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An energy audit is a primary step toward improving energy efficiency at the facility level and ensuring a clean production. The pulp and paper sector is one of the most energy-intensive industries in Morocco. This article aimed at identifying energy conservation opportunities at a Small and Medium-sized paper industry. The audit results together with their financial viability are presented regarding the analysis of energy consumption and electrical quality issues. The paper introduces an action plan for a more efficient energy use of some specific applications such as furnaces and compressed-air installations as well. The recommended energy efficiency measures have the potential of saving about 347.85 MWh of electrical energy and 101.78 MWh of thermal energy corresponding to reductions of 11.48% and 2.22%, respectively. The total investments related to the application of the action plan is approximately 290.53 kMAD and the global payback period does not exceed one year. It was also shown that a total quantity of 283.39 t of CO 2 emissions can be saved annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute a significant industrial segment. However, their energy-efficiency potential has remained largely untapped due to several barriers. The prevailing approaches on energy optimization in the energy-intensive SMEs are focused on the technological improvements at the operational level and lack a strategic approach. This study developed an energy management system (EnMS) for SMEs by integrating technical and managerial energy saving activities (ESAs), suggested in energy management literature. The proposed EnMS adopted a PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) process approach for consistent energy efficiency and cleaner production. For the validation of the proposed EnMS, a case of small-sized Indian paper mill was selected. The case exhibited the ramp of continuous improvement in the energy efficiency at the mill by illustrating two PDCA cycles. Step I (Plan) involved creating energy management roles with management support, energy auditing, identifying energy-saving opportunities and developing action plan; step II (Do) was about creating communication, awareness and motivation before the implementation of the action plan; step III (Check) involved periodic monitoring, analysis and reporting of the energy key performance indicators (KPIs), and benchmarking enterprise energy performance. The case analysis showed a 35% reduction in specific energy consumption (SEC) of one of the Paper Machine's (PM) vacuum system by the implementation of ESAs for vacuum optimization, generating an annual energy-saving of 0.3 GJ/t. In step IV, the subsequent PDCA cycle was triggered by the biannual management review for exploring the new energy saving opportunities at the enterprise. The next improvement cycle targeted at steam and condensate system optimization in another PM resulted in an additional energy cost saving of USD 26,900. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved energy efficiency among industrial companies is recognized as a key effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. In this context, benchmarking industrial energy efficiency plays an important part in increasing industrial companies' awareness of their energy efficiency potential. A method for calculating an energy efficiency index is proposed in this paper. The energy efficiency index is used to benchmark the energy performance of industrial small and medium-sized companies' support and production processes. This enables the possibility to compare the energy performance of single energy end-use processes. This paper's proposed energy efficiency index is applied to energy data from 11 sawmills that participated in the Swedish national energy audit program. The index values were compared with each sawmill's energy saving potential, as stated in the energy audits. One conclusion is that the energy efficiency index is suitable as an energy strategy tool in industrial energy management and could be used both by industrial SMEs and by governmental agencies with an auditing role. However, it does require a harmonized categorization of energy end-use processes as well as quality assured energy data. Given this, a national energy end-use database could be created to facilitate the calculation of an energy efficiency index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a large untapped potential for improved energy efficiency in various sectors of the economy. Governmental industrial energy audit programs subsidizing the companies to conduct an energy audit are the most common policy in trying to overcome the energy efficiency gap. Evaluation studies have been carried out to gain knowledge about the success of a completed energy audit policy program. The evaluations were made in different ways and in addition focused on different performance indicators and used different ways of categorizing data. In this article, a literature review has been made of five evaluation studies from different energy audit programs, where the problems of the present incomparability between programs due to differences are discussed. The policy implication of this paper is that new energy audit policy programs must distinguish a harmonized way of categorizing data, both regarding energy efficiency measures and energy end-use. Further, a proposition for a standard for how to evaluate energy audit policy programs is suggested. Conclusions from this study are that important elements, such as the free-rider effect and harmonized energy end-use data, should be defined and included in evaluation studies. A harmonized standard for evaluating audit programs is not least needed within the EU, where member states are obliged to launch audit programs for large enterprises, and preferably also for small and medium-sized enterprises. This paper serves as an important contribution for the development of such a standard in further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiency improvements such as the adoption of many energy efficiency measures represent a driver for increasing industrial process performance due to related economic costs and significant environmental impacts. The energy audit, a well-known