[ferro-alloys.com] The Tennessee Valley Authority along with Gov Phil Bryant presented a check for more than USD 2.5 million to Severstal North America for achieving energy efficiencies at its Columbus plant through TVA’s Major Industrial Program.

The TVA program encourages reductions in electric energy intensity in large industrial facilities having greater than 5 megawatts of contract demand. The greatest efficiency opportunity identified at the Severstal steel plant was retrofitting four 2,750 horsepower fans that send particulates from the plant’s electric arc furnace to a bag house for air pollution control.

Using customized assistance from TVA, Severstal was able to reduce its total energy usage by 25,251,390 kilowatt-hours, enough to power 2,000 average TVA homes.

Ms Madhu Ranade vice president and general manager for Severstal Columbus said that ”This is one additional step toward improving our operational competitiveness. We appreciate TVA’s partnership and support in this project.”