The Daily Times reported that Gerdau Ameristeel was recently named to the Department of Energy's 2010 list of the nation's Energy Champions, thanks in large part to energy savings at the company’s Knoxville scrap recycling and rebar production plant.

Some of the energy savings come as a result of the Department of Energy's Save Energy Now program, coordinated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Through implementation of 40% of the Save Energy Now program’s suggested improvements at a cost of about USD 500,000, the Knoxville plant experienced a 47% savings in natural gas usage and 18% in total energy savings each year. In one month, the plant one of the largest recyclers of scrap steel in East Tennessee uses as much energy as a town of 15,000 people.

(Sourced from www.thedailytimes.com)