Case Study: Onyx Specialty Papers
|
|
Competitive Energy Services has been an energy advisor to Onyx Specialty Papers, Inc. since 2017. With a staff of 160, ONYX operates three buildings, including a two paper-machine mill, on its campus in Western Massachusetts. The company produces specialty papers, including fine art, decorative paper for the laminate industry, technical specialty papers, medical papers, automotive, and activated carbon for filtration.
The papermaking process is energy- and water-intensive. As a committed steward to the environment, ONYX actively works to reduce its businesses’ energy usage and environmental footprint year after year. As ONYX’s energy management consultant, CES supports the company through a customized energy management approach that includes fuel switching, arbitrage, and tools and analysis including Co-Peak Tracker, Variance Tracker, Day Ahead pricing, daily price notices, and tailored budgeting and reporting that helps inform the company’s decision making and budget management throughout the year, particularly during the months when commodities pricing fluctuates upward and/or unpredictably.
|
CES, for example, advises ONYX each year as it braces for winter, a notoriously volatile time for rising costs. Through Co-Peak Tracker, which compares Eversource Peak to ISO NE Peak, CES analyzes energy crests over a five-year period – providing perspective and guidance that helps ONYX time the curtailment of its operations in order to try to have lower peak usage during coincident peak time.
ONYX also benefits from CES’ Variance Tracker tool, which provides the company with a glimpse of how much energy they use per facility. Unique to the Variance Tracker model that CES created for ONYX is CES’ ability to monitor ONYX’S facilities operating days. Through regular and customized consultation that includes analysis of peak days and projected market fluctuations, CES is able to better support and advise ONYX to provide production schedule options to front-load its costliest paper production runs away from the costliest times of the year.
|
The 2020-21 winter’s market fluctuations proved challenging for all businesses - ONYX included. CES further customized ONYX’s Variance Tracker report to show how close they hewed to their annual budget and included avoided costs in Co-Peak charges. For 2021, ONYX was able to avoid $80,000 in Co- Peak charges. CES also uses commodity markets, which allows them to see how well spot market performs vs. the alternative if they had locked in. |
CES’s customized energy management annually helps ONYX save on energy consumption and costs, while supporting its overarching environmental and sustainability goals. It’s a partnership the client appreciates. In a note received after a recent monthly meeting with John Healy, Director of Operations for ONYX, “I wanted to thank you all for providing this data every evening and day during our operating days so that we can make the best decisions to operate our boiler. This will end up saving us thousands of dollars. Thank you CES and thank you Aaron (CES analyst and point person on ONYX account).”
Photo Courtesy of Onyx Specialty Papers, Inc.
|
|
CES Spotlight: Charlie Agnew, Managing Director of Energy Services
|
|
This month’s blogger is CES’ Charlie Agnew, Managing Director of Energy Services. Charlie’s long and successful history in the energy profession benefits our clients every day. In the segment below, he talks a bit about his experience in the industry and with CES -- and a bit his life outside of the workplace.
|
|
Tell me how you first got involved in the energy sector?
After graduating from the business school at the Rochester Institute of Technology, I spent about two years working on and sailing traditional tall ships up and down the east coast, Caribbean, Florida Keys, and west coast. This was quite an adventure, but I felt the need to ground myself and found a job with a college friend of my father in the wood pellet industry. I grew up with and had parents with farming and forestry backgrounds, and the wood pellet industry at the time was appealing from a sustainability and environmental perspective. Six years later I was introduced to CES at one of the annual seminars held at Dartmouth College, and nine years after that I am here and giving those same presentations to others!
What was your first impression of the field and how has your viewpoint changed over the years? What have you learned?
When I was working in the wood pellet industry, I was always dumbfounded by how much attention was given to the electricity market – there did not seem to be comparable attention being paid to the heating industry that drove a huge portion of our regional energy consumption and cost. When I first started at CES, the dynamics and complexity of the electric market were amazing to me, and since then I have realized how interesting this industry really is as regulated utilities, traditional markets, and public policy collide. So, what have I learned? Only the basic foundation of how things work today, with the excitement of learning what the future will hold 10 years from now.
