Energy Demand

Access to dependable sources of energy is vital for economic growth, as shown by rapidly increasing energy demand throughout the Asia-Pacific region, especially in countries like China and India. Energy efficiency improvements have great potential to reduce costs, while dramatically reducing GHG emissions generated by fuel combustion and increasing energy security. From pathbreaking strategies to reduce energy usage in appliances, lighting, and consumer electronics throughout Partner countries to innovative information-sharing tools in the cement, steel, and aluminum sectors, each of the Task Forces addressing energy demand issues – Aluminum, Buildings and Appliances, Cement, and Steel – are exploring and creating attainable, effective methods of reducing energy consumption while improving environmental performance.

Key United States Government-supported Energy Demand Activities include:

Aluminum Task Force

[INCLUDE IMAGE OF PIE CHART TITLED "Aluminum Production: APP Partners 52%, Rest of World 48%"] The aluminum industry is one of the fastest growing of all Partnership sectors, with rapid growth in developing countries. Partners can work to make further improvements in environmental performance, while reducing costs, through best practice use of existing equipment, in particular perfluorocarbons (PFC) emissions management; increased uptake of best available and affordable technology including improved instrumentation; the continued development and deployment of new technologies, and by increasing levels of recycling.

Reducing Perfluorocarbon (PFC) Emissions in China’s Aluminum Industry through Automation

Selected for funding by the DOS in 2008, this project led by the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD) will work towards the upgrade of 30 out of approximately 80 primary aluminum smelters in China by developing computer software that will standardize and automate a key plant control. Results are expected to include sharply reduced emissions of potent PFCs, a byproduct of the smelting process. This project will also build capacity within industry, academia, government and the national aluminum trade association in China to speed the transition of the remaining 50 smelters beyond those targeted by this project, and will provide training in the importance of PFC emissions management and other cost-effective methods to reduce PFC emissions. IGSD will capture lessons learned from the project, develop mini-case studies to optimize potential learning opportunities, and develop best practices guidance to advance best practices through relevant standardization and certification processes.

Improving Management of PFC (Perfluorocarbon) Emissions in China

The United States is partnering with Australia and China on the project “Management of PFC Emissions” to foster the adoption of best practice measures including data collection in the Chinese aluminum industry and to provide relevant tools to assist in identifying and implementing cost-effective, technically feasible opportunities to minimize PFC emissions. The project will establish monitoring and data collection systems, develop supplementary materials and techniques, provide technical assistance via a project team of industry experts, and will finally undertake a pilot PFC emission reduction program at two Chinese aluminum facilities. From July-September 2008, the Aluminum Task Force completed PFC smelter emissions measurements of primary aluminum production facilities in China’s Henan, Shanxi, and Shandong provinces. Such measurements contribute to the project’s goal of enabling all primary production facilities in each of the Partner countries to identify and implement cost effective, technically feasible opportunities to reduce the occurrence of anode effects in electrolytic cells, the primary source of PFC emissions during aluminum production. Aluminum Industry Website Fosters International Industry Connections Secat Inc., in conjunction with the Australian government, has developed a website to register and connect aluminum industry stakeholders in the U.S. and India. The website, located at http://www.apaluminiumtech.org/, will provide primary aluminum producers, forging and casting companies, fabricators, as well as manufacturers, packagers, etc. in both countries with access to resources to implement changes in environmental and commercial performance throughout the industry. The website has registered 66 companies since its launch several months ago, and Secat has identified 215 U.S. companies and 560 Indian companies for potential registration. Secat is extensively promoting the website at aluminum industry trade conferences in APP Partner countries to gain greater awareness throughout the global industry.

Benchmarking: Developing a Process and Indices for Measuring Sustainability of the Aluminum Industry

The Aluminum Task Force, in conjunction with the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), has agreed to focus on several indices that may be presented as an APP data set for benchmarking and measuring the sustainability of the aluminum industry. The indices are not meant to be a tool for intra-industry comparison, but to assist APP partner countries/industries in identifying means of improving their individual performances. The Government of Australia and the IAI both have committed funding for this project. Seven indices have been agreed upon by Task Force members for data collection, some with goals. They are: PFC greenhouse gas emission reductions per ton of aluminum produced for the industry as a whole (80 percent reduction by 2010 over 1990 levels); fluoride emission reductions per ton of aluminum produced (33 percent reduction by 2010 over 1990 levels); average smelting energy usage reduction per ton of aluminum produced (10 percent reduction by 2010 over 1990 levels); monitoring aluminum shipments to the transportation sector in order to track aluminum's contribution to light-weighting; reduction of greenhouse gas emissions per ton of alumina produced; reduce spent pot linings (SPL) disposal by conversion to feedstock for other industries, or re-use and/or process SPL on site; pursue advancements in recycling rates (another project of the Task Force). The Aluminum Association (U.S.) also is working very closely with the IAI, Australia, and particularly the Chinese to assist in sharing data collection techniques.

