Role Of Bureau Of Energy Efficiency Construction Essay

The Government of India set up Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) on 1st March 2002 under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. The mission of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is to assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles, within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 with the primary objective of reducing energy intensity of the Indian economy. This will be achieved with active participation of all stakeholders, resulting in accelerated and sustained adoption of energy efficiency in all sectors.

Mission:

The mission of Bureau of Energy Efficiency is to “institutionalize” energy efficiency services, enable delivery mechanisms in the country and provide leadership to energy efficiency in all sectors of the country. The primary objective would be to reduce energy intensity in the economy. 

Objectives:

To exert leadership and provide policy recommendation and direction to national energy conservation and efficiency efforts and programs. 

To coordinate energy efficiency and conservation policies and programs and take it to the stakeholders

To establish systems and procedures to measure, monitor and verify energy efficiency results in individual sectors as well as at a macro level.

To leverage multi-lateral and bi-lateral and private sector support in implementation of Energy Conservation Act and efficient use of energy and its conservation programs.

To demonstrate delivery of energy efficiency services as mandated in the EC bill through private-public partnerships.

Provide a policy recommendation and direction to national energy conservation activities

Coordinate policies and programmes on efficient use of energy with shareholders

Establish systems and procedures to verify, measure and monitor Energy Efficiency (EE)   improvements

Leverage multilateral, bilateral and private sector support to implement the EC Act 2001

Demonstrate EE delivery systems through public-private partnerships

The Bureau would obtain inputs and co-opt expertise from private sector, non-governmental organizations, research institutions and technical agencies, both national and international, to achieve these objectives.

Energy Conservation Act 2001:

Recognizing the fact that efficient use of energy and its conservation is the least-cost option to mitigate the gap between demand and supply, Government of India has enacted the Energy Conservation Act – 2001 and established Bureau of Energy Efficiency . The mission of BEE is to develop policy and strategies with a thrust on self regulation and market principles, within the overall framework of the EC Act with the primary objective of reducing energy intensity of the Indian economy.

The EC Act provides for institutionalizing and strengthening delivery mechanism for energy efficiency services in the country and provides the much-needed coordination between the various entities.

This act created Bureau Of Energy Efficiency in order to implement the features of the act at central and state level. The salient features of this act are as follows:

Reduction of energy consumption using efficiency and conservation measures.

Reduce the need to create new capacity, hence saving the resources and green house gases emission.

Secure environmental benign and sustainable growth.

Stimulate market transformation in favor of energy efficient products and appliances.

Energy Consumption Trends:

The following graph shows the breakup of energy consumption(%) according to the sectors:

This graph shows the energy consumption(%) trend in commercial buildings

Total no. of units of energy consumed in commercial buildings are 33 billion units

This graph shows the energy comsumtion(%) trend in residential bulidings

Total no. of units of energy consumed in residential buildings are 116 billion units.

Role of BEE:

BEE co-ordinates with designated consumers, designated agencies and other organizations and recognize, identify and utilize the existing resources and infrastructure, in performing the functions assigned to it under the Energy Conservation Act 2001. The Energy Conservation Act 2001 provides for regulatory and promotional functions

Functions of BEE:

The Major Regulatory Functions of BEE include:

Develop minimum energy performance standards and labeling design for equipment and appliances

Develop specific Energy Conservation Building Codes

Activities focusing on designated consumers

Develop specific energy consumption norms 

Certify Energy Managers and Energy Auditors 

Accredit Energy Auditors 

Define the manner and periodicity of mandatory energy audits 

Develop reporting formats on energy consumption and action taken on the recommendations of the energy auditors 

The Major Promotional Functions of BEE include:

Create awareness and disseminate information on energy efficiency and conservation 

Arrange and organize training of personnel and specialists in the techniques for efficient use of energy and its conservation

Strengthen consultancy services in the field of energy conservation 

Promote research and development 

Develop testing and certification procedures and promote testing facilities

Formulate and facilitate implementation of pilot projects and demonstration projects

Promote use of energy efficient processes, equipment, devices and systems

Take steps to encourage preferential treatment for use of energy efficient equipment or appliances 

Promote innovative financing of energy efficiency projects

Give financial assistance to institutions for promoting efficient use of energy and its conservation 

Prepare educational curriculum on efficient use of energy and its conservation 

Implement international co-operation programmes relating to efficient use of energy and its conservation

Schemes Under BEE

The aim of this institution is to stimulate market transformation and initiate other interventions in favor of Demand Side Management and Energy Efficiency in the country. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has initiated many schemes for improving energy efficiency and many of them are DSM measures also. They are being entertained under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. The programmes under BEE are mentioned below:

