMP program is irreplaceable. His understanding of utility
companies, school boards, state and federal government, and energy management has served as a great
inspiration and model to the entire group. Currently, Ron is seeking additional funding to continue the
SEMP program into the future.
Energy Manager of the Year Award
David Osborn Over the past two decades, Mr. Osborn has achieved nationally recognized prominence
as a Department of Defense energy program manager through three FEMP awards, four Secretary of
Army awards and as a FEMP Energy Champion. Mr. Osborn currently manages Wisconsin’s $180
million energy efficiency program which covers 72 million square feet of state-owned buildings. He is
the single project manager of $85 million of performance contracts in various stages of construction
and M&V. He was responsible for building a highly successful program and gained legislative
approval of $100 million for pending energy projects during Wisconsin’s recent highly political
budget processes.
Energy Project of the Year: National Award
The Twinsburg High School and Sports Complex project goes above and beyond typical energy
conservation projects. The effort and attention that was dedicated to this project produced outstanding
results; data from only six months of performance tracking showed that energy use was reduced by
46.3%. These impressive results gained national attention for the project, by both the EPA’s Battle of
the Buildings competition and Contracting Magazine’s Design/Build Awards. Since that time, and
only 12 months into performance review, the building has increased efficiency to 53.2% reduction in
energy consumption, and is on track to save the school district over $402,000 annually in energy bills
alone.
Energy Project of the Year: International Award
Heat Recovery in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, Kruger Products Kruger Products installed a $4.8
million heat recovery system in its Gatineau, QC tissue mill. It became operational in October 2010
and has seen impressive results after only one year. The system delivered 123,650 GJ of energy to the
manufacturing process and building heating system. This energy displaced steam, which displaced
boiler fuels. A validation test revealed that the total fuels displaced is 184,276 GJ. This also represents
a reduction in GHG emissions by 13.1% (9,358 MT CO2) and a fuel savings of 13.5%. Production has
increased by 2.7% since baselines metrics were established, making these results more impressive.
When operating at full capacity, this technology can lower the mill’s total energy consumption by
11% and CO2 emissions by 14.5% (approximately 10,000 tonnes/year). This reduction is equivalent
to removing 2,500 cars from the road or planting 1.3M trees. The technology also has the capacity to
reduce consumption of boiler fuels, such as natural gas, by 4.5M m3 annually.
Renewable Energy Innovator of the Year Award
Peter Rumsey is the Managing Director of Integral Group (formerly Rumsey Engineers). Widely
recognized as a global player in energy efficiency, and a leader in sustainable and resource efficient
building design, Peter has worked in the engineering and energy consulting industry since the mid1980s. Peter has directed the design of 16 LEED Platinum Certified projects, as well as 15 Net Zero
and three Living Building Challenge projects, which are currently being designed. Peter has been
responsible for many key innovations in energy efficient design and analysis, including pioneering the
use of chilled beams (induction diffusers), efficient outside air systems that eliminate reheat, radiant
cooling systems, and low pressure drop systems in U.S. laboratories, and the use of guaranteed
performance contracts for HVAC systems based solely on measured system data. In addition to
design, one of Peter’s major areas of innovation focuses on how to make, green, affordable. Under
Peter’s direction, the Integral Group team has designed the world’s highest scoring LEED Platinum
CI, Integral Group’s Deep Green Oakland office, which received 102 points; first Net Zero
commercial office building, IDeAs Z Squared; first LEED Platinum rating for a laboratory in a
historic building, Caltech Linde + Robinson Lab for Global Environmental Science; the first LEED
Platinum pre-certified data center in the world for Advanced Data Centers; the first Net Zero Lab in
the country, J. Craig Venter Institute Laboratory; the first LEED Gold microchip manufacturing plant,
Texas Instruments RFAB; the high-profile greening of The Empire State Building; first radiant cooled
building in India, Infosys; and currently, the team is working on what is expected to be the largest
Zero Energy public building in the Nation, the Exploratorium Museum.
Renewable Energy Project of the Year Award
Test Engine Power Regeneration, Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton controls energy costs through
a long list of sustainable initiatives. In the last four years, they have reduced overall energy
consumption by 40 million kilowatt-hours. Their most recent energy efficiency project offers an
exciting approach to renewable energy. The Briggs & Stratton Wauwatosa facility has multiple test
houses for evaluating the operation and reliability of engines. It is common practice in the reliability
lab to test each engine for hundreds or even thousands of hours using electric generators that dissipate
power in the form of heat through resistive load banks and hydraulic loading. Briggs & Stratton’s
employees recognized a great opportunity to capture unharnessed power and return this energy into
something sustainable. In 2011, Briggs & Stratton implemented an innovative system that recaptures
some of the lost power generated during engine testing to regenerate and provide electricity. The
reliability lab is on track to generate as much as 556,000 kilowatt-hours annually – equal to the
amount needed to power 48 homes every year. That captured electricity is fed back to the plant’s
internal grid, which saves an estimated $50,000 a year. The regeneration project was a major reason
Briggs & Stratton received two prestigious honors for sustainability in 2011: the Environmental
Innovation Award from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, and the Galaxy Star of Energy
Efficiency Award from the Alliance to Save Energy.