Buildings and Appliances Task Force

Buildings, and the energy-using equipment and appliances they contain, use between 20 and 40 percent of total primary energy in Partner countries. In addition, partner countries manufacture a majority of the world’s appliances. The Buildings and Appliances Task Force addresses residential and commercial building energy demand in its entirety - envelope and interiors of new and existing facilities, appliances and equipment - with the aim of driving significant regional and global energy efficiency improvements.

Olympic Dreams: Reducing Energy Usage in Olympic Village and Other Chinese Buildings

In August 2008, Gua’Ao Development unveiled the Beijing Olympic Athlete’s Welcome Center. In addition, on August 13, 2008, the entire Beijing Olympic Village (of which the Athlete’s Welcome Center is part) received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Award from the U.S. Green Building Council. DOE, as part of its APP collaboration, worked closely with the developers of both projects to provide technical assistance for the construction of the Welcome Center and the 42 six- and nine-story buildings that are 50 percent more energy efficient than similar buildings in Beijing.

The Olympic Athlete’s Welcome Center, a near zero-energy building, is located in the center of the Olympic Village. The approximately 2,200m2 building was used to welcome 17,000 athletes from around the world, and, post-Games, it will become a kindergarten. The building generates the bulk of its power from renewable sources. The project incorporates a large assortment of innovative passive and active energy efficient technologies and green building materials and technology to accomplish low energy use, water conservation and reuse, on-site waste processing, and a healthy indoor environment. The building includes a highly efficient building shell with daylighting through south-facing windows, a glazed central atrium, wind turbines and photovoltaics on the roof, solar-heated water, and an advanced HVAC system.

Building on these successes, DOE is working with the Chinese Ministry of Construction to develop a Mayors’ Training Center in Beijing and to create a high-profile Beijing Center of Excellence in Sustainable Design and Technology.

Building Codes: Critical to the Scale-Up of Efficiency Building Design and Components

Building codes - for new and existing buildings - offer powerful incentives and disincentives to change the course of energy consumption in buildings throughout APP member countries. Accordingly, the US and its APP partners have committed significant resources to developing and refining building codes so that they achieve significant cost effective energy savings.

Implementing Building Energy Codes in China - From Local Partnership to National Building Energy Efficiency

Funded by the DOS in 2008, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will lead work towards developing and implementing building energy codes in China in two pilot cities, selected after preliminary research. Several cities with serious power shortages have already expressed interest in participating. Such work is expected to yield significant impacts at both the local and national levels. For the pilot cities, the impacts will include improved implementation of and compliance with building energy codes and improved energy efficiency in buildings. On a national scale, the project will also promote replication of developed implementation designs in other Chinese cities, leading to broader improvement in the implementation of building energy codes in China.

This project will equip dozens of building inspectors, building designers, builders, and local officials with information and new knowledge, including the ability to inspect buildings for energy efficiency and deepened understanding of the importance of compliance with and enforcement of codes. Training materials will be promoted in other Chinese cities as well, contributing to increased code implementation capacity nationwide. In addition, public information campaigns and seminars on building energy efficiency will raise the awareness of local residents in pilot cities, indirectly influencing local policies and regulations related to building energy efficiency.

Benchmarking Performance to Affect New and Existing Building Code Development in China and India

The EPA signed a Statement of Intent with China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction (MHURC) in April 2008, to formalize cooperation on providing technical support to MHURC’s building certification program. Leading up to the signing, EPA and MHURC developed an implementation plan to collaborate on (1) identifying, collecting, and analyzing building energy performance data, (2) developing and implementing a comparative building energy performance benchmarking system based on collected data, and (3) improving energy efficiency in existing buildings. A joint workshop to share the ENERGY STAR approach to comparative benchmarking methodology and software tool development and to discuss the challenges and opportunities for comparative benchmarking in China was conducted in early May 2008 for Ministry staff and experts from the Chinese Academy of Building Research.

