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Energy use
Reduction efforts | 2008 performance
Energy consumption represents about two-thirds of TI's carbon footprint, primarily due to the wafer fabrication processes used in semiconductor manufacturing. We spent about 94 percent of our overall utility budget in 2008 on energy and just 6 percent on water and sewer services.
TI created an energy steering committee to help reduce this level of energy consumption and direct the company's overall energy policy. This team chartered three subcommittees and charged them with helping our company contain costs by consuming less energy and paying less for what we consume. They are:
- A "supply team," that keeps abreast of related regulations and negotiates contracts with suppliers. They are also responsible for managing TI's annual multimillion-dollar utilities expenses by developing and executing an energy supply hedging strategy. Its goal is to leverage market conditions to lower prices, while protecting against large upward swings.
- Two "demand" teams that assess TI's buildings as well as the equipment that lies within them. From incorporating green design building principles to addressing energy drains caused by lighting, chillers, vacuum pumps and production equipment, they seek to improve efficiencies where feasible.
Committee members spent much of 2008 working to lower energy use and rates, boost facility and manufacturing tool efficiency, and build employee awareness of reduction measures. To make a more meaningful impact and share best practices, TI invests capital and employee resources on site-based and global conservation initiatives as well.
But TI's commitment to energy conservation is not new. Since the energy crisis of 1973, we have implemented thousands of projects to successfully reduce energy consumption. In just the past two decades, we've commissioned an average of 100 new conservation projects each year, collectively saving $4 million to $5 million annually.
Our threshold for identifying "cost-effective" projects has ranged from a one-year payback on investment to as many as five years, varying with business conditions. Our reduction projects have typically had a simple payback period of less than two years.
Reduction efforts
Refurbishing and replacing
TI's energy teams continuously assess the following areas of operations to further reduce energy consumption:
- Manufacturing equipment. Wafer fabrication is the most energy-intensive process at TI. Manufacturing tool energy consumption alone accounts for more than 50 percent of total facility energy use. Committee members identified point-of-use chillers and vacuum pumps as some of the most energy-hungry. They subsequently worked with competitors, tool manufacturers and one of our research consortiums – International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) – to identify replacement equipment that uses much less energy and to improve the efficiency of future tool sets. In 2008, we evaluated the use of energy-efficient vacuum pumps used by manufacturing equipment. The latest generation of pumps has much better efficiency and, in many cases, can cut our annual energy costs in that area in half.
- Central utilities plant. Next to manufacturing equipment, the consumption of central plant equipment is the most energy-intensive. The facilities conservation team routinely evaluates the efficiency of chillers, boilers, pumps and cooling towers, recommending replacements or a change in operation where cost-effective.
- Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. TI can also save energy by replacing or upgrading air handling units, fans, coils and valves, as well as control equipment. In many cases, we can reduce energy use with existing equipment by merely changing its control programming.
- Building envelope. Central heating and cooling costs are impacted by projects that involve the use of insulation, double-paned glass, window films, reflective roof coatings and air curtains at door locks. These areas are evaluated for improvement or replacement to improve efficiency. In 2008, our Richardson, Texas, site became the world's first LEED® Gold certified semiconductor manufacturing facility. TI has registered all new major projects under the LEED Green Building Rating System. Among other things, working toward LEED certification keeps us focused on developing energy conservation and efficiency programs that we can implement today and in the future. Read more about our sustainable building programs and LEED certification here.
- Lighting. TI tailors our internal lighting schemes to be as efficient as possible and implemented controls that turn off lights when areas are not in use.
- Office and computer equipment. More efficient office equipment is chosen where it makes economic sense, and we specify and monitor control rules that include the use of energy-saving features such as sleep modes.
2008 performance
As we do each year, TI continued to identify equipment that could be replaced with higher efficiency versions, communicated energy efficiency reduction goals to our vendors and employees, and evaluated innovative approaches to conserve energy throughout our operations.
Additionally, we continued shaving energy consumption by focusing on new purchases of more energy-efficient equipment or instituting campaigns designed to use existing equipment more efficiently. In 2008, TI implemented 159 energy, water and other efficiency projects that saved $5.1 million and prevented 32,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere – exceeding our goal of a $4 million savings. Like most companies, TI will be challenged to launch new conservation programs given the current economic conditions, but we will strive to manage energy costs prudently, and hope to save at least another $3 million by next year.
TI's total energy use in 2008 was 8.9 MMBTU (millions of British thermal units), a 5 percent decrease from 2007.
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