ENVIRONMENTALISM By Wensdy Von Buskirk
Manufacturer on a mission International company’s Michigan plant uses two DTE programs on its quest to save energy and cut emissions. DTE offers a range of programs to help businesses save energy. One Michiganbased manufacturing plant has combined two of these programs to work toward achieving a global energy-saving goal. Environmentalism is a priority at Constellium, a company that develops, manufactures and recycles aluminum products and has locations throughout Europe, Mexico and the United States. The company has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emission intensity by 30% by 2030. Its plant in Van Buren, Michigan, which produces automotive crash management systems and body structure components for vehicles, is leading the way with the help of DTE’s Find & Fix Compressed Air (FFCA) and Retro-Commissioning (RCx) programs. Together, these programs saved the plant approximately $228,000 on energy bills and cut 1,925 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2023. Constellium also received a total of $117,707 in rebates by participating in these programs. “Everybody at the plant level is very excited for everything that DTE has to offer us,” says plant engineer Jennifer Barnes. “Everybody’s always looking to cut costs, right? But you need somebody with knowledge and expertise in the industry. DTE has somebody like that at our disposal to come in and help whenever we need it. It’s just phenomenal.” 6
Partnering with DTE
online, and I stumbled across DTE.”
Barnes began as an intern at Constellium in 2021 while studying mechanical engineering at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. Upon graduation, she was hired full time.
To reach the 30% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity, the plant broke down the goal into bite-size pieces: trimming 3% of the original emission intensity every year for 10 years, starting in 2021. The Van Buren plant was one year behind, so Barnes needed to reduce energy usage by 6% the first year to stay on target.
“One of my main responsibilities is to track our energy consumption and work towards those reduction goals,” Barnes says. “I was given a task, and I didn’t really know how to tackle it. I was looking for different resources
DTE’s energy advisors recommended the FFCA Program to start.