Energy efficiency: policies need reform, but the UK still outperforms other countries
- 17 Jul 2012, 15:00
- Ros Donald
A new report has warned the UK's energy efficiency
policies won't deliver on their full potential unless they're
reformed. But one energy expert has questioned the figures used in
the report, saying they don't accurately reflect the UK's
energy use or potential savings.
Meanwhile, green groups and consumer organisations have told
the government its home efficiency loan scheme looks set to fail
unless it's reformed. And on the same day, a new study shows that
on the international stage, the UK may be the best of a bad
bunch.
Prepare yourself for fun, as we round up the day's energy
efficiency news.
Current energy efficiency policies unlikely to deliver
potential savings
According to
BusinessGreen, energy minister Charles
Hendry has announced the government is going to consult on new
energy efficiency plans this autumn.
It looks like there will be a lot to think about. UK's
Department of Energy and Climate Change yesterday published a
draft
report by energy consultancy McKinsey. It
suggests current policies are set to deliver just one-third of
possible energy savings available over the next two decades from
efficiency. The report has identified 150 terawatt hours of energy
savings the UK could make by 2030 - most of which could come from
improved lighting controls in the commercial sector, better
building efficiency and pump efficiency in the industrial
sector.
But unless the government improves its current efficiency
policies, the report concludes, the UK may only achieve around a
third of the potential savings identified. On the upside, McKinsey
says policies aimed at housing could deliver up to 76 per cent of
potential savings. This means it's really important the
Green Deal, the government's energy efficiency loan scheme,
works.
Does the report get domestic energy savings
right?
But is the analysis right? Over on his blog Carbon
Commentary, Chris Goodall suggests
the DECC report makes "important errors" in calculating estimated
savings that could be made in homes.
He says the report overstates the amount of power used in
domestic lighting "by almost a factor of three". This would mean
the projected efficiency savings aren't possible, as they are
almost double previous estimates of total UK power use for home
lighting. In contrast, Goodall calculates that the report has
underestimated the amount of power we use for space and water
heating.
DECC says it's publishing the underlying analysis for
comment and is keen to receive views on where the report conflicts
with other sources of evidence. It adds, however:
"It's important to note that the figures
shown look at the maximum potential for electricity
efficiency[...]. We would not necessarily expect all this potential
to be cost effective or practical to deliver."
Consumer and green groups warn the Green Deal could
"fail"
Which?, WWF and Greenpeace have written to Ed Davey to say
the Green Deal will fail unless reformed - a bit
of a problem if the McKinsey report is correct about the policy's
importance in improving UK energy efficiency. The authors say the
Green Deal could fail those in fuel poverty, and they claim the
policy's focus on solid wall insulation could damage demand for
cheaper measures like loft insulation.
Britain races to victory!
It's not all bad - the American
Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
has announced the UK tops its 2012 International
Energy Efficiency Scorecard. In news that might
offer succour to DECC's beleaguered officials, the UK has beaten 11
other countries including Germany, Italy and Japan to the top spot.
The UK's ambassador to the United States, Sir Peter
Westmacott, has blogged
on the ACEEE's findings on HuffPo.
Apparently we're also hosting the 'world's first sustainable
olympics and paralympics'. Who knew?
The report assesses energy efficiency across four groupings:
first at the national level, and then across the most energy
intensive sectors - buildings, industry and transportation. China
has done best at reducing buildings' energy consumption, while the
UK scores pretty low when it comes to energy use in homes -
again underlining the importance of the Green Deal in improving the
UK's performance.
None of the countries receive a perfect score in any
category, however. The council warns its results show how far even
the top performers have to go to improve energy
savings.
Slow news day
Although there's been a fair bit of news on energy
efficiency today, it's barely had a mention outside the articles
we've highlighted and trade publications. Sadly, there's only so
much loft-insulation themed photo ops can do - energy efficiency is
probably essential to cutting emissions, but apparently, as far as
the media are concerned, it remains stubbornly
uninteresting.