Energy efficiency joins Government strategy
‘Energy efficiency belongs at the heart of a low-carbon economy,’ is the opening message of the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, Ed Davey in the Government’s recently published ‘The energy efficiency strategy: the energy efficiency opportunity in the UK’. He adds, ‘By reducing energy use and cutting down on waste, we can reduce our energy bills, make our energy system more sustainable and drive down greenhouse-gas emissions.’
Mr Davey wants to get as close as possible to using only the energy we really need. That approach could save 196 TWh in 2020, 11% lower than business as usual and equivalent to 22 power stations. It would also reduce carbon-dioxide by 41 Mt a year.
Mr Davey said, ‘This is Britain’s first comprehensive Energy Efficiency Strategy and sets out the action we are taking now, as well as what we will do in the future to ensure the UK continues to be a global leader in reducing energy use.’
The energy-efficiency sector in the UK now accounts for about 136 000 jobs and had sales of £17.6 billion in 2010/11. Sales in this sector have grown by over 4% a year since 2007/08 and are projected to grow by around 5% a year between 2010/11 and 2014/15.
CIBSE president David Fisk acknowledges that energy efficiency should be at the heart of policy but that demand-side reduction is vital — with the deteriorating energy picture suggesting that we need to act right now to make a difference.
Alistair Buchanan, chief executive of Ofgem, explained at CIBSE’s annual lecture last month (November) that Ofgem estimates that by 2015/16 there will be just a 4% margin in the UK’s installed electrical-generating capacity compared with about 14% now.
CIBSE maintains that there is a need to implement simple common-sense measures that its building-performance assessments have been shown to reduce energy usage by 20%. Using technology and engineering knowhow that is already within our reach, top performers as CIBSE’s Building Performance Awards have shown we can cut fuel usage by up to 50%.
David Fisk comments, ‘Managing energy may seem a bit of a boring, technical backwater down in the boiler room. It is anything but. It can help us to keep the lights on, keep the less well-off warm, reduce our dependence on imported energy, reduce the levels of investment needed for new generating capacity and contribute to a stronger economy.’