What has surprised you most about working in this industry?
It is amazing how little the general population knows about the energy industry. In many ways we are sheltered from understanding the nitty gritty details, but also recognizing that the complexity is a bit of a deterrent.
Why CES? And what do you want people to know about CES?
I enjoy the daily challenge of helping others navigate these complex energy markets and working alongside others that enjoy that as well. I doubt anyone knows where else to find such a concentrated group of energy geeks who enjoy their work.
Tell me about someone who has influenced you and has supported you professionally over the years?
My partner Erin works in the financial industry and provides a range of supporting services around our house including professional. The financial industry is similarly structured to ours and so the advisory services have a lot of crossovers. Erin provides great feedback on content delivery, communication, motivation, and also the management aspects of my work at CES.
How has CES influenced your life and professional trajectory?
Even before COVID I lived at work, and I continue to strive to achieve a work/life balance – all while finding ways to make myself valuable to our clients. I know my colleagues at CES do the same. We highly value both work and personal. As opportunities present themselves, as a team we seek to learn new developments relevant to our industry that may expand our knowledge, while also supporting our clients and finding ways to improve the status quo. This inspires me daily.
What do you do when you’re not working? What are your interests?
Recreation is a huge part of my life and I love being outdoors. One of the first things I do every day is to go outside and get a sense of the weather – I love that. If there is coffee involved, it’s an absolute peak morning. I am eager to play just about any sport or game, but these days I focus on organized ice hockey, squash, some paddle tennis, and golf. I love to hike and take any one of my sets of skis, bikes, boats, or shoes out on the trail. We have been enjoying adding to our “homestead” vegetable and fruit gardens, dog, cat, chickens and hopefully more to come. We have this small farm to take care of along with rental units that we own and manage in the area – always challenging and rewarding.
Photo by: Erin McDonald
|
|
CES to Speak at Annual NNECERAPPA Conference
|
|
Mark your calendars, and register today, to not miss out on this event! For more information, please visit the NNECERAPPA website and keep an eye out on our social media channels for updates leading up to the show. We hope to see you there!
|
|
In February, CES was pleased to present and exhibit at this years’ CampusEnergy Conference in Boston, an event that attracted 1,000 attendees from a several industries including higher education, engineering, and energy.
"We would like to extend our collective thanks to the IDEA and Campus Energy teams for coordinating this important conference. The CampusEnergy forum provides the space and opportunity for extensive dialogue on a wide range of topics facing institutions today, along with invaluable case studies that portray innovative approaches and solutions that spark new ways of thinking and working. We appreciate the opportunity to connect with our friends in the higher education community to discuss their energy goals and initiatives. We look forward to attending again in 2023," said Keith Sampson, Senior Vice President, Energy Services.
The Competitive Energy Services' team presented twice during the conference. Zac Bloom and Eben Perkins were featured presenters during the conference on the topics of scaling onsite renewable energy and carbon mitigation illustrated with case studies. Contact Zac or Eben with questions related to these topics or to discuss your institutions’ energy needs, goals, and plans.
Pictured: Keith Sampson, Senior Vice President, Energy Services and Larry Pignataro, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Senior Energy Services Advisor
|
|
Staff Picks: Charlie's Picks...
|
|
|
|
Recently, Charlie Agnew, has been sharing "We are Water Protectors" with his daughter. This #1 New York Times Bestseller celebrates the large number of North American indigenous-led movements that aim to protect our water sources from harm and corruption.
|
|
In this engaging follow-up to her 1984 novel, The Solace of Open Spaces, Gretel Ehrlich's Unsolaced compiles memories, research, and observations made throughout her expeditions from Greenland to Japan, Kosovo, and Alaska. In her travels, she witnesses and experiences the deterioration of the environment taking many forms around the world and expresses the importance of engaging with nature in a positive and sustainable fashion. In addition to these international insights, this novel follows Ehrlich's life throughout this time and the knowledge, loss, love, and solace she experienced along the way.
|
|
|
|
If you have a pressing energy question, or would like to hear about a particular topic in a future edition of the CES Insider, please contact us on our website today. We look forward to hearing from you! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
