US President Barack Obama allotted $20 billion for energy efficiency as part of the nation’s federal stimulus package and set a target for the nation to reduce electricity use 20% by 2020. China, the world’s second largest electricity consumer, also has set aggressive efficiency goals. The nation in recent years built power plants at a rate of about 90 GW per year, nearly as much power as Germany has installed in total. In search of more cost effective, less polluting measures, China has set a goal to no more than double energy use by 2020. In addition, China and the US in late 2009 agreed to collaborate on building an energy efficiency industry. This is a significant step considering that together the two nations consume 40% of the world’s energy, so can achieve considerable economies in manufacturing energy efficiency equipment. Meanwhile, the European Union has set a target to reduce annual consumption of primary fuels 20% by 2020.
Still, the energy efficiency sector faces some obstructions, chief among them a reticence by consumers and businesses to adopt its products. New, smart technologies are expected to draw the consumer toward energy efficiency pursuits in the near future, as are plug-in electric cars that offer a possible revenue source to their owners. In other cases, technologies will be installed in power plants and transmission systems that energy consumers never see, yet benefit from. Thus in a recessionary economic period when many industries are waning, the energy efficiency industry appears to be on a strong, upward trajectory worldwide. This report shows how and why.
- Analysis of growth in worldwide energy demand as energy supplies tighten and costs rise. Discussion of why these factors are causing nations to pursue energy efficiency.
- Review of common programs and legislation that foster greater use of energy efficiency, as well as barriers to its adoption.
- Review of major types of power plants and explanation of how they are becoming more efficient. Analysis of gas, coal, nuclear and cogeneration.
- Analysis of inefficiencies in electric transmission, including line loss and congestion. Review of solutions, such as infrastructure upgrades, specialized pricing mechanisms, smart grid and microgrid.
- Understand the drivers behind the current worldwide effort to increase energy efficiency
- Analyze the opportunities available for investment in technologies that improve efficiency for energy consumers, as well as in vehicle fuel use and power production and transmission
- Be better-informed about the political and regulatory goals, plans and funding mechanisms for energy efficiency worldwide.
- Assess the attraction and the risks for your company of investing in new energy efficiency and smart grid technologies.
- Benefit from the report’s information to help make your company’s next international investment decision in energy savings or energy production.
- Growing energy consumption: Increased use of appliances in advanced economies, along with growing electrification in developing nations, will increase energy demand 44% by 2030
- Rising costs of energy production:- Construction of new generation facilities will increase energy costs. In the transportation sector, governments are trying to diminish reliance on oil, seeing it as a political and economic liability.
- Increasing political support for energy efficiency:- Governments worldwide have set aggressive targets to increase energy efficiency, and have devoted significant funds to encourage consumers to adopt energy saving technologies.
- The marriage of information technology and energy:- The semiconductor already has significantly decreased energy use over the last 40 years, a trend expected to continue, as the energy industry makes use of the Internet and digital devices to better monitor and control energy use.
- To serve this growing consumption, the world is expected to build more power plants and transmission lines, increasing electric generation by 77%, from 18trn kilowatt-hours in 2006 to 31.8trn in 2015, according to EIA.
- Energy efficiency is commonly viewed as the quickest, cheapest and least polluting way to meet growing demand for energy. Energy efficiency costs have held steady at about 2.5 cents/kWh in recent years, making efficiency at least one-third the cost of any new power plant.
- About two thirds of the energy from fuels used for power generation is lost during conversion to electricity.
- The majority efficiency losses occur in the conversion of heat energy to mechanical energy in steam driven generators at gas-fired, coal-fired, and nuclear facilities. These facilities provide nearly 56% of electricity worldwide.
- The way we now delivery power is inefficient. Transmission lines lose 2% to 4% of the power they move because of line friction.
- How much will energy consumption increase over the next two decades. What parts of the world will see the greatest increase?
- How does energy efficiency compare on a cost basis against generation?
- Why do consumers resist energy efficiency and what innovations are in place to encourage their participation?
- What role does energy efficiency play in economic development. What is energy intensity and why is it important to a nation’s economy?
- How close are we to significantly increasing the efficiency of conventional power plants?
- Why are nations making transmission upgrades and expansions now and how will these investments improve the electric system.