Features Environment & Sustainability Paper
Cascades energy recovery project wins awards

An energy efficiency project at the Cascades Tissue Group’s Mechanicville plant in New York won two major energy awards this year: it was one of the top three projects of the year as voted by Energy Star members and also won a Project of the Year Award from Energy Manager Today magazine.

According to Cascades, the steam generation through energy recovery project is the first project of its kind in the North American industry. The steam generator project consists of recovering and reusing the energy in the exhaust gases of the hood used to dry the paper, by means of a system fitted with a steam-generating heat exchanger.

“The team from the Mechanicville plant is pleased with the results of the steam generation project to date. It is beneficial across the board: The equipment was designed to be easy for facility staff to use and the reduced natural gas consumption translates both as increased environmental performance and as financial savings,” said Philippe Bourassa, plant manager.

The aim of the project was to reduce the consumption of natural gas without adversely affecting production. The project saves an estimated 41,888 GJ/year, which is nearly 10% of the total reduction target of 450,000 GJ/year set out in Cascades’ Sustainable Development Plan 2013–2015.

Mario Plourde, president and CEO of Cascades, said: “This project is included in the energy efficiency action plans that the plants are encouraged to follow each year. I congratulate the team responsible for the project on the spirit with which it was able to overcome the technical challenges of this unique project. The scene is now set for other similar projects at Cascades.”

Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres. It has more than 90 production units in North America and Europe.