Sims Metal Management, Nissan North America’s Brett Rasmussen and Briggs & Stratton’s test engine power regeneration project are among the energy leaders recognized Oct. 30 at the 35th World Energy Engineering Congress.
Rasmussen, a senior energy engineer at Nissan’s Canton Plant in Mississippi won the energy engineer of the year award for his work designing, engineering and supervising more than 18 efficiency projects since 2007, saving the company about $7 million and more than 330 billion BTU. In 2011, he helped three local schools become the state’s first Energy-Star rated schools. This year, he helped four more achieve the rating.
The Association of Energy Engineers gave Sims Metal Management its corporate energy management award for its efficiency initiatives such as lighting retrofits and demand response programs. The recycling company, with more than 250 locations worldwide, is also installing solar and wind projects and has invested in monitoring devices and controls to better manage large energy-consuming equipment, the association says.
Briggs & Stratton’s test engine power regeneration project took home the renewable energy project of the year award. In the last four years, the company has reduced overall energy consumption by 40 million kWh. In 2011 Briggs & Stratton implemented a system that recaptures some of the lost power generated during engine testing to regenerate and provide electricity. It’s on track to generate as much as 556,000 kWh annually, and the captured electricity is fed back to the plant’s internal grid, which saves about $50,000 a year, according to the company.
Other award winners include:
