U.S. Specialty Cheese slices energy usage

From an article by Richard Ryman in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

It was cold outside and it was cold inside, but U.S. Specialty Cheese owner Mark Laack warmly accepted $141,508 from Focus on Energy Thursday for improving efficiency of his North Broadway cheese manufacturing and cold storage operation in Green Bay.

Laack expects to save $164,000 a year in utility costs after upgrading his refrigeration system and installing equipment to capture and use generated heat in the manufacturing process. He said he'll save 1.62 million kilowatt hours a year in electricity use, enough to power 128 4,000-square-foot homes for a year.
The project cost him $980,000.

"When you look at a less than four-year payback, plus the incentive, if you are in it for the long haul … you know you have to do it," Laack said.

Dan Behm, energy adviser for Focus on Energy, said the public/private energy conservation organization will pay up to 30 percent of a commercial project, though 15 to 20 percent is typical. Focus programs are funded by a charge on Wisconsin utility bills and audited by the state Public Service Commission.

Laack worked with Golden Industrial Refrigeration of Waukesha in designing the system. The Business Solutions Center at Wisconsin Public Service Corp. introduced him to Focus on Energy.