Jennifer Kefer is Leading Advocate for CHP as an Industrial Energy Solution
Contacts:
Steve Patterson, steve@arkansasadvancedenergy.com or (501) 537-0190
Mollie Merry Campbell, mollie@arkansasadvancedenergy.com or (501) 537-0190
LITTLE ROCK: One of the nation’s leading experts on Combined Heat & Power (CHP), Jennifer Kefer will be the next guest speaker hosted by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF) at a luncheon scheduled April 18 at Copper Grill in downtown Little Rock.
Kefer is Executive Director for the Alliance for Industrial Efficiency, a growing coalition of business, labor, and non-profit organizations that advocate for policies that increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness through industrial energy efficiency. Last July, she drafted a report for the American Gas Association and others that identifies key issues for states to consider when evaluating CHP as a resource for compliance to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
AAEF has hosted the guest speaker series since 2014 to expand awareness and utilization of advanced energy technologies in Arkansas. The Kefer event is scheduled at 11:30 a.m., April 18 at the Copper Grill Meeting Room. There is no cost to attend but seating is limited and advanced registration is required by emailing your name and affiliation to info@arkansasadvancedenergy.com.
The Alliance for Industrial Energy Efficiency seeks to reduce America’s electricity use by 20% while growing the manufacturing sector. CHP systems apply technologies in a way that allows the systems to operate at efficiency levels as high as 80 percent. CHP has been used in some form for over a century, however, it only makes up about 8% of U.S. generation capacity (about 80GW), suggesting that there is ample opportunity for greater adoption.
The largest example of a CHP facility in Arkansas is located at the Pine Bluff Energy Center owned and operated by Calpine, currently the largest employer in Pine Bluff. The 215MW CHP system includes an electricity-generation turbine with a waste-heat recovery system. The plant sells electricity in the south and Midwest while providing steam to its host facility, a paper mill owned by Evergreen Packaging, a subsidiary of International Paper Co.
AAEF will welcome Jennifer Kefer so lunch participants can learn about the opportunities for greater deployment of CHP by manufacturers in Arkansas as well as obstacles that stand in the way.
In addition to her leadership of the Alliance, Kefer is Vice President at David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) in Washington, D.C. Kefer’s leadership and advocacy have helped the Alliance and other groups successfully press the Environmental Protection Agency to incorporate industrial efficiency and Combined Heat and Power into Clean Air Act rules, such as the carbon pollution New Source Performance Standards for new and existing power plants and the Industrial Boiler MACT. Last year she authored the report, “Combined Heat and Power (CHP) as a Compliance Option under the Clean Power Plan: A Template and Policy Options for State Regulators,” which was commissioned by the American Gas Association. She also leads DGA’s work on Carbon Capture and Storage, and is coordinating a coalition of groups to advance policies to support it. Jennifer earned a B.A. in environmental studies at Brandeis University, a Masters of Environmental Management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a J.D. at the Yale Law School.
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The Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was established in 2011. The foundation, which operates exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, performs research, public education and economic and workforce development in support of its mission to create jobs and grow the advanced energy sector and Arkansas’ economy as a whole.
The Alliance for Industrial Efficiency is a growing coalition of business, labor, and non-profit organizations that advocate for policies that increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness through industrial energy efficiency, especially the use of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Waste Heat to Power (WHP).