Another project led by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India and funded by DOS targets planned and existing air conditioned commercial buildings and seeks to integrate high performance building design strategies and compliance with India’s Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC). The TERI project establishes energy performance benchmarks for existing buildings in different climate zones of India. Since this project began in 2008, five pre-ECBC era conventional buildings and five passive solar buildings have been identified for audits, and nine of the ten audits have been completed. These audits are now being analyzed and used to develop recommendations for incorporating high performance design strategies into building codes and policies. Simultaneously, TERI is extending the use of this knowledge base by training manufacturers, architects, consumers, policy makers and government officials on these design and retrofit strategies.

Window Labeling and Certification to Strengthen Building Code Effectiveness in APP Countries

This project aims to enhance mutual understanding of building energy codes and to establish or improve window labeling and certification programs in APP countries. The key objective is to establish rating metrics that will allow for investment in wide spread Low E glass that can save significant energy. Led by DOE, in partnership with the Governments of Korea, China, India, and Australia, as well as the U.S. National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) and other industry partners in all of these countries, the project’s accomplishments are spread across several countries.

In India, a building efficiency simulation laboratory, post-graduate curriculum, and scholarship program have been established at the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad. CEPT has been approved as a Regional Energy Efficiency Center and a full scale component test center is being planned with investment from All India Flat Glass. In addition, the project has built capacity through on-site training at CEPT for its researchers on Windows Simulation (Windows and Therm), Moisture and Heat Transfer Simulation (WUFI program), Whole Building Simulation (Energy Plus), and through specialized training of two key Indian researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for two months in optical properties measurements.

Simultaneously, Australia has adopted the entire NFRC Process and become a country partner. Similarly and after several years of in-depth technical transfer, China has adopted the NFRC process and the conversion of key simulation tools to Chinese is well underway. DOS has funded a new project to continue this process, as described below. In addition, multiple technical sessions have been held in China to collaborate on insulating glass durability standards and on the standards for proper window film installation. Leading expert consultants were made available to the Chinese to enhance their understanding of these issues. Korea and Japan have expressed interest in the NFRC process and further collaboration has begun.

Activities that cover multiple countries include U.S. manufacturers pavilions to showcase advanced technologies at key trade shows and a comprehensive review and characterization of the building codes in all APP countries. This latter project has provided needed perspectives on code revision and implementation issues. The results of this study have formed the basis for a new DOS funded project in China, where detailed implementation in two pilot cities will be conducted, also described below.

Developing a Building Certification Program in China

The National Fenestration Rating Council and the Research Institute of Standards and Norms, with APP funding awarded by the DOS in 2008, will develop a building envelope certification program which will become China’s nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance energy efficient buildings in this project. By providing mandatory guidelines on use of products with minimum energy performance levels in a building, the certification program will help companies more effectively achieve a set target of energy efficiency performance in a building. Energy rated and labeled products will provide building inspectors a means to verify compliance.

Public and private building owners, managers and architects concerned about improving building energy performance in China will be more likely to implement energy-efficiency measures in new and existing buildings. Buildings are projected to achieve measurable energy savings and associated GHG emission reductions compared to expected baseline growth in this sector.

The project will establish and implement a Building Envelope Energy Certification, Labeling and Rating system for nationwide use in China. The DOE and NFRC will provide support to help Chinese national and sub-national governments to establish and implement this system as soon as possible, as well as assistance to Chinese laboratories to provide accurate simulating and testing data to consumers and building officials. This work builds upon the accomplishments of a multi-year effort to transfer the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) process to China.

New Buildings and Communities: Expanding the Universe of Energy Efficient Buildings through Design, Advice, Codes, and Training

APP recognizes that each new building or community development is a multi-decade commitment to a carbon footprint. Once built, a building or a community can prove expensive to change. Designing energy efficient communities and energy efficient buildings has particular importance in China and India, where economic growth is driving new community and building growth at rates that outpace those of other APP Partner countries. Thus, the U.S., with its APP Partners, has committed substantial resources and know-how to changing how communities and buildings are built in the APP region.

