Structural change and energy efficiency in industry

The change in the ratio of energy consumed to industrial production is examined over the years 1968–1980. Changes in the composition of industry are analysed, creating a better picture of movements in physical efficiency of energy use. The medium-term trends show the significance of the 1973 oil crisis, the effects being contrary to those of intuition. The implications of the two recessions for efficiency and industrial structure are described in detail. The role of demand, often relegated to an incidental consideration, is brought to the fore. In the years following 1973 it appears more important than ex post substitution in production, and with this comes a particular implication for the use of aggregate production functions.     

Financial impacts of UK's energy and climate change policies on commercial and industrial businesses

This study provides a detailed case study assessment of two business sites in the UK, to understand the policy drivers of increases to their energy costs and energy bills, considering all current UK energy and climate change policies. We compare our findings to more generalised, theoretical calculations of the policy cost impact on energy costs and bills – we have found no other studies as comprehensive as ours in terms of policy coverage.We find that for one site the government has over-estimated the likely energy savings due to energy efficiency options. Such differences in estimates should be taken into account when considering the efficacy of climate change policies on future energy savings. The overall impact of energy and climate change policies on costs will be of the order 0.4% of total business costs by 2020. This provides an important metric for the near-term cost of mitigation to meet longer-term climate change goals.     

Towards cooperative policy approaches in China—Drivers for voluntary agreements on industrial energy efficiency in Nanjing

Energy efficiency is a national priority for China as rapid energy consumption growth aggravates its greenhouse gas emissions, local air pollution and energy scarcity. In the 1990s, a large number of voluntary agreements emerged in industrialised countries in order to improve industrial energy efficiency. These experiences are now taken into account in China. This article analyses the drivers for voluntary agreements on industrial energy efficiency in China, based on a case study of three enterprises in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Furthermore, the article reviews the institutional set-up of energy policy and investigates the pertaining policy culture. From the findings, conclusions are drawn on the role of voluntary agreements within China's larger policy context. We conclude that opposed to avoiding stricter regulation, voluntary agreements in Nanjing are reinterpreted in view of more stringent national provisions on energy efficiency in the 11th Five Year Plan. Hence, agreements have evolved into an implementation tool of national policy at the local level. For industry, another major driver for participation was identified as improving its relations with local authorities. Voluntary agreements showed to have the potential to overcome traditional constraints of implementing top–down policies at the local level in China.     

Barriers to and driving forces for energy efficiency in the non-energy intensive manufacturing industry in Sweden

The manufacturing industry is facing tougher competition which increases the demand to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures. However, studies have indicated that obvious cost-efficient measures are not always undertaken. This is explained by the existence of barriers to energy efficiency. The aim of this study is to investigate the existence and importance of different barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the Swedish non-energy intensive manufacturing industry. Results from this study highlight a number of factors that inhibit the degree of implementation, such as the cost and risk associated with production disruptions, lack of time and other priorities, lack of sub-metering in larger organizations, etc. The study also finds a number of drivers, such as the existence of people with real ambition and a long-term energy strategy at site level.     

Industrial energy efficiency: the need for investment decision support from a manager perspective

Global competition, commitment to the Kyoto Protocol and a deregulated, integrated European electricity market will in all probability increase the demand for energy efficiency on the part of companies in Sweden. Investment decisions are an important part of meeting the new demands, because they decide the future efficiency of industrial energy systems. The objective of this study is to investigate, from a managerial perspective, the need to improve decision support in some industries, which can help to facilitate and improve investment decisions concerning energy efficiency. This work has been conducted through in-depth interviews with representatives for a number of energy-intensive companies and non-energy-intensive companies from different sectors. One need that was identified was the improvement of working methods in order to support the decision-making process. Here, external players seem to be playing an increasingly important role. Access to correct information, better follow-up activities, and transparent, understandable calculations are also considered to be important. The study will form the foundation for subsequent work on decision support and energy efficiency in industry.     

An energy efficient Swedish pulp and paper industry – exploring barriers to and driving forces for cost-effective energy efficiency investments

Despite the need for increased industrial energy efficiency, studies indicate that cost-effective energy efficiency measures are not always implemented, which is explained by the existence of barriers to energy efficiency. This paper investigates whether this holds for the Swedish pulp and paper industry, and if so, investigates the barriers inhibiting and the driving forces stressing cost-effective energy efficiency investments. By so, this case study covers about 2% of the EU-25 industrial end-use of energy. The overall results from a questionnaire show that there is an energy efficiency gap in the sector and that the largest barriers were technical risks such as risk of production disruptions, cost of production disruption/hassle/inconvenience, technology inappropriate at the mill, lack of time and other priorities, lack of access to capital, and slim organization. As regards the driving forces for energy efficiency, the highest ranked driving forces were cost reductions resulting from lower energy use, people with real ambition, long-term energy strategy, the threat of rising energy prices, the electricity certificate system, the PFE. The results show that many of the barriers and driving forces were not solely market-related, e.g., lack of time or other priorities, slim organization, other priorities for capital investments, lack of staff awareness, and long decision chains indicate that firm-specific barriers plays an important role. These barriers may not be overcome by market-related public policy instruments but is rather a consequence of how the energy issue is organized within the firms. The second and the third largest driving forces, people with real ambition and a long-term energy strategy further support this.

