Trevor Joelson, an energy and decarbonization service account executive at Trane, has held various roles in energy and sustainability management and has become an expert in the energy markets and how the supply side of energy connects to the built environment over the last decade.
In his current role, Trevor works with manufacturers to help them create strategies and programs that help them meet decarbonization goals. Trevor spoke with Plant Services managing editor Anna Townshend about using electrification as a growing part of your plant's emissions reduction strategy.
Below is an excerpt from the podcast:
PS: Today, we are talking about electrification for manufacturers. What are you hearing from your customers when it comes to electrification efforts? How often are they having these discussions and how much of a priority is it for them?
TJ: Well, I think the best thing I can point to is right before this discussion, I had a conversation around electrification for a large industrial manufacturer that is really starting to focus in on how they're going to electrify the heat within their facilities. And in general, we've seen an increasing trend around electrification, as customers are on some type of net zero journey. And when you're on a net zero journey, lots of times, you focus on renewable energy at first, or energy efficiency, and then you start to see this nagging thing that is your Scope One fossil fuel emissions, and you realize that you're going to need to address that, and that there's not necessarily the cleanest path to be able to do that. So as customers are setting those goals, and they're starting to really go after them in earnest, and large manufacturers are, electrification is recognized as the high pole in the tent, and we're seeing that customers want to be able to have a plan in place and have a plan that's going to align to those sustainability commitments.
PS: Yeah, the clock is really ticking in many industries for some of those climate change efforts, specifically, as you mentioned, in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions. So it's a big issue for industry. It's a huge challenge, but we're glad to have you here to help outline where industry is at.
TJ: If I can just add another comment to it specific to electrification, what we've recognized is if a customer has put out a goal and that goal says net zero, which means that you're not going to have fossil fuels within your operations. And if that goal is 2040 or sooner, the reality is the next piece of equipment that you buy that utilizes fossil fuels is going to outlive that goal. Most equipment life is 15 to 20 years, and by the time you get it installed, you have less than 15 years before your goal is going to be in place. So while that ticking clock is certainly happening, there's also the reality of the life cycle and useful life of equipment that these manufacturers are thinking about.