High-Tech Energy Efficiency: Transforming Data Centers in India

In India, as in many countries, high-tech facilities are experiencing significant growth. However, energy efficiency efforts in India have typically been limited to conventional building measures to date, leaving out the more energy intensive opportunities. Led by the DOE, working with India’s BEE and Indian industry partners, this collaboration is helping to transform markets and build capacity for energy efficiency in Indian buildings for high-tech industries, like laboratories, cleanrooms, and data centers. The pilot project focuses on energy efficiency in Indian data centers.

In January 2008, the project leads gathered information on the current status of Indian data centers through visits to several data centers, a charrette-type meeting, and a workshop on improving data center efficiency in India. Recommendations for further action include: developing information/awareness materials and workshops for the Indian high-tech industry and government; building capacity and training; conducting industry forums to facilitate capacity building and stimulate peer-to-peer information exchange; developing performance indicators and a benchmarking framework; creating a regulatory, standards, and incentives framework; and conducting research/evaluations of specific issues related to the Indian high-tech industry. The next steps in this project are still under discussion.

The Urban Climate Project: Building Clean and Efficient Cities

Urban centers in India are undergoing and will undergo significant expansion during the 21st century. As part of this urban expansion, the Jawaharal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is funding implementation of urban development in sixty-four selected major cities across India. With APP funding from the DOS, selected cities that have a City Development Plan (CDP) as part of the JNNURM process are being offered the opportunity for a value-added review of their CDP with an eye toward clean development and GHG mitigation. The International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, has identified twenty-eight large, fast-growing industrial cities, of which eleven cities have now confirmed their interest. ICLEI is now preparing Memoranda of Understanding with each of these cities and is getting ready to do the analysis required to create a Clean Development Action Plan.

Leveraging Building Design Know-How

DOE has leading edge tools and people that facilitate the design of energy efficient buildings. At the center of DOE’s APP building strategy is leveraging those tools and the knowledge base so that APP partners can access them and use them effectively. DOE has already trained architects and more important, trainers of architects, in India and China using the EnergyPlus building simulation program so that they can design more efficient buildings. DOE has also trained Indian researchers to use the WUFI program for heat and moisture migration and performed building simulation and technology demonstration at an IT Building Project at Gwal Pahari, New Delhi.

Existing Buildings: Special Challenges; Outsized Opportunities

Among most APP countries, buildings that are already in use are the dominant energy consumers and will be for many decades. Finding means to reduce energy consumption in those existing buildings is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenges come from the heterogeneity of the stock, the need to carefully identify cost effective energy efficiency measures while considering that heterogeneity, and the complexity of developing programs that successfully address the spectrum of issues—from trained labor to financing-- to implement the cost effective measures. Overcoming these challenges can mean that energy consumption associated with buildings can be more rapidly reduced and sizeable GHG reductions can be realized.

Market Assessment of Public Buildings in India: Information for Financing

Over the past several years, the Indian government has considered investing in public building energy efficiency improvements. However, basic information needed to assess the value of such investments or to design investment programs is not available. This project will improve the ability of the Indian government to effectively design and finance projects that increase the energy efficiency of existing publicly owned buildings. Led by DOE and LBNL, the project team works in cooperation with USAID's ECO-III project, the Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), and the World Bank. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), and other Indian government agencies are working with the team to facilitate data collection. The project will provide preliminary estimates of the potential energy savings that could result from cost-effective investments in energy efficiency improvements to India’s public buildings and a plan to collect additional information to refine those estimates. The findings of this work will be made available to the India Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), the World Bank, USAID, and other stakeholders critical to moving public building energy efficiency investments forward.

Improving Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings in India and China

This project aims to establish continuous monitoring of energy performance as best practice for large commercial buildings and to increase awareness of value of low-cost operations and maintenance and cost-effective retrofits in commercial and public buildings. Supported by EPA and the USAID (India), this project has already attracted a wide range of private and public partners, provided training and technical assistance in implementation of energy efficiency measures, encouraged and recognized successful partners, and provided solid documentation of actual, cost-effective building energy savings in India and China through case studies. In India, private partners include the Indian Green Buildings Council, corporate building owners, major hotel chains, property management companies, service and equipment providers and electric utilities.

The primary government partners are the Ministry of Power, its Bureau of Energy Efficiency, and State Agencies such as the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency. Training sessions were held in July 2007 and January 2008, and another will be held in coming months. During the January meetings, four hotel chains with 143 hotels expressed interest in future training. In China, similar private partners have been engaged as well as the Trade Association of Shanghai Property Managers, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction, and the Beijing Development and Reform Commission (BDRC). Recent training sessions in December 2007 and May 2008 have advanced, in particular, a BDRC-led effort to green Beijing’s hotels ahead of the Olympic Games in August 2008.

