Energy is vital, as coupled with technology, it has largely enabled our shift towards a modern better standard of life. Over the next few decades, population and income growth are expected to create new demands for energy. Without energy efficiency, the demand for power over 2010-2040 is expected to increase by 140 per cent. What is notable, is that China and India together are expected to account for half this growth - courtesy of our rising population and standard of living.

Opines Anil Sardana, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Tata Power, ´India ranks sixth in energy consumption, but our generation capacity is far below what is required to sustain the energy demand. In this scenario, energy conservation and efficiency can play a significant role in optimising availability.´

Energy efficiency can help re-energise India. It results in direct energy savings, which in return help conserve fuel resources and efficient fuel usage brings down emissions-protecting the environment.

Shankar Karnik, General Manager-Industrial, ExxonMobil Lubricants Private Limited extolls the benefits, ´energy efficiency is visibly a paramount issue for every company in the global industrial sector, no matter how large their operations are or what they specialise in.´

Deployment of energy efficient technologies reduce the negative impact of energy consumption on the environment and society, at the same time reducing energy costs, thus contributing towards sustainable development.

´Besides, from an operations and cost efficiency perspective, reducing energy consumption can have a positive impact on a company´s bottom line.

Also, minimising energy consumption can help companies demonstrate to their partners and customers that they are committed to sustainable practices,´ he adds.

Energy Efficiency & India
Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) explains the principle of energy efficiency as a leaky bucket that will never be full, ´today we have the opportunity to reduce energy demand by 10 per cent. This is big, because it means that much less energy is imported and paid for and that much less infrastructure has to be built and as this would greatly decrease carbon emissions.´

India´s looming energy crisis has made it important for industries to make the best use of existing resources in the country in a judicious manner. Energy efficiency is the panacea that can be enabled through new age technologies, provided that industries, organisations and even individuals are willing to invest in that initial higher cost for better returns in the near future.

´Energy efficiency standards form the vital link between energy policy and the cost of doing business. India´s energy future can be decided with the development and implementation of energy-efficient products, technologies, and services,´ said Kamal Singh, Vice President, Power Electronics Division, Danfoss India.

He adds, ´while the government is recognising efforts of heavy duty industries, it is important that all industries, irrespective of their size, invest in automated and intelligent applications that can improve their operational efficiency at lower costs. Earning more profits with less impact on the environment - a win-win solution for all.´

Adds Sardana, ´the Ministry estimates the overall size of energy efficiency market to be Rs 74,000 crore and this is evolving as people are more conscious about energy efficiency and conservation and the substantial monetary savings it leads to. However, there is a need for incentivising it more so that consumers undertake energy management as an important aspect and do not really worry about the ROI.´

While the PAT scheme devised by BEE is being implemented across different industries there is still immense opportunity to further lower consumption across industries.

Besides this, according to ELCOMA, by replacing all CFL bulbs with LEDs, India could save an additional 30 billion units (BUs) of electricity every year, out of a total of about 900 BUs consumed every year. The government´s initiative to replace 90 lakh street lights and equip 10 crore households with LED bulbs by 2016 will enable energy savings of nearly 13 BUs annually.

Talking to Power Today, Saurabh Kumar, MD, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) shares a few details, ´EESL has tied up with and enrolled more than 300 ULBs to implement the government´s LED Street lighting programme. Work with 20 of these ULBs has been completed, while the remaining 85 are on going´ ´In the metros, our target is to replace 5.5 lakh street lights in Delhi, of which 2 lakh are under implementation at South Delhi and approval from other Municipal Bodies is awaited for the balance. For Mumbai, we have submitted a proposal for replacement of 2.3 lakh street lights, for which approval is awaited. We have also already submitted the proposal and are awaiting approval for installation of 2.3 lakh streetlights in Kolkata and 3.2 lakh streetlights in Hyderabad, while the Chennai Municipal Body is implementing the LED retrofit on their own,´ he explains.

Of these 32,000 streetlights have already been replaced and the remaining are in process from the numbers mentioned.

If all these proposals are approved, the investment would be approximately `1,000 crore.

Points out Arun Gupta, MD, NTL Group, ´the current value of LED lighting market in India is 4,000 crore, we are expecting it to reach 21,000 crore by 2020. The industry is likely to grow at a CAGR of 50 per cent in the next 5 years. There is a tremendous growth in adopting energy efficient solutions in India. With the government´s initiatives we can make a total shift to LEDs.´

PAT Scheme
Proposed in 2008, the Perform, Achieve and Trade scheme, is the first of its kind energy efficiency trading scheme in India, aimed at improving energy efficiency in the eight most energy intensive large scale industrial sectors-thermal power, aluminium, cement, fertilizer, iron and steel, pulp and paper, textiles and chlor-alkali, covering almost 54 per cent of the total energy consumption in India, through certification of energy savings which can be traded.

The period within which they had to achieve this ended on March 31, and there have been third party verifications. These reports have been received and are currently being reviewed.

´While the final results are not out, it seems to us as a preliminary estimate that probably the overall savings would be achieved. Some have over performed and some may have not met their target.

The results are expected to be out soon and the second cycle is currently under preparation,´ shares Dr Mathur.

He adds, ´we are currently talking to all the industries and our goal is to add 3 new sectors-namely power distribution companies, refineries and railways. The target will depend on the performance of the first cycle.´

The targets for all are currently under discussion, because BEE needs to develop what the methodology for these sectors will be. Discussion on the methodologies, the data that is needed and decisions the targets that have to be fixed, are expected to be competed by the end of this calender year (2015).