美国联邦和州政府的节能政策

美国已建立了一个长期运行且行之有效的节能管理框架体系。该体系赋予联邦政府或其他国家级部门管理能源需求和供应的权力,但也可以根据州一级或地方政府具体情况进行调整。本文论述了美国节能政策对能源消费趋势的影响,以及美国各级政府所应用的节能政策类型,同时介绍了当不同层级政府制定节能政策出现冲突时的解决方法。尽管节能工作极具复杂性和挑战性,特别是节能能否顺利开展还取决于人的主观意识,但实践证明美国节能政策系统的运行还是成功的。研究美国节能政策系统的运行过程,可为中国地方政府有效管理用能企业和用能设备提供经验和方法。     

Industrial energy efficiency and climate change mitigation

Industry contributes directly and indirectly (through consumed electricity) about 37% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, of which over 80% is from energy use. Total energy-related emissions, which were 9.9 GtCO₂ in 2004, have grown by 65% since 1971. Even so, industry has almost continuously improved its energy efficiency over the past decades. In the near future, energy efficiency is potentially the most important and cost-effective means for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from industry. This paper discusses the potential contribution of industrial energy-efficiency technologies and policies to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions to 2030.

Lessons from the past thirty years

Looking back over the past 30 years we have learned that energy and GDP growth do not necessarily proceed in lock step; that fears of physical shortages of oil were greatly exaggerated; that deregulation and privatization of the power sector has proved to be more difficult than envisaged; that market obstacles to renewable and energy efficiency remain strong; that technology can make a big difference but it is difficult to forecast which technologies will succeed; that the developing countries are a force to be reckoned with in world energy markets; that it is extremely difficult to bring energy services to the poor; and that unforeseen developments happen and they happen frequently.     

Developing sustainable energy policies for electrical energy conservation in Saudi Arabia

Towards the end of 1998, the Saudi Arabian electricity sector embarked upon a major restructuring program. One of the aims of the program is to achieve sustainable performance. Although progress has been made, a number of challenges remain, including high demand growth, low generation capacity reserve margins, inefficient energy use, absence of time-of-use tariffs, and the need for large capital investments to meet current and future expansion.     

Energy policies of Turkey during the period 1923–2003

Turkey has been developing since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Turkish Government played a leading role in energy production and in energy use, as well as in other fields, and implemented several policies to increase electricity production. By 1950s, thermal power plants were used commonly in electricity production. In the following years, hydroelectric power plants were put into operation in order to use the considerable amount of water resources of the country. Coal-fired power plants using national resources accounted for 70–80% of the thermal electricity production. After 1960s, oil, an imported resource, was replaced with national resources due to two petroleum crises. Therefore, the proportion of use of lignite in the energy field increased. By 1980s, energy production lead by the government went on. Afterwards, applications of liberal economy policies resulted in implementation of different energy production methods, and the country had a increasing tendency to meet energy demand by imports as a result of improvement in international economic relations. Natural gas became prevalent in the country as well as all over the world and accounted for 45% of the electricity production in 2003. In this paper, implemented policies in the energy field during different periods since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 was investigated.     

Placing barriers to industrial energy efficiency in a social context: a discussion of lifestyle categorisation

This paper compares how analyses of energy use and efficiency have developed in households and industrial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). I focus on earlier studies that use lifestyle categories in examining household energy use, comparing them with studies of mainly Swedish industrial SMEs using the barrier concept in understanding energy efficiency. The main question is how the use of lifestyle categories in household research can be adapted to industrial SMEs. The rationale for using doing this is to find a new way to approach industrial energy use that can give new insight or raise new questions. Lifestyle categories capture the energy culture of a company, including how energy is perceived and what habits and routines are like. Lifestyle categorisation complements barrier analysis, deepening our understanding of how and why companies improve energy efficiency. Using lifestyle categories in an analysis can help policy makers, who can then direct specific policies to particular segments of companies.     

Meso-level analysis,the missing link in energy strategies

Energy is essential for human societies. Energy systems, though, are also associated with several adverse environmental effects. So far societies have been unable to successfully change their energy systems in a way that addresses environmental and health concerns.     

