Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

California is the largest cement producing state in the U.S., accounting for between 10 percent and 15 percent of U.S. cement production and cement industry employment. The cement industry in California consists of 31 sites that consume large amounts of energy, annually: 1,600 GWh of electricity, 22 million therms of natural gas, 2.3 million tons of coal, 0.25 tons of coke, and smaller amounts of waste materials, including tires. The case study summarized in this paper focused on providing background information, an assessment of energy-efficiency opportunities and barriers, and program recommendations that can be used by program planners to better target products to the cement industry. The primary approach to this case study involved walk-through surveys of customer facilities and in depth interviews with customer decision makers and subsequent analysis of collected data. In addition, a basic review of the cement production process was developed, and summary cement industry energy and economic data were collected, and analyzed. The analysis of secondary data provides background information on the cement industry and identification of potential energy-efficiency opportunities. The interviews provide some understanding of the customer perspective about implementation of energy-efficiency projects.