Energy efficiency critical to future profitability of manufacturers and power utilities, concludes survey

Around nine executives out of 10 in the manufacturing and power utilities sectors expect energy efficiency to be critical to profitability over the next two decades, according to a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) as part of a global overview of trends in energy efficiency published by the Zurich, Switzerland-headquartered power and automation technology group, ABB.

Almost three-quarters of respondents also expect their companies to invest more in improving energy efficiency over the next three years than in the past year. However, many cite a lack of information and clear efficiency benchmarks as reasons for a gap between awareness and action on energy efficiency, the survey shows. The analysis is based on a global survey of almost 350 senior executives and on in-depth interviews.

There have been substantial improvements in energy-intensive industries, including power generation, over the past 20 years. However, significant potential for using energy more efficiently still exists, according to the global data. The data show, for example, that the energy consumption of the steel industry could be reduced by 40% if the main producing countries had the same efficiency as the world’s best performer; and carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated would be reduced by 20% if the energy efficiency of thermal power generation globally could be raised to the average of the top 10 countries.

The complete survey results are published by ABB in ‘Trends in global energy efficiency 2011’, together with a global overview of energy efficiency in industry and utilities by Enerdata, an independent information and consulting company specialised in the global energy industry and carbon market. It also includes in-depth reviews of the countries that are part of the G-20 group (including Australia). Collectively, these countries account for about three-quarters of the world’s energy consumption. An online version of the report can be found at www.abb.com/energyefficiency.