Electricity Demand
Residential/commercial energy demand, including electricity, is projected to rise by more than 25 per cent from 2010-2040, with the number of households globally, expected to rise by nearly 50 per cent to 2.8 billion.

The industrial sector is another major consumer of energy, accounting for about half of all the electricity consumed around the world and for about 30 per cent of primary energy use. Today, companies in nearly every industrial sector are seeking new ways to reduce their carbon footprint, while striving hard to increase their competitiveness. This is where energy efficiency can play its part. Efficiency gains are expected to lead to 20 per cent improvement in average per-household energy use, through combined efforts towards improving building codes, more efficient household appliances and switch to efficient energy sources.

Almost half the world´s energy is dedicated to industrial activity. Industry accounts for 30 per cent of primary energy usage and 50 per cent of electricity demand; and this is projected to rise by about 40 per cent through 2040.

However, this growth is going to shift towards the developing countries and their economies mature. China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia are expected to lead this growth, but many other countries will also see their demands rise.

Producing more value with less energy makes sense-economically and environmentally-and is fast becoming a priority for manufacturers. Examples include use installation of energy efficient technologies and process changes geared towards optimisation.

Numbers indicate that energy savings due to government programmes alone is something of the order of 4-5 per cent of the energy consumed in the country, with BEE declaring their goal to raise this to 10 per cent.

´If you look at appliances that people use, clearly, the star labelling programme had a huge impact. 7 years ago the average efficiency of an air conditioner sold was 2.6 Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) in 2007-08 and of those sold in 2014-15 was 3.14 EER, so you can immediately see that there is over 25 per cent increase, over a 7 year period,´ Dr Mathur points out.

Energy costs in India are very high and from an operations and cost efficiency perspective, reducing energy consumption can have a positive impact on a company´s bottom line. Also, minimising energy consumption can help companies demonstrate to their partners and customers that they are committed to sustainable practices.

Deployment of energy efficient technologies reduces the negative impact of energy consumption on the environment and society, at the same time reducing energy costs, thus contributing towards sustainable development.

´Generally speaking we have found that the industry has been proactive in investing in energy efficiency. So, we see our role as supporting the industry in their move towards energy efficiency,´ observes Mathur.

Further solidifying his point is the increasing trend of PSU efforts towards this end. Power Trade Corporation has actually created a unit for energy efficiency. Similarly, NTPC has an organisation calledthe Centre for Power Efficiency & Environmental Protection (CenPEEP), which provides electricity support to other electricity generation companies. PowerGrid even offers energy audits and technical support to industries in terms of waste heat recovery systems.

But, what remains key is behaviour on one hand and technology on the other. Everyone needs to ask themselves what behavioural changes they can make to reduce energy needs, without impacting productivity and what technological upgradations they van take up to increase work and energy efficiency.

Case Studies:
I] Danfoss India
One of Danfoss´ major pharma clients, Cipla decided to build a world class drug manufacturing plant at Goa where it chose the Danfoss VLT HVAC drives to control around 350 AHUs and 20 pumps to maintain inside conditions and differential pressure in the manufacturing areas. The resultant savings is ~40 per cent of the energy compared to full speed operation.

II] ExxonMobil Lubricants Private Limited
Mobil SHC 634 helps Apollo Tyres increase gearbox efficiency by 2.6%; annually save $4,160 (Rs 245,440) only from energy savings ExxonMobil Engineers recommended Apollo Tyres to replace the Cracker Mill Gearbox(202) with Mobil SHC 634 a fully synthetic gear lubricant with energy efficient benefits. A 5o C drop in average temperature of gearbox was observed, substantiated through thermal imaging, after changeover to Mobil SHC 634. Apollo Tyres were able to experience an overall 2.6% energy savings calculated through energy meter readings.

Benefits:

• Extended oil life and reduction in equipment wear
• Increased reliability of the equipment with reduced overall lubrication cost
• Reduced power consumption by 2.6% (through energy meter) and 3.7% (through temperature profile measurement)
• Energy savings calculated using energy meter is recorded below,

• Motor rating with 80% efficiency, 200 kW
• Energy saved per year in units 200 x 0.026 x 8,000 = 41,600 units
• At an average of Rs 5/- as unit cost of energy, annual savings of Rs 208,000 ($3,525.42) is recorded.

III] Tata Power
The following offerings for consumers in the city of Mumbai

• Energy efficient 5 star ceiling fans offered at 50% discount with extended warrantee of 3 years for residential consumers, which helps them save 30% energy. More than 20,000 fans have been installed at consumer premises.
• 120 energy audits conducted for large industrial and commercial consumer´s offices and factories to identify the true potential. More than 18 Million Units of energy saving recommendations given with cost - benefit analysis.
• Inefficient old window and split ACs are replaced with highly efficient 5 star split ACs at a discounted price ranging up to 40% on MRP in exchange of their old product. 2000 ACs will be sold through this program on first come first serve basis.
• Tata Power has offered an incentive on load shift and enrolled 15,000 TRH capacity for commercial and industrial consumers.
• Refrigerator exchange program, where consumers will be able to save 30-50% energy by replacing the old refrigerators at discounted price ranging up to 40% on MRP in exchange of their old product.
• Tata Power has joined national campaign of DELP, letting consumers change their Filament and CFL lamps with LED lamps at high discount. Tata Power has also rolled out LED tube light programme.