The potential for energy efficiency in the EU Member States – A comparison of studies

Abstract

In October 2014, the European Council agreed on a target of improving overall energy efficiency by at least 27 per cent by 2030. According to the European Council's conclusions, this target should not be translated into nationally binding targets. Nevertheless individual Member States are free to set higher national objectives if desired. However, it is difficult to assess the degree of ambition of a national target because so far not much light has been shed upon the exact size of the untapped efficiency potentials. This paper provides an in-depth analysis and comparison of existing studies on energy efficiency potentials in the European Union's (EU) Member States by 2030. It includes a structured overview of the results, information on the quality of the available data and suggestions for improvement. The review shows that comprehensive studies on national energy efficiency potentials are rare and hardly comparable. The existing studies agree on the existence of significant potentials for energy efficiency. Their outcomes, however, vary significantly in terms of national levels. Assuming low policy intensity, energy savings between 10 and 28 per cent could be realised by 2030 compared to a baseline development, in the case of high policy intensity 7 to 44 per cent. Technical energy efficiency potentials in the different EU Member States are estimated at 14 to 52 per cent. On average, energy savings of 27 per cent by 2030 appear to be feasible with significant policy effort. We conclude that the deviation in Member States' energy efficiency potentials resulting from different studies represents an indication of the so far poor quality of underlying data. In order to allow for a concretisation of efficiency potential estimates, the comparability and detail of information sources should be improved.

Toward an Efficient and Sustainable Use of Energy in Industries and Cities

“…Other papers on the efficient waste management regard the definition of a primary energy return index, used for comparing different municipal solid waste management scenarios [49]; the coupling of renewable energy source in a wastewater treatment plant consisted of conventional activated sludge systems [50]; and a novel methodology applied to evaluate urban wastewater treatment plants in terms of energy efficiency [51,52]. This topic was dealt with comprehensively in previous SDEWES SIs focusing on different aspects, namely: the influence of urban form on the performance of road pavement solar collector system [53]; the energy management in a smart municipal energy grid including combined heat and power plants, solar photovoltaic and wind technologies [54]; the analysis of the future energy scenarios on the Danish municipality of Helsingør to obtain a cost-optimal combination between individual heating, district heating and heat savings [55]; a study on the management of dust to ensure that urban environment and industry can coexist in a sustainable and beneficial manner [56]; the adoption, in urban water distribution systems, of energy storage systems to meet the water demand [57]; the evaluation of carbon emissions in highly polluted European cities [58]; the replacement of bituminous roofs as green roofs to make cities more 'future proof' and resilient [59]; the integration of the renewable energy resources to enhance the regional energy efficiency and sustainability [60]; and many other papers concerning the analysis of energy efficiency targets of the member countries of the EU [61][62][63].…”

Long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies for achieving the 1.5 °C target – insights from a comparison of German bottom-up energy scenarios

“…Energy intensity improvements are typically a decisive factor in mitigation scenarios [35]. As final energy intensity improvements can be the result of technical energy efficiency improvements, changes in consumption as well as structural effects [36,37], the following three strategies are identified that can lead to energy intensity improvements:…”

Recent Advances in the Analysis of Sustainable Energy Systems

“…Knoop analyzed the energy efficiency targets for the EU [23]. In 2014, the EU planned a minimum 27% energy efficiency improvement by 2030.…”