Lighting Demand Side Management

Standards & Labeling Programme

Energy conservation Building code

Investment Grade Audits in Buildings

Star rating and labeling of buildings

Municipal Demand Side Management

Agriculture Demand Side Management

Lighting Demand Side Management:

The large contribution of (domestic, commercial and street) lighting to peak loads makes it attractive for the utility to offer incentives for the adoption of efficient lighting practices by consumers. This would result in reduction of costly peak-load power procurement. This has led some distribution companies to incentivize purchase of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) by the consumers. BEE has initiated Bachat Lamp Yojana (BLY) Scheme to promote energy efficient lighting in India. Bachat Lamp Yojana is a program by the government of India under this scheme to reduce the cost of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs, i.e., energy saving lights) sold to consumers. Three types of ICL lamp wattages commonly in use viz. 40 W, 60 W and 100 W are likely for replacement under the BLY scheme. The BLY scheme upon implementation would result in reducing an estimated :

6000 MW of electricity generation capacity translating into a potential saving of INR 24000 crores per annum

Combined GHG emission savings on replacing an estimated 400 million ICLs with CFLs would result in reducing 20 million tonnes of (CO2) from grid-connected power plants.

There are no mandatory requirements in India requiring the use of energy efficient CFL at the household level. Hence, the BEE has prepared a unique project design where three key players the BEE, the investors and the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) come together and supply the households with CFLs voluntarily.

To bridge the cost differential between the market price of the CFLs and the price at which they are distributed to households, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is harnessed. The investor would cover the project cost through the sale of Green house gas (GHG) emission reductions achieved in their respective project areas.

(Source: http://www.bee-dsm.in)

Standards & Labeling Programme:

The Standards and Labeling programme is a key thrust area of BEE. Central Government, under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 has powers to direct display of labels on specified appliances or equipment. The objectives of this program is to provide the consumer an informed choice about the energy saving, and thereby the cost saving potential of the marketed household appliances or other equipment. This is expected to impact the energy savings in the medium and long run while at the same time it will position domestic industry to compete in such markets where norms for energy efficiency are mandatory. The scheme was launched by the Hon’ble Minister of Power on 18 May 2006 and is currently invoked for 10 equipments/appliances, e.g. ACs, Tube lights, Refrigerators, Distribution Transformers, Motors, Geysers, Ceiling fans, Color TVs, Agricultural pump sets and LPG stoves, of which the first 4 are being notified under mandatory labeling from 6th January, 2010. In the future, the scheme will cover several more domestic and industrial equipments and appliances with the objective of conserving the power consumed by these.

The programme seeks to:

Introduce Notification for mandatory labeling.

Have an extensive and sustained outreach and awareness campaign to educate consumers.

Include 20 high energy consuming end use equipments and appliances by 2012.

Initiate check testing by an Independent Agency (RITES) to ensure credibility of the scheme.

Stimulate market transformation in favor of energy efficient equipments and appliances that adhere to Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS).

(Source: http://www.bee-dsm.in)

Energy Conservation Building Code & Energy Efficiency in Existing Building programme:

What are ECBC?

ECBC set minimum energy efficiency standards for design and construction.

ECBC encourage energy efficient designs or retrofit of buildings so that it does not constraints the building function, comfort, health & productivity of the occupants. Moreover it has appropriate regards for economic considerations.

The ECBC provides design norms for:

Building envelope, including thermal performance requirements for walls, roofs, and windows;

Lighting system, including day lighting, and lamps and luminaries performance requirements;

HVAC system, including energy performance of chillers and air distribution systems;

Electrical system; and

Water heating and pumping systems, including requirements for solar hot-water systems.

The code provides three options for compliance

Compliance with the performance requirements for each subsystem and system;

Compliance with the performance requirements of each system, but with tradeoffs between subsystems; and

Building-level performance compliance.

(Source: http://www.bee-dsm.in)

Investment Grade Audits in Buildings:

Energy audit studies in buildings have shown large potential for energy savings both in government and commercial office buildings. Study of the available data has shown that there is an urgent need for improved energy efficiency of buildings.

BEE is promoting the implementation of energy efficiency measures in existing buildings through Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) which provide an innovative business model through which the energy-savings potential in existing buildings can be captured and the risks faced by building owners can also be addressed. The performance-contract based payments for energy savings achieved through the interventions carried out by the ESCO ensure that savings are achieved and that the payments by the building owners to the ESCO are related to the achievement of these savings.

