Paper Manufacturer Efficiency Upgrade

Vital Statistics

• Blue Heron Paper Company
• Energy Trust of Oregon
• Oregon Department of Energy

Project Description

The Climate Trust has contracted to buy offsets from an industrial energy efficiency project being implemented by the Blue Heron Paper Company. Blue Heron will reduce its energy use by 25% and increase its capacity to use recycled paper as a raw material. In addition, the Energy Trust of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Energy are providing financial incentives, energy tax credits, and loans to supplement Blue Heron’s equity investment in this project. This is one of the largest energy efficiency projects ever undertaken in Oregon.

What separates this project from others is that the manufacturing process and material flows through the factory are modified to be more efficient, rather than simply replacing specific equipment with more efficient versions.

How the project reduces CO₂

The facility uses two types of feedstock to make their paper: wood waste chips from timber operations and recycled paper. Paper manufacturing using the recycled paper feedstock is much less energy intensive. The project will increase the facility’s capacity to use the recycled paper feedstock through the removal of production bottlenecks, retrofit of equipment, and other measures. Overall capacity of the facility will remain the same, resulting in a decrease of energy intensity and fossil fuel consumption.

Non-GHG Benefits

• Blue Heron will increase its paper-recycling capacity by over 100 tons per day and save millions of dollars in energy costs annually.
• The investment will increase the company’s global competitiveness, providing more job security and job growth opportunities for its employees.

Additionality Criteria: Why We’re Involved

With The Climate Trust’s funding, Blue Heron was able to surpass the capital costs for the new equipment that otherwise would have been beyond Blue Heron’s financial limitations.