Despite the need for increased industrial energy efficiency, studies indicate that cost-efficient energy conservation measures are not always implemented, explained by the existence of barriers to energy efficiency. This paper investigates the existence of different barriers to and driving forces for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the energy intensive Swedish foundry industry. The overall results from a questionnaire show that limited access to capital constitutes by far the largest barrier to energy efficiency according to the respondents. A comparison between group owned and privately owned foundries shows that, except for limited access to capital, they face different high-ranked barriers. While barriers within group owned companies are more related to organizational problems, barriers within private foundries are more related to information problems. This study also found that energy consultants or other actors working with energy issues in foundries are of major importance in overcoming the largest barriers, as the foundries consider them trustworthy. They may thus help the 2 foundries overcome organisational problems such as lack of sub-metering and lack of budget funds by quantifying potential energy efficiency investments. The two, by far, most important drivers were found to be people with real ambition and longterm energy strategies.
Current research points to a large energy efficiency potential in industry which is still left unexploited. One of the most promising means of reducing energy consumption and related energy costs is implementing an energy management. This paper provides a systematic review of existing academic journal publications on energy management in industry. Five essential key elements of an energy management based on overarching themes are identified within the body of literature (strategy/planning, implementation/operation, controlling, organization and culture) and the specific findings relating to each key element are synthesized. Subsequently a conceptual framework of an energy management is developed which illustrates that a comprehensive approach is necessary in order to effectively exploit the existing energy efficiency potential. Finally implications for further research are described.
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 longterm energy strategy at site level.* Corresponding authors. Fax: + 46-13-28 17 88 E-mail addresses: patro@ikp.liu.se (P. Rohdin), patth@ikp.liu.se (P. Thollander).
The Swedish iron and steel industry is focused on the production of advanced steel grades and accounts for about 5% of the country's final energy consumption. Energy efficiency is according to the European Commission a key element for the transition towards a resource-efficient economy. We investigated four aspects that are associated with the adoption of cost-effective energy conservation measures: barriers, drivers, energy management practices and energy services. We used questionnaires and followup telephone interviews to collect data from members of the Swedish steel association.The heterogeneous observations implied a classification into steel producers and downstream actors. For testing the significance, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. The most important barriers were internal economic and behavioural barriers. Energy service companies, in particular third-party financing, played a minor role. In contrast, high importance was attached to energy management as the most important drivers originated from within the company. Energy management practices showed that steel companies are actively engaged in the topic, but need to raise its prioritisation and awareness within the organisation. When sound energy management practices are included, the participants assessed the cost-effective energy conservation potential to be 9.7%, which was 2.4%higher than the potential for solely adopting cost-effective technologies.
The most extensive action targeting the adoption of energy efficiency measures in the small and medium-sized manufacturing industry in Sweden over the past 15 years was project Highland. This paper presents an evaluation of the first part of this local industrial energy programme, which shows an adoption rate of more than 40 percent when both measures that have already been implemented and measures that are planned to be are included. A comparison between this programme and another major ongoing programme for the Swedish energy-intensive industry indicates that the approach used in project Highland aimed at small and medium-sized industries is an effective way to increase energy efficiency in the Swedish industry. The major barriers to energy efficiency among the firms were related to the low priority of the energy efficiency issue.
In order to reach the EU: s 20-20-20 primary energy savings target, energy efficiency needs to increase. Previous research on energy use and energy efficiency has focused mainly on the diffusion of energy efficient technologies. The discrepancy between optimal and actual implementation of energy efficient technologies has been illustrated in numerous articles and is often referred to as the energy efficiency gap. However, efficient technologies are not the only ways to increase energy efficiency. Empirical studies have found that a cost-effective way to improve energy efficiency is to combine investments in energy-efficient technologies with continuous energy management practices. By including energy management into an estimated energy efficiency potential this paper introduces 2 an extended energy efficiency gap, mainly in manufacturing industries and the commercial sector.The inclusion of energy management components in future energy policy will play an important role if the energy savings targets for 2020, and later 2050, are to be met in the EU.
Previous studies point out a large (untapped) potential for energy efficiency in industry through the adoption of energy management practices. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze energy management practices in two different Swedish energyintensive industries: the pulp and paper industry and the foundry industry. The results show that one third of the studied mills and about two fifths of the studied foundries do not allocate energy costs by means of sub-metering, which probably contributes to reinforce the split incentive problem. Moreover, about one fifth of the mills and about half of the foundries lack a long-term energy strategy. The results also show that only about 40% and 25% respectively of the studied mills and foundries may be categorized as successful when it comes to energy management practices. If energy management is not fully prioritized even in energy-intensive industries -such as the studied foundry and pulp-and paper industry it will, in all probability, not be prioritized in less energyintensive industrial sectors or countries either, indicating a large untapped potential in regard to cleaner, more environmentally sound, production in the industrial sector.Keywords: Energy management practices; energy efficiency gap; pulp and paper industry; foundry industry, split incentives, principal agent relationship, Information imperfections and asymmetries ___________________________________________________________________
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