Reaching Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) goals with Medium Voltage (MV) Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)

Energy consumption and
$\boldsymbol{CO}_{2}$
emissions, whether through primary sources such as natural gas, coal, oil, or secondary sources such as electric power, are a significant percentage of the variable cost make-up and environmental footprint of cement plant operations. In a market where energy conservation, reducing carbon emissions, and the laser focus on ESG initiatives are gaining C-level attention, it pays to make every dollar spent on procuring that energy worthwhile. Medium voltage variable speed drives (VFDs) are commonly applied on large services such as preheater ID, main bag filter, finish mill, cooler vent, and kiln ID fans. First, VFDs provide the necessary speed and flow control based on process requirements and enable energy savings by exploiting the affinity fan or pump laws. Second, by creatively installing VFDs that eliminate the need for cooling or heating of the built environment is another source of energy and
$\boldsymbol{CO}_{2}$
emissions savings. Finally, a large part of the cement plant's electric power consumption is in the form of fixed speed induction motors spread across the various “shops”. Motors being a lagging load drag down the overall plant power factor and ultimately lead to higher electric bills and losses in the grid supply. This paper shows the simple math around the above-mentioned areas through which a medium voltage VFD captures value and plays straight into sustainable energy savings, electric cost reduction, and
$\boldsymbol{CO}_{2}$
emission reductions. The goal of the paper is for prospective industrial power engineers, operators, and financial stakeholders to open new lines of economic and commercial thinking around creatively applying MV drives to not just pumps and fans, but also in other plant applications. The risks of not thinking about large VFDs as a strategic piece of equipment to reduce carbon emissions and electrical costs in an environment of climate change pressures have become too large to ignore.