Energy efficiency indicators: objectives and methodology
According to Enerdata, energy efficiency indicators can be used to make several types of analysis:
- Monitor the targets set at the national and international levels in energy efficiency and CO2 abatement programmes.
- Evaluate of the energy efficiency policy and programmes. Ministries, energy agencies or organisations in charge of the implementation of energy efficiency programmes need to provide regular evaluations to justify their action and the large amounts of public money that have been spent to support these programmes or to operate the energy efficiency agencies. In January 2013, the European Court of Auditors declare that reducing the primary energy consumption by 20% will be possible only by strengthening these evaluations. [6]
- Plan future actions, including R&D programmes,
- Feed the energy demand forecasting models and improving the quality of forecasts, technico-economic models, that are characterised by a high level of desegregation (end-uses) make use of energy efficiency indicators to account for future changes in energy efficiency.
- And finally, make cross-country comparisons in a harmonized way.
The energy intensity indicator is the most often used indicator to measure the energy efficiency. It is calculated per unit of GDP for the overall indicator and transports or value added for services and agriculture or private consumption for households. However, the ODEX index [7] represents a better proxy for assessing energy efficiency trends at an aggregate level (e.g. overall economy, industry, households, transport, services) than the traditional energy intensities, as they are cleaned from structural changes and from other factors not related to energy efficiency (more appliances, more cars...). [8]
The ODEX index is used in the ODYSSEE-MURE project to measure the progress of energy efficiency by main sector (industry, transport, households) and for the whole economy (all final consumers). For each sector, the index is calculated as a weighted average of sub-sectoral indices of energy efficiency progress; sub-sectors being industrial or service sector branches or end-uses for households or transport modes.
The sub-sectoral indices are calculated from variations of unit energy consumption indicators, measured in physical units and selected so as to provide the best “proxy” of energy efficiency progress, from a policy evaluation viewpoint. The fact that indices are used enables to combine different units for a given sector, for instance for households kWh/appliance, koe/m2, tep/dwelling.
The weight used to get the weighted aggregate is the share of each sub- sector in the total energy consumption of the sub–sectors considered in the calculation.
A value of ODEX equal to 90 means a 10% energy efficiency gain.
Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively or changing one's behavior to use less service. Energy conservation can be achieved through efficient energy use, which has a number of advantages, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller carbon footprint, as well as cost, water, and energy savings.
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to climate change mitigation. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Energy is a core component of modern economies. A functioning economy requires not only labor and capital but also energy, for manufacturing processes, transportation, communication, agriculture, and more. Energy planning is more detailed than energy policy.
An emission intensity is the emission rate of a given pollutant relative to the intensity of a specific activity, or an industrial production process; for example grams of carbon dioxide released per megajoule of energy produced, or the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions produced to gross domestic product (GDP). Emission intensities are used to derive estimates of air pollutant or greenhouse gas emissions based on the amount of fuel combusted, the number of animals in animal husbandry, on industrial production levels, distances traveled or similar activity data. Emission intensities may also be used to compare the environmental impact of different fuels or activities. In some case the related terms emission factor and carbon intensity are used interchangeably. The jargon used can be different, for different fields/industrial sectors; normally the term "carbon" excludes other pollutants, such as particulate emissions. One commonly used figure is carbon intensity per kilowatt-hour (CIPK), which is used to compare emissions from different sources of electrical power.
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary environmental management instrument, which was developed in 1993 by the European Commission. It enables organizations to assess, manage and continuously improve their environmental performance. The scheme is globally applicable and open to all types of private and public organizations. In order to register with EMAS, organisations must meet the requirements of the EU EMAS-Regulation. Currently, more than 4,600 organisations and more than 7,900 sites are EMAS registered.
Energy poverty is lack of access to modern energy services. It refers to the situation of large numbers of people in developing countries and some people in developed countries whose well-being is negatively affected by very low consumption of energy, use of dirty or polluting fuels, and excessive time spent collecting fuel to meet basic needs. Today, 759 million people lack access to consistent electricity and 2.6 billion people use dangerous and inefficient cooking systems. It is inversely related to access to modern energy services, although improving access is only one factor in efforts to reduce energy poverty. Energy poverty is distinct from fuel poverty, which primarily focuses solely on the issue of affordability.
