First results from the Swedish LTA programme for energy efficiency in industry

Camilla Ottosson and Karolina Petersson, Swedish Energy Agency

Keywords

energy efficiency, voluntary programme, long term agreement, energy intensive industries, energy tax, electricity, energy management systems, energy audits, measures

Abstract

The majority of the energy intensive industries in Sweden, more than 250 production sites, are currently increasing their energy efficiency with around 800 GWh annually- and this on electricity alone! This is realised by standardised energy management systems and extensive energy audits identifying measures to increase the over-all energy efficiency. All efforts are coordinated through the Swedish LTA programme for energy efficiency for energy intensive industries (PFE) launched by the Swedish government in January 2005 and implemented and operated by the Swedish Energy Agency.

The PFE-Programme for Energy Efficiency gives energy-intensive companies the opportunity to obtain tax exemption on electricity, in line with the EU Tax Directive. In return the companies commit themselves to several actions in order to improve their energy efficiency.

The programme runs for five years. During the first two years an energy audit is done to identify measures to improve the energy efficiency. The company also implements a standardised energy management system (EMS), together with routines for purchasing, planning and renovating. During the following three years of the programme, the identified energy efficiency measures should be realised.

Participating industries are: pulp and paper, wood product, chemical, food and beverages, steel, iron and metallurgy, ore and mining and some other manufacturing industries. In total these companies are using approximately 30 TWh electricity per year, which is about 20 % of the total electricity use in Sweden.

The mid-term reports from the participating companies were received during autumn 2006. The first results and preliminary figures reported were very promising. The paper will present the results from the mid-term reports together with lessons learned from the use of this mechanism.