tool for analyzing energy flow and assessing energy saving opportunities, is demonstrated in this paper as one of the steps in an energy efficiency initiative. The focus of this study is on investigating the outcomes of energy efficiency improvements and analyzing the benefits achieved under various energy efficiency measures from energy audits based on case studies. Specifically, the objectives of the paper are listed as follows: (i) multidimensionality of energy audits for energy conversion, (ii) example tools used for energy audits, (iii) outline of competences of energy auditors. By discussing energy audit structure, new insights into non-energy benefits are defined with very positive outcomes in achieving the reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions in industrial processes. The results show that the cost-effective and energy conservation potentials represent reduction in energy consumption by 30%, 13%, 70%, 14%, 10%, and 5% respectively for targeted processes used by energy-efficiency investments. The energy-efficiency investment plans were carefully formed based on local realities with the reasonable and acceptable return period of less than 2 years. The paper demonstrated non-benefits for achieving industrial energy efficiency, which should be embodied in the energy auditing framework and considered by plant operations managers during evaluation of energy efficiency investments. Based on six case studies, competences of energy auditors are also formulated as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial sector accounts for 35%–40% of total energy use in Sweden, where 30% of industrial energy use comes from non-energy-intensive small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This sector has not historically received much attention when it comes to improving energy efficiency due to limited resources, lower priority given to energy issues, rather small energy-saving potential for a single company, and great heterogeneity of the SMEs. However, the accumulative energy-saving potential for SMEs can be quite high and achieved at very low costs, partly because most improvements are found in support processes and are relatively easy to implement. Various public policies, such as industrial energy audit programmes, serve as a means for overcoming barriers to energy efficiency in the sector of SMEs. One example is the Swedish Energy Audit Programme (SEAP), a stand-alone audit programme functioning between 2010 and 2014. The aim of this paper is to examine the programme by means of process and impact evaluation. The results show that the programme resulted in annual net energy efficiency savings equivalent to 340 GWh/year or 6% of the 713 participating companies' energy end use. The implementation rate in the audit programme was 53%. On average, the public cost of one implemented measure was € 700. Derived from the amount of energy saved, the audit programme's annual cost-effectiveness is €7/MWh saved energy. This paper adds a significant scientific contribution due to the method used for evaluation. Multiple company visits and availability of quantitative data from 713 companies gave the possibility to address the additionality effects and estimate net energy savings more precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor systems are ubiquitous throughout the industrial sector, particularly in fluids applications. It is well known that the efficiency of these operations can be greatly enhanced using variable frequency drive (VFD) controls, but adoption of the technology is far from universal. The goal of this paper is to introduce engineering, economic, and environmental analyses to demonstrate benefits to both individual facilities and the state at large. Individual case studies are presented to describe the variety of opportunities for VFD-enhanced motor control; however, this project seeks to describe the combined impact of VFD implementation at a new scale. Data sourced from a U.S. Department of Energy program is used to perform economic and environmental input output analysis to calculate broad impacts of individual audits and recommendations. Results indicate that widespread implementation of VFD controls on motor systems in the industrial sector will introduce significant economic and environmental benefits. One of the scenarios showed a potential reduction of over 4.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from regional manufacturing sector as well as a cascading contribution to the regional economy totaling nearly $1 billion. The results are presented as a demonstration of the magnitude of impact that improving control of industrial motor systems can have, as a guide to industry leaders and policymakers about the value of such investments. [Display omitted] • Variable frequency drive (VFD) modifications to industrial motors are described analytically. • Individual micro-scale carbon and cost savings are combined for input-output analysis. • Leveraging VFD control as a universal practice would result in nearly 5 million avoided tonnes of CO 2. • Similarly, economic benefits across the state of Ohio would total more than $1 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout industrial practice, the problem is that of identifying a suitable holistic approach connecting Cleaner Production, Total Site Integration, and Energy Efficiency Optimization. The combination of all the before mentioned concepts is believed to be crucial for comprehensive assessment of the energy and environmental issues within a company. Various case studies are included within this paper regarding the implementations of cleaner production principles, energy audit performance, pinch analysis and various optimisation techniques' calculations. Several energy audits of industrial processes within the dairy, ceramic, metal processing and meat processing industries, services such as laundries and of public buildings were carried out in order to find possibilities for increasing the overall energy efficiencies of industrial processes, buildings and energy systems. On the bases of the results and the knowledge obtained from the projects mentioned in the paper, a Total Site – Cleaner Production – Energy Efficiency – Optimisation approach is proposed which enables gradual research, development