chapter 17: The economic and social dividends from indusTrial energy efficiency inTervenTions
and reduced business risk. Switching to energy-efficient technologies could also reduce the risk of competitive slippage in domestic and export markets as environmental standards become more stringent (Rath 2011). • Better access to energy. Industrial energy efficiency also has a key role in improving access to energy. Today, some 2–3 billion people are excluded from modern energy services and rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating; Dragon Iron & Steel Co., L td. is a Chinese state-owned integrated steel plant in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province. It produces 2 million tonnes of carbon structural round steel annually. The company uses waste heat from two converter furnaces to generate steam. An energy assessment noticed that the operating pressure was much lower than the design pressure and that the resulting low-pressure steam could not be used and was vented. The problem was caused by steam leaks in the pipes and furnace hoods. The company invested $720,000 to replace four gas hoods to recover heat and reuse steam. Annual savings are $900,000, and the payback period was about 10 months. Steam recovery of 14,800 tonnes a year also reduced carbon dioxide emissions, an environmental benefit. Source: Zeng and Rong 2010. Box 4.4 Chinese company secures environmental co-benefits 82 The economic and social l dividends from industrial l energy efficiency 4 “in many developing countries, energy shortages, unreliable and poor quality supply and inefficiencies in use have high economic costs in materials waste, capacity utilization and inefficient investment in standby equipment about 1.5 billion people have no access to electricity (AGECC 2010). Access to modern energy services, particularly for women and girls in low- and middle income countries, could help sustain industrialization by making possible income-generating activities, thus also lifting many out of poverty. Furthermore, in many developing countries, energy shortages, unreliable and poor quality supply and inefficiencies in use have high economic costs in materials waste, low capacity utilization and inefficient investment in standby equipment. Costeffective improvements in industrial energy efficiency could help control growth in energy use and waste, redeploy expenditure into energy infrastructure, enable adequate provision of energy services at affordable cost and fund better energy access. • Improved health outcomes. There are also health advantages of greater energy efficiency, as shown in the impacts of the change to high efficiency technologies in the brick industry in the Xuan Quan commune in Hung Yen Province of Viet Nam (Box 4.5) As highlighted in Chapter 3, greater energy efficiency reduces the atmospheric emission of damaging substances such as sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, smoke and airborne suspended particulate matter. Emissions from burning fossil fuels for industry, transportation and power generation are the largest sources of urban air pollution, with harmful effects on health (Rath 2011). Ardestani and Shafie- Pour (2009) estimated the health damage from air pollution in Iran at 8.4 percent of GDP. Introducing energy-efficient technologies and conservation practices can improve the health and life expectancy of factory workers, particularly by reducing upper respiratory tract illnesses and asthma attacks. The poor stand to gain the most, because pollution-intensive industries tend to locate in low-wage areas (Dasgupta, Lucas and Wheeler 1998). Mills and Rosenfeld (1996) detail a range of health co-benefits from energy-efficient technologies. Energy-efficient high-frequency electronic ballast, which prevents flickering in fluorescent bulbs, causes fewer headaches and less eyestrain among office workers than does standard magnetic ballast. Several forms of anxiety have been found to diminish after a shift to high-frequency lighting. Mills and Rosenfeld add that exposure to daylight also has positive health impacts since an absence of windows is correlated with an increase in transient psychosis and absenteeism by factory workers. Light also affects melatonin levels, which are related to psychological depression affecting about 5 percent of the population. High energy-efficient technologies can also improve the indoor environment, comfort and safety (Mills and Rosenfeld 1996). Variable-speed drives and air blowers and energy-efficient furnaces tend to be quieter than the equipment they replace. Glazed windows keep household and factory occupants cooler in hot weather and reduce external noise; doubleglazed windows can protect buildings against fire. Efficient lighting technologies such as fluorescent lamps and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) increase the reliability of warning signs, thus improving safety. Exhaust-heat recovery systems provide better ventilation than systems without heat recovery. 144
the SuStainable energy reSource handbook (energy efficiency)