Nov. 5--Amalgamated Sugar Co. will their share of the funds to conduct a feasibility study for a large, 100-megawatt combined heat and power natural gas project at its Nampa plant. If the company moves forward, it would quit burning coal to produce steam, reduce emissions and produce electricity for 58,000 homes.

J.R. Simplot Co. will get money to put in place energy-efficiency technologies in facilities in Pocatello, Aberdeen, Nampa and Caldwell. These projects are estimated to save more than 55,783 million BTUs of natural gas and 7.56 million kilowatt-hours of electrical energy. The energy savings are comparable to the energy used by 56,000 homes.

Simplot also will get money to investigate the feasibility of a waste heat recovery sorption heat pump demonstration project at a Simplot facility in either Caldwell or Nampa. Sorption technologies use waste heat that otherwise would be exhausted to the atmosphere to produce refrigeration, hot water and power, depending on the quality and quantity of the available heat source.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the funds to the Idaho Office of Energy Resources.

"We appreciate the commitment these Idaho employers are making to help attract more funding for projects and create more career-track jobs in our state," Gov. Butch Otter said. "These industries have a long commitment to energy efficiency and to making Idaho more energy independent. It's good to have them as partners in this effort."

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