Anjum Iqbal The Arab world is celebrating Arab Energy Efficiency Day today. The Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity has set aside May 21 each year as the day for the Arab world to raise awareness about the importance of energy efficiency. On this day Arab energy institutions undertake social events to develop the culture of energy conservation and efficiency in their countries. Energy conservation and efficiency are both energy reduction techniques. Energy conservation refers to reducing the amount of energy usage from the power source. Energy conservation differs from efficient energy which refers to applying techniques using less energy for a constant service. Reducing the number of days of using your car per month is energy conservation. Using a car with better mileage is energy efficiency. The benefits of energy conservation and efficiency (ECE) are not clear even to most power professionals of the highest level. The simple economics of ECE are not readily visible. Somebody Twittered: “I believe the world works a little better any time we manage to make the invisible visible” and successfully inform, engage, empower, and motivate people to make smart decisions. Saudi Arabia has an ambitious $109 billion plan to develop 54 GW of renewable energy. A 10 percent savings by effective energy conservation and efficiency in this program would be the same as installing a virtual power plant of 5.4 GW worth $10.9 billion. Saudi Arabia's electricity sector is considering exporting to Europe 10 gigawatts of power which is equivalent to 10 nuclear power plants. This is technically viable during winter and parts of spring and fall, when 45 percent of generation capacity sits idle. Air conditioners in summer account for more than 70 percent of electricity demand. Exploring technology to run HVAC without electricity and considering the increased potential of exporting power can be a challenge. King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE ) in processing the procurement of 54 gigawatts of renewable energy considers that in today's environment with lower renewable cost and higher efficiencies, solar and all renewables are a better investment. Saudi initiatives include launching a national campaign, instituting the mandatory implementation of thermal insulation in buildings, standardizing electrical specification of appliances including air conditioners which account for 70 percent of local power consumption, creating a Saudi Center of Energy Efficiency and promoting energy efficiency technologies. Energy efficiency awareness programs can, for example, involve our children by having them participate in energy efficiency painting competitions. This can involve thousands of children who will be the citizens and nation builders of tomorrow. The message can reach millions of households. Launching an energy conservation award program is another example of inviting the participation of industry, hotels, hospitals, office buildings, state designated agencies, thermal power stations and desalination plants, and the manufacturers of electrical appliances. The participating establishments and industrial units can be awarded for their contributions to energy saving over the years. Media advertisements and demand response can be another participation program in which consumers are awarded for reducing their load at peak demand hours, such as in the afternoons in summer in Saudi Arabia when a maximum number of air conditioners are working. The educational curriculum at engineering colleges and the vocational and degree level courses for energy audit and courses in the architectural design of energy conscious buildings can also be targeted. The construction of zero-energy buildings and running HVAC and window air conditioners by solar thermal energy are also possible. Although this sounds straightforward, the need is to extend R&D incentives for the development of cost-effective, tailor-made solutions for Saudi environmental quality, national security, and personal financial security at the top of the energy hierarchy. The Ministry of Labor can gear up resources to create training programs for energy efficiency professionals and create thousands of jobs for young Saudi nationals every year. The list of mandatory implementations can be extended to benchmarking energy management and improving HVAC and lighting efficiency, energy efficiency improvement projects and master plans. The implementation of energy efficiency projects requires commercial justification. The corporate world is beginning to realize that the cost of not acting on energy saving is a constant drain on company resources. The prioritization and standardization of electrical appliances with regard to energy efficiency is a gigantic task. A host of new technologies, new products, like LED lamps, new cooling techniques, and emerging building and energy management strategies can be integrated. The creation of the Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency will combine the vast spectrum of activities from R&D to challenges in the market place, manpower development, job creation, safety and security and intelligent efficiency. There is a new paradigm emerging in the market based on information awareness and data analytics. — The author is an electrical engineer working with SWCC, Shoaiba plant, Saudi Arabia and can be contacted at: [email protected]
