Energy savings and the use of renewable energy have been fundamental energy management objectives of the pulp, paper, packaging and wood products manufacturing industry for decades. The industry is a leader in the use of renewable energy and highly-efficient combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration.
- On average, approximately 65 percent of the energy used at AF&PA member pulp and paper mills and 77 percent of the energy from our wood products facilities is generated from carbon-neutral biomass. This is an increase of over 14 percent for member pulp and paper mills since 2000.
- Energy purchased by member pulp and paper mills was reduced by over 8 percent since 2005, making significant progress toward achieving our Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 goal of a 10 percent reduction in purchased energy.
- Forest and paper products facilities account for 62 percent of the renewable biomass energy produced by all manufacturing facilities in all sectors.
- Since 1990, AF&PA members decreased fossil fuel use in their pulp and paper mills by 30 percent, including a reduction of almost 4 percent between 2008 and 2010.
- Pulp, paper, packaging and wood products mills produced over 33 percent of the CHP electricity generated by manufacturing facilities. In fact, 97 percent of electricity produced by the industry was CHP-generated.
Despite being the largest manufacturer of renewable biomass energy in the country, purchased energy is still the third largest manufacturing cost for the forest and paper industry.
- AF&PA supports policies that reduce the cost of energy by encouraging fuel diversity, increasing access to supplies both on and offshore, investing in breakthrough technologies, and promoting conservation.
- AF&PA also supports maintaining policies to encourage power generation from highly-efficient energy sources, such as cogeneration facilities.
- As the nation confronts the challenge of upgrading its electrical transmission infrastructure, care must be taken to ensure that upgrades are based on sound economic analysis and that their costs are paid for in a fair and equitable manner.
- While the industry is a leader in the use of renewable biomass, it is also concerned about the potentially unsustainable demands being imposed on the resource from market-distorting government mandates and incentives.