Using energy more efficiently is the best solution to the triple challenge of increasing the global supply of energy while lowering the environmental impact and costs, the head of ABB’s Power Systems division, Peter Leupp, said in a keynote address at the World Energy Congress in Montreal last month.
It is also the biggest opportunity, he said, referring to International Energy Agency data that shows that energy efficiency can contribute more of the required CO² cuts than all the other solutions put together.
“The energy challenges we face today are very real: meeting the expected growth in demand while curbing climate change is daunting enough and doing it in a cost-effective way even more so,” Leupp said.
“Energy efficiency in all its forms is the solution best able to address our three challenges of providing for growth in demand while reducing emissions and minimising costs.”
However, it is important to recognise the barriers preventing societies from seizing the opportunities, he said. For example, consumers are often ill-informed and don’t make rational choices, and the potential for savings is highly fragmented and spread across industries, locations and consumers.
A further barrier is apathy among individuals, who may feel that change requires more time and effort than they are willing to give, and the fact that energy is relatively cheap further hinders their willingness to take action, Leupp said.
Often there is little or no incentive to pay extra for more efficient equipment because, as is frequently the case in industry, the purchasing manager is not the one who pays the energy bill.
Japan, which is the globe’s most energy-efficient economy, using half as much primary energy per $1 of gross domestic product than the United States, shows that barriers can be overcome, he said.
“We need to recognise that there are many barriers to the efficient use of energy that will require a concerted effort on several fronts to overcome,” Leupp said. “Japan is the best practice model we have today and we can learn many lessons from what it has done and adapt them to our own markets where necessary.”
Carlos Pone, the chief executive of ABB’s operations in South Africa, said there was huge potential to use energy more efficiently in South Africa.
The rising price of electricity in the country provided a strong incentive to reduce electricity consumption. South Africa remains among the top 20 largest emitters of CO² in the world, a fact that also highlights the need for greater energy efficiency.
Barriers to energy efficiency in South Africa, he said, are similar to those in other countries, including resistance to change and the need for sustained awareness of energy efficiency among domestic, commercial and industrial users.
Incentives for alternative technologies such as solar heating and high-efficiency motors are encouraging, but more is needed.
The energy-efficiency component of the new tax incentives for certain greenfield or brownfield projects is positive, Pone said.
Proposed tax allowances and other planned energy-efficient incentives will encourage a change in behaviour by business to a more environmentally friendly approach, he said.