These days, most Americans are aware of the importance of energy efficiency—whether it’s concerns about climate change or simple cost-effectiveness, the majority of Americans are aware of the energy challenges that face industries all over the world. President Obama has made energy regulation and energy efficiency a major part of his administration and a key portion of his plan for the future of the American economy. Part of this came in the form of a $2 billion Energy Savings and Performance-Based Contracting Investment Initiative in 2011.

The Initiative directed the heads of executive departments and agencies to enter into energy-saving performance contracts (ESPCs) and utility energy service contracts (UESCs). An ESPC is a contract for a set period under which an energy services company designs, finances, acquires, and installs conservation methods for an existing building and is repaid by the cost savings generated. A UESC is a similar contract, in which a utility company arranges for an energy or water efficiency project and the costs are repaid by the cost savings generated by the project.

In a time when residential and commercial buildings account for 40% of all the energy consumed in the United States, these sorts of energy-saving contracts can have a huge impact on energy costs and energy production.

The manufacturing industry is uniquely positioned to affect the energy efficiency of the country, with the right help from Washington. After all, manufacturing contributes much of the materials and equipment used to build and operate energy efficient buildings, and manufacturing is also the largest consumer of energy of all economic sectors. However, manufacturing is also leading the way in energy efficiency. While manufacturing still uses more energy than any other economic sector, the energy usage of the manufacturing industry has plateaued since 1975, while energy use in all other sectors continues to rise.

According to Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, performance-based contracts like those under the Energy Savings and Performance-Based Contracting Investment Initiative are “a win-win-win for manufacturers, the federal government, and the American public.” The government saves money and energy, new jobs are created across the supply chain, and because of the performance-based nature of the contracts, there’s no up-front cost to taxpayers.

So far, many manufacturers are calling the implementation of the initiative an “unqualified success,” and President Obama recently announced that he would be renewing the Initiative with an additional $2 billion target. That’s good news for manufacturers, and good news for anyone with a stake in better energy efficiency for this country.

One simple way to save energy in your manufacturing processes is to ensure that they’re running as efficiently as possible, and one way to do that is to make sure that you’ve got the right deburring machinery working for you. Cleveland Deburring Machine Company (CDMC) does custom deburring machinery solutions for all of our manufacturing clients, so if you’re in need of deburring machinery, give us a call today and find out what we can do for you!