The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Washington, D.C., has launched its new Save Energy Now LEADER Program that will provide technical assistance and resources to companies that pledge significant improvements in industrial energy efficiency. At the launching event, 32 companies, including three paper companies, joined with DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Cathy Zoi to sign a voluntary pledge to reduce their industrial energy intensity by 25% over the next decade. Flambeau Rive Papers (Park Falls, Wis.), Thilmany Paper (Kaukauna, Wis.), and Verso Paper Corp (Memphis, Tenn.) were among the charter signers.

The LEADER program is a new component of the existing Save Energy Now initiative through which companies partner with DOE to conduct energy audits and assessments designed to identify the opportunities for energy and cost savings in the companies' operations. Participating businesses also have access to tools and training to implement recommendations designed to help reduce their energy use and lower operating costs. More than 2,000 plants received energy assessments through Save Energy Now from 2006 to 2009. To date, those assessments have identified opportunities for $1.3 billion in identified cost savings.