Energy solutions available for industry to mitigate climate change
While energy consumption continues to increase with economic growth, Indian industries have realized the need to adapt more sustainable cost-effective options for a greener future, according to Sanjeev Sharma, Country Head and Managing Director, ABB India.
He also underlined, “Energy efficiency is a key driving force in India’s journey to carbon neutrality.”
ABB has installed base of motors and drives that have saved nearly 12 terra-watt hours of electricity, equivalent to 1% of India’s annual energy consumption in 10 years, he pointed out.
He highlighted ABB’s progress on energy efficiency at the release on 29 Nov 2022 of a 10-point action plan which is a blue-print for Indian industries to embark on their energy efficiency journey and walk along the sustainable growth path towards a brighter future.
“There are energy efficiency solutions available that can help industry mitigate climate change and drive down energy costs, without compromising performance and productivity,” added Tarak Mehta, president, Motion business area at ABB.
With recent technology advances in energy efficiency, the improvement potential in industry is significant and readily available.
“So, rather than turning the lights off and halting production to save money, this important new report explains practical steps executives can take to reduce energy use and their bills while maintaining current operations.”
“Energy efficiency is a win-win for companies and the climate,” said Kevin Lane, senior program manager, energy efficiency, with the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“While industry needs to address climate change on all fronts – such as increasing use of renewable energy, investing in low-carbon processes and developing circular business models – energy efficiency stands out as the business-focused opportunity with the best near-term prospects for emission reductions.”
The 10 actions contained in this report are known, cost-effective resources, and can be employed at scale rapidly to help companies convert climate ambition into action.”
Industry is the world’s largest consumer of electricity, natural gas, and coal, according to the IEA, accounting for 42% of total electricity demand, equal to more than 34 exajoules of energy. The iron, steel, chemical and petrochemical industries are the largest consumers of energy among the world’s top-five energy-consuming countries – China, United States, India, Russia and Japan.
This energy consumption carries high costs in the current inflationary environment. It was also responsible for nine gigatons of CO2, equal to 45% of total direct emissions from end-use sectors in 2021, according to the IEA.
The 10 key energy efficiency actions for industrial sectors:
Action #1: audit operations for energy efficiency
Action #2: right-size industrial assets and processes
Action #3: bring connectivity to physical assets
Action #4: install high-efficiency motors
Action #5: use variable speed drives
Action #6: electrify industrial fleets
Action #7: use efficient, well-maintained heat exchangers
Action #8: switch gas boilers to heat pumps
Action #9: deploy smart building management systems
Action #10: move data to the cloud. fiinews.com