Improved Operations to Increase Energy Efficiency in Chinese Buildings

Through this project, selected by the DOS for APP funding in 2008, ICF International will work to reduce energy use and emissions in existing buildings in China by substantially leveraging the approach and technical resources of a market-based initiative initially developed by the EPA’s international eeBuildings program. The program uses the best lessons from EPA’s successful domestic ENERGY STAR energy-efficient buildings program with developing countries. to support China’s need for large-scale practical approaches to reducing energy use in buildings. Under stringent new targets for reducing overall energy intensity in the Chinese economy by 20 percent by 2010, the China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction (MHURC) is tasked with bringing innovative and practical approaches to help meet this critical challenge. MHURC and EPA are cooperating to evaluate the potential of the eeBuildings approach to assist MHURC in achieving large-scale results associated with the 20 percent goal.

Appliances and Equipment: Shorter Term Opportunities for Improving Energy Efficiency

While building envelopes may last decades and even centuries, the appliances and equipment used within them have much shorter life spans. Building appliances and equipment cover many products: light bulbs to heating, cooling and ventilation systems, with a myriad of products in between (refrigerators, small household appliances, and office equipment). Shear wear and tear and obsolescence create considerable turnover in these products, when compared to the buildings themselves. This turnover gives consumers the opportunity to incrementally reduce their energy consumption as they replace their appliances and equipment. APP has several projects to address this opportunity. The projects recognize that to realize potential gains in appliances and equipment energy efficiency: (1) more efficient technology must be available to the consumer; (2) the consumer needs to be aware of the more efficient technology and be able to make the most cost-effective decision; and (3) the enabling environment needs to help consumers choose the often higher cost, more efficient technology.

APP Accelerates Adoption of Quality Compact Fluorescent Lamps in Asia

Few energy efficiency investments offer higher returns than replacing inefficient lighting. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have been a major means to improved lighting efficiency in many countries. High-quality CFLs offer significant economic and environmental benefits; they use one-quarter to one-fifth the energy of standard incandescent lamps and can last five to ten times longer. But in Asia, half of the CFLs are substandard, producing less light or burning out more quickly than advertised. Consumer dissatisfaction with substandard CFLs is threatening the energy saving lamps' spectacular growth in Asia Maintaining consumer confidence in CFLs, each of which can reduce nearly 75 pounds of CO2 emissions over its lifetime, is critical to ensuring wide adoption for this key near-term technology to address climate change. With potential sales of $7 billion annually in Asia, performance standards to move the market to deliver high-quality CFLs can deliver large energy savings.

An APP project sponsored by the U.S. and Australia is working to harmonize performance and quality standards. For example, the world's four largest lighting companies—Philips, OSRAM, General Electric, and Havells Sylvania—will establish common standards for CFLs in Asia. The new Asian system will be compatible with existing quality certification systems, such as the Efficient Lighting Initiative and the UK's Energy Saving Trust.

Promoting Energy Efficient Government Procurement Best Practices in India

With support from EPA and DOS, this project assists the Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)’s efforts to develop and implement national government policies and procedures for efficient procurement in India. A successful July 2007 workshop co-sponsored by EPA, DOS, and USAID produced a strong commitment from senior officials of the Indian government to move forward with development of an effective EE procurement program and identified a number of concrete steps to achieve this goal. EPA has given BEE a detailed analysis of existing procurement laws, regulations, and procedures in key organizations with recommendations for revisions that would change the basis of procurement from first cost to life-cycle cost. A smaller, more focused, follow-up workshop featuring a demonstration of technical materials was held in February 2008. Based on comments and discussion, these materials are being improved and expanded, and will ultimately serve as the basis for training on the implementation of the new procedures in federal agencies with some outreach to states anticipated.

India’s Energy Efficiency Standards and Labeling Program for Appliances

Funded by DOS, this activity will increase the uptake of more energy efficient appliances in India through collaboration of stakeholders involved in standards and labeling (S&L) in India, local experts, and international advisors. Led by the Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), the activity is providing technical assistance to the BEE on S&L programs for refrigerators, air conditioners, and consumer electronics, supporting the BEE in identifying next S&L products and to assess the success of their current S&L initiatives, identifying and developing response strategies for a range of barriers that limit sale of energy efficient appliances, identifying opportunities for harmonization of S&L with APP countries, and leading an outreach campaign to raise awareness of energy efficiency at the grassroots level throughout Indian towns and villages.