The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. A key energy policy adopted in 2009 are the 20/20/20 objectives, binding for all EU Member States. The target involved increasing the share of renewable energy in its final energy use to 20%, reduce greenhouse gases by 20% and increase energy efficiency by 20%. After this target was met, new targets for 2030 were set at a 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of the European Green Deal. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU's energy policy turned more towards energy security in their REPowerEU policy package, which boosts both renewable deployment and fossil fuel infrastructure for alternative suppliers.
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a thermal comfort. Installing light-emitting diode bulbs, fluorescent lighting, or natural skylight windows reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared to using traditional incandescent light bulbs. Improvements in energy efficiency are generally achieved by adopting a more efficient technology or production process or by application of commonly accepted methods to reduce energy losses.
Spain, along with other European Union States, has a target of generating 32% of all its energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2030. A previous target of 20% for 2020, with an additional 0.8% available for other EU countries under the cooperation mechanism, was reached and slightly surpassed. In 2021, renewables generated 46.7% of Spain's electricity needs, the largest part of it from wind power (23.3%), followed by hydroelectric (11.4%), solar (9.9%), and other renewables (2.2%).
Germany predominantly sources its energy from fossil fuels, followed by wind, solar, biomass and hydro.
Prospective Outlook on Long-term Energy Systems (POLES) is a world simulation model for the energy sector that runs on the Vensim software. It is a techno-economic model with endogenous projection of energy prices, a complete accounting of energy demand and supply of numerous energy vectors and associated technologies, and a carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emissions module.
Europe 2020 is a 10-year strategy proposed by the European Commission on 3 March 2010 for advancement of the economy of the European Union. It aims at a "smart, sustainable, inclusive growth" with greater coordination of national and European policy. It follows the Lisbon Strategy for the period 2000–2010.
A National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) is a detailed report submitted by countries outlining commitments and initiatives to develop renewable energy that all member states of the European Union were obliged to notify to the European Commission by 30 June 2010. The plan provides a detailed road map of how the member state expects to reach its legally binding 2020 target for the share of renewable energy in their total energy consumption, as required by article 4 of the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC. In the plan, the member state sets out sectoral targets, the technology mix they expect to use, the trajectory they will follow, and the measures and reforms they will undertake to overcome the barriers to developing renewable energy.
Sustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and environment over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials until the final disposal.
Renewable energy has developed rapidly in Italy over the past decade and provided the country a means of diversifying from its historical dependency on imported fuels. Solar power accounted for around 8% of the total electric production in the country in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world that year. Rapid growth in the deployment of solar, wind and bio energy in recent years lead to Italy producing over 40% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2014.
EurObserv'ER is a consortium dedicated to the monitoring of the development of the various sectors of renewable energies in the European Union.
Denmark is a leading country in wind energy production and wind turbine production. Wind power alone produced 47% of Denmark's electricity consumption in 2017, and is expected to increase its production by nearly 80% in the years to 2024.
The German National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency (NAPE) is the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) for Germany. The plan was commissioned under EU Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Union and released on 3 December 2014. Under the plan, the German government offers an average increase of 2.1%/year in macroeconomic energy productivity from 2008 to 2020. The exact reduction in primary energy use is therefore dependent on the rate of economic growth. The NAPE is part of the Climate Action Programme 2020, also approved on 3 December 2014.
The Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU is a European Union directive which mandates energy efficiency improvements within the European Union. It was approved on 25 October 2012 and entered into force on 4 December 2012. The directive introduces legally binding measures to encourage efforts to use energy more efficiently in all stages and sectors of the supply chain. It establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy efficiency within the EU in order to meet its energy efficiency headline target of 20% by 2020. It also paves the way for further improvements thereafter.
By the end of 2016 Austria already fulfilled their EU Renewables Directive goal for the year 2020. By 2016 renewable energies accounted to 33.5% of the final energy consumption in all sectors. The renewable energy sector is also accountable for hosting 41,591 jobs and creating a revenue of 7,219 million euros in 2016.
