Recovery Act funds purchase of fiber lasers

OXFORD, MA--Fiber laser and amplifier manufacturer IPG Photonics Corporation announced that U.S. government programs are now available that can provide financial incentives for customers to purchase fiber lasers. Fiber lasers convert electrical energy to optical energy 2 to 3 times more efficiently than diode-pumped YAG lasers, 3 times more efficiently than CO2 lasers, and 15 to 30 times more efficiently than lamp-pumped YAG lasers, according to IPG.

One program cited is the Clean Energy and Industrial Efficiency Program of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). The DOER is now accepting applications for commercially available technologies with a minimum efficiency improvement of 25% into the industrial sector. The DOER program (http://sites.google.com/site/cleanenergyqanda/) is based on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Funding Opportunity Announcement for $156 million in awards to deploy energy efficient technologies under the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. There is no cap on the amount of funding per applicant, and these efficiency programs can provide up to 50% or more for the purchase of fiber lasers.

In addition to government programs subsidizing the switch to energy efficient fiber lasers, electric utilities provide incentives to purchase fiber lasers. IPG says that you should check with your local utility company, as it has found that most states offer rebate programs. “Due to the high energy efficiency of our fiber lasers, one customer has already received 50% funding in Florida by switching to fiber lasers for its materials processing application,” said Bill Shiner, VP, Industrial Markets at IPG. “Sometimes the capital cost of new equipment is a roadblock for utilizing more efficient equipment like fiber lasers. With new incentives available from the government and utilities, customers can deploy IPG’s proven industrial lasers that provide great improvement in energy efficiency in addition to lower maintenance.”

For information on other energy efficiency programs under the Recovery Act, go to www.energy.gov/recovery/, scroll down the page, and click on the U.S. map to learn about programs in your particular state. After selecting a state, press releases are also listed that detail additional incentive programs. For example, a California press release from June 25 says that U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced more than $154 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in California, Missouri, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

--Gail Overton

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