4. ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Appliances and equipment
Despite surging demand for appliances, India’s ownership rates are still among the lowest in the world (IEA, 2018c). Appliance ownership is expected to increase dramatically over the coming decades. Efforts to increase efficiency need to be scaled up to counteract escalating electricity demand. One of the most pressing areas is space cooling. Given that India’s building stock continues to increase at a rate faster than anywhere in the world and the air conditioner market braces for a rapid increase in penetration, now is the critical window of opportunity to mitigate adverse impacts through timely policy interventions. Looking ahead, it is crucial to ensure that minimum energy performance standards and labels not only keep up with market developments, but also set a clear trajectory towards best available technologies or even beyond.
Further energy efficiency opportunities can be captured by ensuring that energy efficiency is a priority in urban planning and that options such as reflective surfaces, green and blue zones and shading to reduce cooling demand are utilised to counteract the escalation in energy use for cooling.
Moreover, scope exists to ramp up the stringency of mandatory energy performance standards and accelerate the shift from voluntary to mandatory standards. For instance the United States has specified future standards beyond the most efficient products on the market, thereby stimulating innovation. There is also significant scope for expanding the coverage of the standards and labelling programmes – for example China’s programme covers more than 80 products and the US programme covers more than 60 categories of products.
Through its programmes for bulk procurement of appliances and equipment, India has demonstrated how policies and programmes can effectively create markets for energyefficient products and bring down prices. India has the opportunity to further boost the development, manufacturing and sale of efficient appliances, equipment and components to access a greater share of internal and export markets. The opportunity is there to ensure that energy efficiency is a focus area of the Make in India initiative.
Scaling up the roll-out of smart meters coupled with energy monitoring and management functionalities will stimulate end-user energy efficiency. Together with demand responseenabled appliances, 21 these can lay the foundation for automated demand-side management interventions that will be needed to avoid peak power disruptions and reduce the investment required in peak generation capacity.
International experience indicates that insufficient compliance and enforcement of appliance and equipment standards and labelling programmes can result in 25-50% lower energy savings than projected (CLASP, 2019). The effectiveness of the Indian standards and labelling programme could be boosted by increased capacity building at the state level, increased check testing and challenge testing, coupled with expansion of laboratory and testing facility capacity and further efforts in label compliance.
21 There are a variety of ways to enable automated demand response. Irrespective of approach chosen, standards and communication protocols need to be developed or selected. There are opportunities to build on existing progress, for example, from Australia (Australian Standard AS/NZS 4755), Japan (Echonet), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Open ADR Alliance.
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4. ENERGY EFFICIENCY
India has been able to drive energy efficiency and clean cooking though its very successful liquified petroleum gas (LPG) programmes (PAHAL, Give it up, PMUY). LPG cookstoves are not only more energy efficient (achieving 60% efficiency) than kerosene stoves (35% efficiency) and wood stoves (10% efficiency), they also significantly reduce indoor air pollution.
Municipalities
Energy efficiency holds untapped potential for municipal budgets to be more cost-effective. Local action is crucial to improve energy efficiency and transition towards more sustainable energy systems. The national programmes on municipal street lighting and water system efficiency are excellent initiatives that should be scaled up. The BEE, together with partners, created a comprehensive manual on how to develop municipal energy efficiency projects in 2008 (BEE, ASE and IFC, 2008). An update could include lessons learned, success stories and new approaches, and could be a valuable tool in further promoting municipal energy efficiency.
Efforts could be made to highlight energy efficiency opportunities in an urban planning context, including the identification of how energy efficiency can contribute to key objectives and goals such as reducing operating expenses and the cost of delivering municipal services, reducing air pollution, improving access to clean cooking and promoting economic growth. This could lay a foundation for the development of local energy efficiency plans, plans for efficient water management, cooling action plans, building energy roadmaps and sustainable mobility strategies.22 Barriers and capacity limitations need to be tackled that prevent municipalities from undertaking energy efficiency projects, such as limitations on the ability to access finance, utilise energy company services or conduct investment-grade energy audits.
Agriculture
The viability of the agricultural sector is of utmost importance in India. Energy efficiency can play a role in reducing waste and improving productivity in the sector. The GoI is starting to address these issues through its ambitious pump replacement programme, but results to date have been limited. Regular feeder and distribution transformer metering, regular energy audits and a periodic survey of pump sets could provide more reliable data
22 Resources of interest include:
Energy Cities (2018), Local Energy and Climate Roadmaps – 5 City Visions for 2015, http://www.energycities.eu/IMG/pdf/local_energy_climate_roadmaps_final.pdf;
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) (2017), Energy Efficiency in Local Government Operations, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-06/documents/ee_municipal_operations.pdf;
ESMAP (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program) (2012), A Primer on Energy Efficiency for Municipal Water and Wastewater Utilities, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/18060;
EPA (2015), Energy Efficiency in Water and Wastewater Facilities, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015- 08/documents/wastewater-guide.pdf;
ADB (Asian Development Bank) (2014), Urban Water Supply and Sanitation in Southeast Asia, www.pseau.org/outils/ouvrages/adb_urban_water_supply_and_sanitation_in_southeast_asia_a_guide_to_good_practice_20 14.pdf;
SUTUP (Sustainable Urban Transport Project) (2019), Sourcebook Modules and Implementation Guides, www.sutp.org/en/resources/publications-by-topic/sutp-sourcebook-modules.html;
ITF (International Transport Forum) (2017), Integrating Urban Public Transport Systems and Cycling, www.itf- oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/integrating-urban-public-transport-systems-cycling-roundtable-summary_0.pdf; ITF and CBP (Corporate Partnership Board), Shared Mobility – Innovation for Liveable Cities, https://www.itf- oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/shared-mobility-liveable-cities.pdf.
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