and integration of Cleaner production, Energy Auditing and Optimisation combined within novel optimisation methods and its concepts. The main objective of the research was the use of analysis regarding industrial practices when developing a holistic Total Site – Cleaner Production – Energy Efficiency – Optimisation approach for supporting industrial needs during the optimisation of energy demand. This novel approach consists of three phases that include within each one the traditional Total Site Integration, Cleaner Production and Energy Efficiency – Optimization methods with a proposed novel structure for addressing the energy and environmental categories within industry. This novel approach could generate greater efficiency due to combining the different methods and consequently having a higher more positive impact on the environment. The scientific added value is demonstrated through the combination of Total Site, Cleaner Production and Energy Efficiency Optimization approaches as a comprehensive unit and by the proposal of this novel procedure for the implementation of Total Site – Cleaner Production – Energy Efficiency – Optimisation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union's aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 relies on reducing emissions from the industrial sector. There is a lack of guidance and technical support at the organisational level for industrial organisations, particularly for non-energy-intensive industries. Existing approaches do not offer structured pathways to carbon neutrality. This study involves the development, verification, and validation of a novel modelling tool aimed at assisting Irish industrial organisations in achieving carbon neutrality. The generated outputs are an organisation-specific carbon neutrality waterfall as the roadmap, and a financial analysis to indicate the breakeven year where the financial savings equal the investment costs of implementing the proposed measures. This modelling tool is a decision-support tool capable of scenario modelling, which provides the user with an overview of possible decarbonisation timelines and financial impacts. First, this paper presents the user-defined and built-in inputs, followed by the first-principles mathematical model that forms the basis of the modelling tool. Then, the modelling tool is verified by a code-to-code process using representative dummy data, and is found to be accurate against the mathematical model. The final step is the use of an actual dataset from an industry partner in a validation process to determine the applicability of the modelling tool to industrial organisations. It is found to be applicable in terms of the type of data output (carbon neutrality waterfall and financial analysis). However, the inaccurate negative emissions balance of the waterfall indicates that the modelling tool is not applicable in its current state; this highlights the importance of considering the interaction effects of implementing multiple emissions-reduction measures, which is the next step in the tool development. Moreover, this tool is applicable to organisations that have completed energy audits, heat studies, and renewable energy studies and have created a register of performance improvement measures that serve as the model inputs. As such, it has a niche market and represents an initial approach to carbon neutrality planning, with the future focus on expanding its applicability by developing a heuristic knowledge-based modelling tool that acts as a recommender system. [Display omitted] • Modelling tool developed to aid carbon neutral industrial manufacturing. • Open access, cross-sectoral tool aimed at the organisational level. • Functions as a decision-support tool based on scenario modelling. • Generates waterfall graph as the carbon neutrality roadmap. • Generates a financial analysis graph to indicate breakeven year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Industrial energy programs such as energy audit programs and long-term agreements (LTAs) are one of the most common means of promoting energy efficiency in industry. As a result of the European Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive from 2006, the Swedish Government Bill proposed a national energy program towards industrial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using more than 500MWh energy annually. The aim of this paper is to present the structure and design of the program, adopted in 2010, the logics in brief behind the structure, as well as an ex-ante evaluation of the program’s cost-effectiveness. The paper is aimed towards the part of the program involving industry, i.e. not the part involving companies within service and sales etc. The proposed design primarily includes a subsidized energy audit with some minor LTA-elements, such as the need to report results from the energy audit, to present a plan over which measures to conduct, and after three years present which measures that were implemented. The ex-ante evaluation of the program shows a cost-effectiveness of 0.25–0.50Eurocents/kWh, yielding savings of about 700–1 400GWh annually. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Problems with unsustainable use of energy by households and lack of access to energy infrastructure require effective actions from the policy makers. Energy system models can usefully analyze future residential sector energy pathways “within” the full energy system. However, few energy system models have been developed with disaggregated sub-national regional detail, building type and urban/rural divisions. This paper addresses this key gap. Disaggregating the residential sector by building categories allows improved representation of the range of energy transition options across building categories. We incorporated a novel detailed building stock module into a 16-region TIMES energy systems model for Kazakhstan, using statistical data on the housing stock and building energy audit reports. We then explore the introduction of a coal ban and use scenario analysis to identify the most cost-effective heating technologies for the different regions and different building types. Implications of the residential sector policies to the supply side energy infrastructure were also quantified. The energy transition (from