Young Energy Professional of the Year Award
Bethany Kay Giordano is an Energy Engineering Specialist at Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Kentucky, Inc (TMMK). TMMK holds a shop energy contest each year to promote energy & water
reduction activities. This year’s contest “The Green Machine” was conceived and coordinated by
Bethany. Almost 25,000 MMBtu savings has been recognized so far in the contest which represents
over $320,000 in savings for TMMK. She has taken over coordination of the President’s Shutdown
Energy Reduction Challenge Contest, which is responsible for over $1.5 million in averted energy
costs since its inception in 2006. Bethany is the author of TMMK’s quarterly energy newsletter which
provides energy information within the plant, as well as helpful energy savings opportunities at home.
With consideration of her roles within Toyota and the community, Bethany has been recognized for
her civic activity through the Volunteers in Place program at TMMK, including the award of
Volunteer of the Year. She volunteered over 300 hours annually, and has been ranked as a top-five
volunteer for five consecutive years. She sits on the Scott County Humane Society’s board and serves
as their Fundraising Committee chair. Bethany supports, and this year coordinated, the “Introduce a
Girl to Engineering Day” at TMMK. This program introduces female high school students to the real
world application of engineering and encourages them to enter this field of expertise. Bethany also
supports High School Engineering Day each year and coordinates the activity for Facilities. Bethany is
an officer in the Young Business Professionals business partnering group at TMMK and a member of
WLEN (Women’s Leadership Exchange Network). She has become a member of CWEEL and is
pursuing more active involvement within the organization. Bethany is a Certified Energy Manager and
she co-leads and participates in the plant-wide Energy Management Organization, EMO.
Dale Jobes is the Program/Project Manager for Magnolia River Services. He manages multiple
projects in the energy & GIS fields including the Resource Efficiency Manager (REM) Program. Dale
assumed the role of Chairman of the Energy Huntsville Initiative in 2011, and has led them to
capitalize on North Alabama’s technical depth and expertise in systems engineering, testing,
technology integration, and innovation. This initiative aims to diversify the local economy, create new
job opportunities and enhance the region’s national reputation in emerging energy markets. Energy
Huntsville is also helping the region to further energy independence and resiliency, particularly in
times of inclement weather. Another goal of the initiative is to expand the reputation of North
Alabama as a key technology cluster, innovator and national asset to the green energy sector. Some
early accomplishments include: the development of a green workforce that will provide hands-on
training in renewable technologies to 200 green workers in two years, in renewable technologies
through Drake State Technical College, Nexus, Still Serving Veterans, and others; an invitation for
The City of Huntsville & the Energy Huntsville collaboration to join the Department of Energy’s
Community Energy Strategic Planning Academy; and Dale’s hard work leading, sponsoring, or
planning five conferences and three other community and social events, which have attracted
participation at the highest level from the Federal Government.
Herman Robles is the Enercon Facilities Project Head at Optodey, Inc., in charge of the overall
utilities management program of the company. He is a Registered Electrical Engineer in the
Philippines and a Singapore Certified Energy Manager. Herman is also the chairman of the Enercon
Committee, and has successfully implemented an energy and water awareness campaign for all
employees of the company. He evaluated and re-designed the existing facility infrastructures, and has
executed several projects to make the factory energy and water efficient. For three years, the water
saving program he developed has cut the water consumption of the factory in half saving 24 million
gallons of fresh water annually through reduced flow rates in production machines, water recoveries
and recycling processes. In addition, his energy management program has reduced the factory’s
energy cost by 18%. Mr. Robles also works as an Energy Management Consultant for Intellicontroller
Philippines Inc. (ICPI), an energy services company. He has developed Energy Services, Energy
Savings Performance Contracts and an Energy Audit System for the company. As the company’s lead
energy auditor, Herman’s idea to perform several in-depth energy surveys and audits which identified
numerous cost saving projects for its major industrial and commercial clients. He has successfully
designed and managed these projects from a wide variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail,
hotel, education, and entertainment in which all the clients of ICPI have reduced their energy cost by
an average of 15%. Throughout his professional career, he has been dedicated to energy efficiency.
