Lehigh Hanson plant achieves an industry first

Lehigh Hanson Inc.’s Mission Valley Rock plant in Sunol, Calif., recently became the first aggregates production site to achieve the EPA’s Energy Star Challenge for Industry. The Mission Valley Rock plant reduced its energy intensity by 12.2 percent within one year, according to Lehigh Hanson.

Under the Energy Star Challenge for Industry, EPA is working with individual manufacturing sites and their parent companies to fight climate change through improvements in energy efficiency. The program’s goal is to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent or more.

Lehigh Hanson says its own accomplishment is equivalent to 28,987 mmBtus of annual source energy avoided and 817 metric tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions avoided. The Mission Valley Rock plant was able to reduce its energy intensity by taking a holistic approach to reducing energy consumption.

Plant management, with support from personnel at the company’s technical competency center in Irving, Texas, completed a comprehensive review of the major systems at the plant, including crushers, conveyors, pumps, screens, feeders, fans, heating, air compressors and other areas. Based on their findings, a number of projects were implemented, including equipment installations such as hot oil economizers and variable speed drives, as well as process improvements and energy optimization strategies. The plant shifted certain production tasks to reduce loads at peak demand times and set monthly demand control targets.

“We are extremely proud of being the first aggregates production site to achieve the Energy Star Challenge for Industry,” says Tom Jackson, plant manager at the Mission Valley Rock facility. “By taking a good look at how and where we were consuming the most energy, we were able to develop and implement a comprehensive energy reduction plan that was realistic and attainable.”

Lehigh Hanson currently has 10 additional aggregate facilities participating in the Energy Star Challenge for Industry and expects others plants to join the program in the future. The company operates more than 200 aggregate plants in the U.S.