Energy problems and policies in developing countries

This paper evaluates trends in energy consumption and supply, national responses in restructuring the energy sector emanating from the global oil price increases of 1973–74 and 1979–80, as well as efforts to restructure the economic systems in developing nations. The analysis reveals diverse trends and effects of measures taken but concludes by pointing to the capital constraints and intensification of energy consumption due to various aspects of economic development compounding the energy problems faced by these countries. The implications of past trends and efforts are summarized to conclude that unless efforts are mounted worlwide to mitigate the problems of these nations, the global community could be affected by a growing and widespread crisis.     

The IIED industrial energy conservation programme : An order of magnitude assessment

The paper shows that had the industrial energy conservation measures considered in the IIED's ‘low energy future’ for the UK been in place in 1974, the primary input cost of meeting final demand requirements would have been £1202 millions less than it actually was in 1974. The distribution of this input saving across industries is examined. It is shown that this input saving is of approximately the same size as that which would have arisen had it been possible in 1974 to generate electricity without using any fossil fuel inputs.     

Energy efficiency trends and policy in Slovenia

The energy dependency of Slovenia is high (52.1%), but it is a little lower than the average energy dependency in the EU 27 (53.8%). Slovenia imports all its petroleum products and natural gas and partly coal and electricity. The energy intensity of Slovenia is higher by about 50% than the average in the EU 27. The target of the EU Directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services adopted in 2006 is to achieve a 9% improvement of EE (energy efficiency) within the period 2008-2016. The new target of the EU climate and energy package “20-20-20 plan” is a 20% increase in EE by 2020. Since 1991 the Slovenian government has been supporting energy efficiency activities. The improvement of EE was one of the targets of strategic energy documents ReSROE (Resolution on the Strategy of Use and Supply of Energy in Slovenia from 1996 and ReNEP (Resolution on the National Energy Programme) from 2004 adopted by the Slovenian National Assembly (Parliament) in previous years. The Energy Act adopted in 1999 defines the objective of energy policy as giving priority to EE and utilization of renewable energy sources. The goals of the “National Energy Action Plan 2008-2016 (NEEAP)” adopted by the Slovenian government in 2008 include a set of energy efficiency improvement instruments in the residential, industrial, transport and tertiary sectors. The target of the NEEAP is to save final energy in the 2008-2016 period, amounting to at least 4261 GWh or 9% of baseline consumption. The indicators of energy efficiency trends show considerable improvement in the period from 1998 to 2007. The improvement of EE was reached in all sectors: manufacturing, transport and households. The paper analyses the structure, trends of energy consumption and energy efficiency indicators by sectors of economic activity. A review of energy efficiency policy and measures is described in the paper.     

Biofuels development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Are the policies conducive?

This paper analyses national, regional and international biofuels policies and strategies to assess whether these policies promote or undermine the development of biofuels sector in Africa. Despite having a huge comparative advantage in land, labour and good climatic conditions favourable for the growing of energy crops, few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have included biofuels strategies in their energy or national development policies. Further results show that while developed countries commit huge financial resources for research, technology development and the provision of tax-incentives to both producers and consumers, there is little government support for promoting biofuels in Africa. Although the consequences of biofuels on food supply remain uncertain, the mandatory blending of biofuels with fossil fuels by industrialized countries will create demand for land in Africa for the growing of energy crops for biofuels. This paper urgently calls upon national governments in Sub-Saharan Africa to develop appropriate strategies and regulatory frameworks to harness the potential economic opportunities from biofuels sector development, while protecting the environment and rural communities from the adverse effects of land alienation from the mainstream agriculture towards the growing of energy crops for biofuels at the expense of traditional food crops.     

Co-benefits from energy policies in China

The rapid growth in coal and oil consumption has led to increasing emissions of greenhouse gases as well as air pollutants in China. In response to this, the Chinese government has begun to formulate policies to retard the increasing use of energy consumption and to improve air quality. This paper attempts to quantify the co-benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving air quality from policies that are originally formulated to improve energy efficiency and to abate emissions of air pollutants from energy use. The present authors have developed an integrated approach, combining an energy projection model, an emission estimation model, an air quality simulation model, and a health benefit evaluation model, to assess the co-benefits of two different sets of energy policies of China. The modeling results show that significant benefits, including 1469 million tonnes of reduced emissions of CO₂, 12–32% decline in air pollutant concentrations, and more than 100 billion US$ of health benefit, can be achieved around the year 2030 if aggressive energy policies are implemented. The analyses suggest that such energy policies could do a lot of benefit to the environment. Moreover, better industry structure and energy structure is essential for higher air quality.