Since it began in early 2008, CLASP has worked extensively with its partners BEE, ICF International, Consumer Voice, and other organizations. CLASP has developed a “Research Design and Methodology for Impact Assessment” to assess the effect of BEE’s S&L programs for refrigerators and air conditioners, which began in May 2007. BEE will use the methodologies to analyze extensive data on retail pricing, sales, and related issues of energy efficient appliances throughout India to examine the success of their S&L programs. A “Study Design for Identification of Market Transformation Strategies to Support S&L” is underway, which will incorporate market transformation strategies and assess consumer perceptions of products with energy efficient labels. ICF International, working with CLASP, has nearly completed work on an S&L program for consumer electronics that BEE will implement. Emission reductions of 400 million tons of CO2 are expected over the next 15 years.

U.S. and China Explore Harmonization of Energy Efficiency Labels

Utilizing the resources of the APP, the EPA and the China Standard Certification Center (CSC) signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2007 that explores harmonizing the U.S. ENERGY STAR label and CSC's energy efficiency label for consumer electronics and office equipment. EPA and CSC will select one or more products and work to develop harmonized performance standards (including test procedures and performance criteria) for the selected products. Based on results of the harmonization of performance standards, EPA and CSC will consider selecting a product for a pilot harmonization of the labeling process. EPA and CSC have drafted an implementation work plan, and an EPA technical team has met with CSC to advance capacity building for implementation of the work plan.

Retrofit of Existing Building Chillers in India

Growing air conditioning load is a major factor in rapidly rising electricity consumption in China and India. Inefficient chillers help to increase the rate of that growth. This project complements the World Bank’s Global Chiller Energy Efficiency Project (GCEEP), with an early focus on demonstrations in India. The objective of GCEEP is to replace old commercial building chillers using CFCs with new, more energy-efficient, non-CFC equipment. With support from EPA, the project has developed a CD-based tool to facilitate financial analysis of chiller retrofits and depending on the needs of the project, may provide technical assistance on chiller retrofit project design, whole building energy management, and refrigerant management in the disposal of the old chillers.

Leveraging Experience and Tools: Sharing Information and Best Practices

National Energy Management Program in India

Focusing on existing Indian government buildings, this DOS-funded project is coordinated by USAID. Project activities promote the energy conservation ethic within central and state government facilities while maximizing the participation of the private sector in the implementation of energy efficiency activities through the adaptation of the U.S. Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to Indian conditions. A Building Energy Assessment Guide has already been prepared. The BEE uses data from building energy audits to create benchmarks useful for both Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) enforcement and screening of buildings for energy retrofits.

APP Fosters Major Regional Energy Efficiency Centers in India

This DOS-funded project is coordinated by USAID and supports a key strategic energy efficiency program developed by USAID under its ECO project. These efforts have resulted in four major Regional Energy Efficiency Centers (REECs) announced by several state governments in India. REECs enhance energy efficiency awareness and education among energy end-users as well as the public at large, facilitate showcases and demonstrations of energy efficient products, promote technology development (incubation), encourage research and interdisciplinary collaboration, and catalyze the development and growth of energy efficiency market and business in India. REECs will initially focus on domestic appliances, electric motors, lighting, building envelope and energy modeling, small and medium-sized enterprises, and rural energy management.

City-to-City Partnerships for Best Practices in Energy and Environment

DOE recently facilitated a memorandum of understanding between the cities of Atlanta, GA, and Ahmedabad in India, initiating a first-ever US-India cities partnership to share best practices in sustainable development, energy and environment. Following the signing, Atlanta and Ahmedabad city delegations met to discuss mutual interests in energy and environment and to identify short- and long-term actions they wish to take.