With his technical knowledge, experience and success in energy savings, he has also been a lecturer at
a number of energy training programs and workshops sponsored by ICPI which benefited hundreds of
young engineers and other participants in the field of energy savings.
Special Recognition Award
Dr. Shirley Hansen is widely recognized nationally and internationally for her expertise in energy
management and energy efficiency financing. She has consulted for energy service companies
(ESCOs), governments, multi-lateral development banks, and potential customers. She has trained
hundreds of professionals, including end users, bankers and ESCO personnel, to use this financing
mechanism effectively. Active in the U.S. and abroad, she has conducted workshops, developed
manuals, and offered consultation in 38 countries in energy performance contracting, marketing
analysis, business plan development, M&V, financing, and sustainability management. She has
chaired the Board of Directors of the International Performance Measurement and Verification
Protocol, Inc. and the certification board for M&V professionals. She is currently a member of the
Advisory Board of the Association of Energy Engineers, the Energy & Environmental Management
magazine, and the Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment. She is also active in the
International Working Group for the International Energy Efficiency Financing Protocol. She has
authored and co-authored several books, including Performance Contracting: Expanding Horizons,
Investment Grade Energy Auditing, ESCOs Around the World: Lessons Learned in 49 Countries, and
the Sustainability Management Handbook. Her newest book, World ESCO Outlook, will be released
in 2012. Shirley received her doctorate from Michigan State University. Among the many honors she
has received, she is most proud of her distinguished alumni award from the university, and her
induction into the AEE Hall of Fame.
Leadership in Federal Energy Management Award
Paul Scheihing is the Supervisor of Technology Deployment team within the Department of
Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO). He is the DOE lead working on the development
of the Superior Energy Performance certification program in partnership with US industry. He is a
member of the US Technical Advisory Group developing the ISO 50001 energy management
standard. Paul has worked for DOE since 1988. He has developed with US industry a variety of
research, development and technology deployment partnerships and initiatives that all aim to
encourage the more rapid adoption of energy efficient industrial technologies. In the 1990s, he
managed DOE’s voluntary industry partnerships such as Motor Challenge, Steam Challenge and
Compressed Air Challenge that were then integrated within ITP’s current Best Practices initiative.
Previous to DOE, he worked for five years at the Garrett Turbine Engine Company in Phoenix,
Arizona, and five years with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Concordville, Pennsylvania.
Both jobs were as a Gas Turbine Development Engineer with a specialty of gas turbine combustor
design, test and development. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut and a Masters of Science in Mechanical
Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Eric Woodroof is the founder of ProfitableGreenSolutions.com, a strategic advisor, corporate
trainer & keynote speaker. Dr. Woodroof is completely committed to helping businesses and
organizations “go green” while improving profits. For more than 20 years, he has helped over 400
organizations and governments improve profits with energy-environmental solutions, generating
over $100 million in savings. Beyond his contributions as a consultant/project developer, he has
taught over 100 seminars to help educate thousands of engineers worldwide on the best practices of
energy and carbon management. These courses are endorsed by regions as diverse as Hong Kong,
South Africa and Chile. One of his goals is to “educate an army” of professionals who will have an
even greater positive impact.
Dr. Woodroof served as the 2011 President of the Association of Energy Engineers, which is
present in over 80 countries. He is the Chairman of the Board for the Certified Carbon Reduction
Manager (CRM) program and he has been a Board Member of the Certified Energy Manager
(CEM) Program since 1999. Dr. Woodroof has advised clients such as the U.S. Government,
airports, utilities, cities, universities and foreign governments. Private clients include numerous
utilities, IBM, Frito-Lay, Pepsi, Ford, GM, Verizon, Hertz, Visteon, PriceSmart, Battelle and
Lockheed Martin. His work has appeared in hundreds of articles and he has also delivered keynote
speeches for his clients on 6 continents.
About the World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC)
The WEEC is the nation’s largest energy efficiency conference and exposition and addresses new
advances in lighting, HVAC, and energy management technologies. Subjects include: energy
policy, high performance buildings, and energy management “best practices” for the federal,
commercial, institutional, and industrial marketplace.
For the conference program, go to: http://www.aeeprograms.com/weec/program/2010weecprogram.htm
About AEE
The Association of Energy Engineers is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional organization that specializes in
training, membership development, chapter development, and certification for professionals practicing in
the fields of energy management, renewable energy and green buildings. The mission of AEE is to
promote the scientific and educational interests of those engaged in the energy industry and to foster action
for sustainable development.
For general information about The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) and World Energy
Engineering Congress (WEEC), please contact Stephenie at (770) 447-5083 or visit
www.energycongress.com.
For media passes, or to schedule an interview, please contact Megan O’Neil at (770) 447-5083 x229 or
megan@aeecenter.org.