Industrial Energy Use

This report responds to a request by the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for an analysis of the prospects for energy efficiency in the U.S. industrial sector, the technologies available to improve industrial energy efficiency, and the effect of various legislative policies on stimulating increased efficiency.OTA examined energy use in the industrial sector in general and in the largest energy-using industries ?pulp and paper, petroleum refining, chemicals, and steel? in detail. The report identifies the major technical opportunities available to each industry to improve energy efficiency, the barriers to implementation of such technologies, and the factors that guide corporate decisions about energy efficiency-improving investments. The policy options chosen for assessment were the effects of: 1) the accelerated cost recovery system of the 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act, 2) investment tax credits for energy-conserving capital expenditures, 3) a tax on petroleum and natural gas, and 4) increased capital availability through lower interest rates.Office of Technology Assessment Staff is the author of 'Industrial Energy Use' with ISBN 9781410216700 and ISBN 1410216705.