Dow Finds Real Money in Energy Efficiency

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Dow Finds Real Money in Energy Efficiency

Being one of the largest energy consumers means Dow has an interest in using less of it and spending less on it. The company buys 6.5 gigawatts of energy annually and produces another 6.5 gigawatts on its own to help power facilities that make building blocks for plastics, clothing and chemicals that go into more than 90 percent of the manufactured items with which humans come into contact.

An abundance of low-cost natural gas produced from shale plays has prompted Dow to announce $4 billion in new or expanding facilities that will directly benefit from the cheap fuel. That total includes a new $1.7 billion ethylene plant in Freeport, which will employ 2,000 workers at its construction peak and is expected to be completed by 2017.

One of the goals at those facilities and others will be keeping energy use and costs down. That's the focus of George Biltz, Dow's vice president of energy and climate change.

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