September 8, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Participants from around the world will gather for three days at the 7th biennial Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's conference will focus on "Cutting the High Cost of Energy" through efficiency. Presentations and discussions will spotlight technical, policy, and program issues related to increasing energy efficiency in industry.

The conference will be held July 20–22, 2005 at the Thayer Hotel in West Point, New York. Attendees will include energy decision makers from industry, equipment manufacturers, government policymakers, electric utility staff, energy consultants, leading industrial energy researchers, and academics. The co-chairs of the conference are Miriam Pye, Senior Project Manager for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Gordon Slack, Energy Business Director for the Dow Chemical Company.

"Industry is under increasing pressure from high energy prices, and efficiency has become a key element of corporate management strategy," said Neal Elliott, ACEEE's Industrial Program Director. "While interest in industrial energy efficiency remained strong throughout the past decade, recent events have elevated its importance for most industrial energy consumers."

"The ACEEE Industrial Summer Study is unique," said Steven Nadel, ACEEE's Executive Director. "We started the Summer Study in 1993, concurrent with the establishment of our Industrial Program, to meet the need for an opportunity to discuss industrial energy policies and programs. We remain the only conference offering a multi-disciplinary forum."

The Summer Study also offers the industrial energy efficiency community the opportunity to gather for related meetings in advance of the conference. The annual directors' meeting for the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Assessments Centers has been scheduled for July 18–20, and other organizations are invited to request space.

Conference abstracts are due October 29, 2004. The call for papers, along with more details about the conference and related events, are available at ACEEE's conference Web site at http://aceee.org/conf/05ss/05sscall.htm.