(Source: http://www.bee-dsm.in)

Star Rating and Labeling of Buildings:

The Star Rating Program for buildings would create a demand in the market for energy efficient buildings based on actual performance of the building in terms of specific energy usage. This programme would rate office buildings on a 1-5 Star scale with 5 Star labeled buildings being the most efficient.

Five categories of buildings – office buildings, hotels, hospitals, retail malls, and IT Parks in five climate zones in the country have been identified for this programme.

Initially, the programme targets the following 3 climatic zones for air-conditioned and non- air-conditioned office buildings:

Warm and Humid

Composite

Hot and Dry

It will be subsequently extended to other climatic zones.

To apply for rating of office buildings, a standardized format is developed for collection of actual energy consumption: data required includes building’s built up area, conditioned and non-conditioned area, type of building, hours of operation of the building in a day, climatic zone in which building is located, and other related information of the facility.

The Technical Committee constituted for Energy Base lining and benchmarking of commercial buildings chaired by Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency shall be the technical committee for the scheme.

(Source: http://www.bee-dsm.in)

Municipal Demand Side Management:

The global trend towards increased urbanization requires municipal bodies to provide services such as streetlights, solid waste management, sewage treatment & disposal, etc. All these activities consume significant amount of electricity, usually in an inefficient manner. The cost of energy sometimes constitutes more than 50% of the municipality’s budget and implementing efficiency measures could reduce it by at least 25%. There is a potential to save around 10 billion rupees by implementing energy efficiency measures. Almost all municipal bodies depend on government support to meet their development and operating expenses. Government of India, through the Bureau of Energy Efficiency has initiated a programme to cover 175 municipalities in the country by conducting investment grade energy audits and preparation of detailed project reports. Energy Service Companies are being encouraged to take up the implementation of the programme with the help of financial institutions. Utilities must encourage implementation of DSM measures to relieve their network of such inefficient load.

(Source: http://www.bee-dsm.in)

Agriculture Demand Side Management:

Agriculture accounts for about 27% of electricity consumption in the country, which is increasing due to rural electrification efforts of the Government. The electricity is largely used in agricultural pump sets which generally have very poor efficiency. Most of the pilot projects as well as other studies project potential of 45-50% by mere replacement of inefficient pumps. Overall electricity savings (from 20 million pumps) is estimated at 62.1 billion units annually. This is estimated to translate in to the yearly savings of 18000 crores, which reduce the subsidy burden of states with that same amount. Since agricultural tariffs are usually the lowest and also highly subsidized, there is no incentive to the agricultural consumer to improve efficiency of the pump set. However, utilities are not able to recover economic price on every unit of energy sold to these categories of consumers and therefore need to aggressively target these consumers for DSM measures. BEE has prepared an Agricultural DSM (Ag. DSM) programme in which pump set efficiency upgradation could be carried out by an Energy Service Company (ESCOs) or the distribution company. The Ag-DSM programme for preparation of DPRs has already been initiated by BEE as pilot projects in 5 states, viz, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab & Rajasthan. One DPR in Solapur dist of Maharashtra is ready for implementation purpose. The result of the study is encouraging with the saving potential of 40% by replacement of inefficient pumps with Star rated pump sets. BEE is also developing a methodology for CDM in Ag-DSM project so that it becomes more attractive. The implementation for replacement of inefficient pumps with Star rated pump sets will be done through the ESCO/Utility who would invest in energy efficiency measures on a rural pump set feeder on which supply quality enhancements (such as feeder segregation & High Voltage Direct Supply [HVDS]) have already been carried out. The intervention would lead to lower energy supply on the feeder, and hence, could result in lower subsidy to be paid by the State Government. Part of the savings in the subsidy would be paid to the ESCO/Utility on an annual basis, over a period of time, to pay for their investment in pump set upgradation. To ring-fence the payment security mechanism, a large Financial Institutions may be brought in to provide loan to the project as well as adequate payment security mechanism to the investors. Utilities can play the important role of Monitoring and Verification. Government, through BEE is providing resources to create a shelf of bankable DPRs in the agriculture sector to mainstream the scheme.

The European Regulators Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG) is the European Commission’s advisory body on internal EU energy market issues. It was set up on 11 November 2003 by a European Commission. ERGEG is charged with advising and assisting the European Commission in ensuring the creation and smooth functioning of the internal energy market in Europe.

In 2007, the European Union’s leaders pledged their agreement to energy-climate objectives known as “20-20-20” i.e. a binding 20% renewable energy target by the year 2020, reducing Europe’s CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020 (and by 30% if there is an international agreement), and increasing overall energy efficiency by 20% by 2020. In January 2008 the European Commission published its “Climate Change and Energy Package”, designed to meet these objectives.