Executive Order 13624-Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency
Issued 2012-08-30 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
This executive order directs federal agencies to help American manufacturers invest in energy-efficient equipment and combined heat and power systems. The industrial sector uses over 30 percent of all energy consumed in the United States, and for many manufacturers, energy costs affect their ability to compete. Combined heat and power systems allow a factory to produce both electricity and thermal energy in one efficient step, rather than burning fuel in a boiler while also buying electricity from the grid.
The order instructs the Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, to work together on policies encouraging these efficiency investments. These agencies are directed to engage with states, industrial companies, utility companies, and other stakeholders to identify investment models and best practices, provide technical assistance to states and manufacturers, and share public information about the benefits of industrial energy efficiency.
The stated goal is to help manufacturers reduce energy costs, improve U.S. competitiveness, create jobs, and reduce air pollution. The order notes that independent studies have identified barriers to investment in industrial energy efficiency, and estimates that overcoming these barriers could save industrial users tens of billions of dollars in energy costs over the next decade. The constitutional basis for directing environmental and energy policy depends on whether the order operates within existing statutory authority granted to these agencies by Congress.
AI-generated summary for educational purposes
Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
Executive Order 13624 ("Executive Order 13624-Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency") directs energy or environmental policy. The President's stated rationale: "promote American manufacturing by helping to facilitate investments in energy efficiency at industrial facilities, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1 ." Executive orders in this domain typically direct agencies like the EPA, Department of Energy, and Interior Department on how to implement existing environmental statutes — the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and energy-related laws.
The constitutional question depends on whether the order directs implementation within statutory bounds (acceptable) or attempts to rewrite regulatory schemes in ways Congress did not authorize (overreaching). Both Democratic and Republican administrations have used executive orders to shift environmental policy, and courts have struck down orders that exceed agency statutory authority or ignore required rulemaking procedures.
Official Summary
Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 Executive Order 13624—Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency August 30, 2012 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote American manufacturing by helping to facilitate investments in energy efficiency at industrial facilities, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1 . Policy . The industrial sector accounts for over 30 percent of all energy consumed in the United States, and, for many manufacturers, energy costs affect overall competitiveness. While our manufacturing facilities have made progress in becoming more energy efficient over the past several decades, there is an opportunity to accelerate and expand these efforts with investments to reduce energy use through more efficient manufacturing processes and facilities and the expanded use of combined heat and power (CHP). Instead of burning fuel in an on-site boiler to produce thermal energy and also purchasing electricity from the grid, a manufacturing facility can use a CHP system to provide both types of energy in one energy-efficient step. Accelerating these investments in our Nation's