Page 18 - Climate Control News Magazine October 2018

In Focus
Aussie manufacturers: most energy intensive in OECD
AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURERS ARE BEING ENCOURAGED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO MANAGE THEIR ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE FACE OF ESCALATING ENERGY COSTS AND RECORD GAS PRICES.
LEFT: Decreasing the heat load on industrial systems can reduce maintenance costs on boilers.
BOTTOM LEFT: Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel
BOTTOM RIGHT: Australian Industry (Ai) Group CEO Innes Willox
can improve their competitiveness as well as cut greenhouse gas emissions.”
EEC CEO Luke Menzel said gas prices have risen substantially, and leading Aussie manufac- turers are investing in energy efficiency to take control of their energy costs.
“The good news is that these projects are deliver- ing benefits well beyond energy savings. Operation- al life of equipment is increasing and maintenance costs and emissions are going down,” Menzel said.
“This guide catalogues the learnings from leaders on gas efficiency so they can be leveraged across the entire manufacturing sector.”
Ai Group CEO Innes Willox said Australia’s manufacturing sector has confounded doubters in recent years by expanding strongly.
Willox said the sector has the potential for even greater growth amid a new industrial revo- lution that is transforming industry yet again.
“However, energy costs loom as one of the most significant headwinds to seizing this op- portunity. We’re pleased to support this practi- cal approach to helping manufacturers address these challenges,” he said. ✺
IN A JOINT initiative, the Clean Energy Fi- nance Corporation (CEFC), the Energy Efficien- cy Council (EEC) and the Australian Industry Group (Ai) have launched Australian Manufac- turing: a Gas Efficiency Guide – a comprehensive resource identifying practical and proven strate- gies to deliver energy and cost savings across manufacturing operations.
The guide examines the energy needs of a wide range of manufacturers, from food and bev- erage production to metals fabrication, printing and furniture manufacturing.
It finds significant opportunities to cut ener- gy use, such as a meat processing plant which saved $45,000 per month by cutting gas use by 21 per cent, after upgrades to its boiler and steam facilities. A building products manufac- turer saved $42,000 per year by installing a new control system on its boiler.
The guide identifies a range of proven tech- nologies with the potential to cut gas consump- tion by 25 per cent. In the majority of cases, up front investment costs were $50,000 or less, with the costs recovered within just five years.
If the initiatives were all implemented at once, they would reduce greenhouse gas emis-
sions by as much as 10 million tonnes a year, equivalent to taking more than two million passenger vehicles off the road, or meeting the electricity needs of 1.5 million homes. CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said it is no secret that manufacturers are relatively large energy us- ers. “The good news is that clean energy solu- tions can make a very real and positive differ- ence,” he said.
“By switching to more efficient equipment and cheaper renewable energy, manufacturers
BUSINESS HIT HARD BY GAS PRICES
Manufacturing is vital to the Australian economy, contributing around $100 billion (6.2 per cent) to Gross Domestic Product annually and supporting nearly 900,000 jobs, or around 7.4 per cent of total employment.
Australian manufacturers are also the most energy intensive in the OECD, and account for around 40 per cent of Australia’s total natural gas consumption.
Australian manufacturers have been hit hard by volatile gas prices. The guide aims to help reduce their reliance on gas by identifying a range of initiatives that can deliver meaningful efficiency gains. For each initiative it provides upfront costs, payback periods and estimates the market readiness for manufacturers adopting the initiative.
The guide says major improvements can be achieved through:
• Fuel shifting from gas to solar thermal, solar
PV, bioenergy and low emissions electricity • Equipment maintenance improvements
• Operational optimisation
• Replacement of old equipment with more
efficient, newer equipment
• Smart redesign to improve industrial
processes.
The guide demonstrates that the gains available to manufacturers are significant and can go well beyond cost and emissions savings. For example, decreasing the heat load on industrial systems can reduce maintenance costs on large plant assets such as boilers.
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