solid fuels to cleaner alternatives) is rarely achievable without Government intervention, therefore scenarios with ban on coal use and clean energy technology subsidies (micro-CHP, heat pumps and solar space heaters) have been investigated in this study. The results indicate that in rural areas networked gas (for detached households) and district heating (for flats) are more economically viable substitutes to coal, even with subsidies offered for clean technologies. In the scenario with the constraint on gas network expansion and clean technology subsidies, there is a wide utilization of heat pumps in detached rural houses. Subsidies for retrofit measures are effective with wide utilization, especially in the areas affected by the coal ban, with up to 76% reduction of the useful energy demand. The total amount of allocated subsidies for clean technologies amounted for up to 32% and 8% of the current state social and health care expenditures. A coal ban in the residential sector is estimated to achieve emissions reductions for PM 2.5 and CO of 92% and 95%, respectively (compared to the base year level), even accounting for emissions from the supply side (power plants, heat plants). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Energy Efficiency Directive requests the application of high quality and cost effective energy audits across Europe. The potential of up to 20% of energy savings shall be realized to follow the strategy of smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. A number of barriers must be tackled to implement the Directive, especially among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A large number of cost effective energy efficiency measures remains unimplemented because of financial reasons, a lack of information, and limited in-house skills. Information measures, audits, capacity buildings are suggested as potentially effective measures to support implementation of energy efficiency measures. Within the work described in this paper, an auditing approach was developed, focusing on modelling the energy consumption of an SME. The model of the energy consumption is built using simple MS Excel tools, dividing the process into unit operations and attributing annual consumption to these units, from measurements or by calculation. Consumption is linked to drivers of consumption and corresponding losses, thus developing an understanding of the origin of energy consumption, priorities, and the potential for reduction. The approach simultaneously addresses the needs for the identification of measures, capacity building, information and awareness raising. The auditing approach was tested with 280 companies in Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. A wide range of energy efficiency measures was identified and implemented, partly consisting of no-cost options, but partly also innovative technical solutions. Over EUR 10 million investments with a simple payback time of less than three years were triggered. 6500 toe per year of primary energy savings were realized, as well as greenhouse gas emission reductions of 13,500 tonnes per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compressed air systems have a high energy transfer capacity. They are widely used in the manufacturing industry due to being clean, dependable, and simple-to-use. On the other hand, these systems are among the most significant energy consumers in the manufacturing sector because they are inefficient with high electricity usage and high CO 2 emissions. As a result, all kinds of the energy efficiency enhancements in these systems promote cleaner production by lowering total energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in factories. In this paper, the energy-saving potential and carbon emissions of Compressed Air Systems are investigated using data from in-situ energy audits. A simple set of equations is proposed to calculate the mass flow rate of air leakage. The sound intensity (dB) obtained from ultrasonic flow measurements were used as the input of the equation set. Furthermore, two new Energy Performance Indicators have been proposed to guide energy audit evaluation and continuous monitoring of the energy efficiency of Compressed Air Systems in industrial facilities. The new evaluation criteria "Specific Compressed Air Savings" and "Specific Leakage Savings" provide a comparison tool to help decision-makers with their compressed air system investment decisions. Using the "Specific Compressed Air Savings" and "Specific Leak Savings" parameters, the analysis method is demonstrated for an example industrial plant. The facility's specific compressed air and leakage savings are calculated as 0.0067 TOE/ton and 0.0035 TOE/ton, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy Consumption monitoring technology (ECMT) can effectively reduce the energy consumption of public buildings (PB) in the operational phase, but it is not used widely in China. The main reason for this is that the existing policies have a poor effect on diffusing ECMT; thus, studying the impact of different policy instruments on ECMT in PB is of great significance to the widespread use of ECMT and its role in decreasing the energy consumption of PB. This paper systematically reviews the policy related to ECMT in China from 1990 to 2018, and, on this basis, divides the promotion stage of China's ECMT into three stages: the concept stage, the demonstration stage and the gradual promotion stage. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interview of 313 stakeholders (ECMT suppliers, government officials, and scholars) was used to study the influence of command-and-control instruments (CAC), economic incentive instruments (EI) and exhortatory instruments (EXI) on the diffusion of ECMT in PB. The empirical results show that CAC and EXI contribute to the diffusion of ECMT in PB, whereas EI do not. In more detail, laws and regulations, energy consumption quotes, education and information programs, and energy audits and disclosure also have a significant impact on diffusing ECMT, whereas technical standards, subsidies for adopting ECMT, energy performance contracting, and carbon trading do not. Finally, relevant policies and suggestions are put forward based on the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]