The importance of energy efficiency for a carbon neutral society

Energy efficiency has proven to be an effective solution for curbing carbon emissions from fossil fuels. But what if we imagined a future energy system without fossil fuels, will it still make sense to invest in energy efficiency or will it be sufficient to develop enough renewable energy to cover demand?

A recent COGEN Europe study, conducted by consultancy Artelys, underscores the importance of energy efficiency for a cost-effective energy transition. Using renewable fuels in the most efficient way will bring significant energy and cost savings by 2050. For example, between 150TWh and 220TWh of energy can be saved annually in Europe if higher investments are made towards energy efficient solutions such as combined heat and power (CHP). That is 2.5 times the annual electricity consumption of Belgium according to 2019 International Energy Agency statistics. The energy and carbon reduced by cogeneration will translate into net savings of 4 to 8 billion euro per year for the European energy system.

Europe will also need to find carbon-neutral and cost-effective solutions for industrial sectors which will prove hard to electrify such as petrochemicals, ceramics, pulp and paper and aluminium. Taking as an example, in Poland, a business with a demand for medium to high-temperature heat of 500GWh can save more than 7 million Euro per year by opting for CHP.

 low carbon  Energy Efficiency