In addition to the recent Atlanta-Ahmedabad agreement, this APP/BATF project has initiated partnerships between cities like Chicago-Delhi, Denver-Chennai, Los Angeles-Mumbai, San Francisco-Bangalore, Edison-Vadodara and Columbus-Ahmedabad. It is promoting dialogues involving city agencies, businesses, professionals, citizens, and research and academic institutions. The project seeks to share lessons learned from each city's experience and demonstrate best practices, technologies, and policy frameworks to augment partnering cities' capabilities to identify and respond to barriers that limit implementation and management of sustainable urban development practices, service delivery, and plans. The partnerships will focus on programs such as green buildings, renewable power, alternative fuel vehicles, recycling, water supply and sanitation, and green government purchasing and business promotion.

The DOE team organized a videoconference in January 2008, where the U.S. cities of Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta, and the Indian cities of Delhi, Chennai, and Ahmedabad highlighted their best practices in energy and environment. About 600 participants from India watched the video conference, including approximately 40 mayors and 35 city managers from other Indian cities.

Cement Task Force

[INCLUDE PIE CHART TITLED "Cement Production: APP Partners 62%, rest of world 38%"]

Cement is an essential material for social infrastructure and has played a vital role in providing the foundation for economic development around the world. The production process for cement is energy intensive - energy accounts for up to 40 percent of the cost of production - and requires a large amount of natural resources for fuel and raw materials. Consequently, the aggregate amount of CO2 emitted from the global cement industry has reached about 2.2 billion tons, accounting for approximately five percent of global man-made CO2 emissions. By conducting surveys on the current situation, developing performance indicators and benchmarks, sharing information and experiences on clean technologies in order to conserve energy, reducing emissions of GHGs, and controlling air pollution, the Task force seeks to diffuse and deploy clean technologies in the cement industry of each Partner country.

United States Partners with Confederation of Indian Industry to Promote GHG Reductions in Indian Cement Industry

In partnership with the DOS, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is developing and implementing a program designed to foster reductions of GHG emissions in the Indian cement sector. The program takes a multi-faceted approach to promote widespread adoption of GHG emission reduction practices by providing a detailed analysis of the Indian cement sector, developing GHG emission inventories, reduction targets, and facilitating reductions at 15 Indian cement manufacturing plants, as well as through multiple information dissemination workshops to identify replication opportunities. The project will play a major role in the market transformation of energy efficiency technologies in the Indian cement industry and will offer significant replication potential for successfully implemented & established projects. To date, 11 major Indian cement manufacturers have expressed interest in working with CII on GHG inventory and reduction strategies. CII has carried out an information dissemination workshop for more than 150 engineers on analysis of the Indian cement sector, initiated activities to develop an in-depth report assessing opportunities for GHG reductions in the cement sector, and begun inventory work with three major Indian cement manufacturers.

Cement Centre of Excellence Launches with Training for Chinese Officials

Thirty-eight Chinese officials representing 60 plants participated in a successful training program on the WRI-World Cement Sustainability Initiative GHG Protocol in Beijing in January 2008. Experts from Australia, Japan, India and the U.S. conducted the workshop, which was the first official event of the Cement Task Force’s flagship Centre of Excellence project. The training, which was designed specifically for the Chinese cement industry, was the first of two workshops that will support the quantification and management of energy use and GHG emissions in cement production.

BEST Tool Saving Energy in Chinese Cement Industry

The Benchmarking and Energy Savings Tool (BEST) for the cement sector in China, developed by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in collaboration with China's Energy Research Institute, the China Building Materials Academy, the China Cement Association, and Shandong University, is now available through LBNL's website at http://china.lbl.gov/best-cement-china. EPA funding from both the Office of International Affairs and the Office of Air and Radiation supported the development of BEST for cement. This tool will help with benchmarking and other management practices that can help Partner cement plants to explore 50 key energy efficiency measures, identifying costs and benefits of each to facilitate their decision making processes. To promote the dissemination and use of BEST, LBNL conducted three training workshops on BEST for cement plants in China in Shandong, Hebei, and Shanxi Provinces, with China Building Materials Academy, Energy Research Institute, China Cement Association, and other collaborators in July 2008.

Improving Energy Efficiency, Increasing the Use of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials, and Reducing Emissions in the Cement Sector in China

DOE’s LBNL, selected for APP funding by the DOS in 2008, will develop, implement, and disseminate a comprehensive program to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of alternative fuels and raw materials, and reduce emissions in the cement sector in China through this project. LBNL will first focus on China’s 12 largest cement plants, and later expand the project to another 30 large cement plants. These 42 plants produce over 30 percent of total Chinese cement output.

By capitalizing on earlier APP cement project initiatives, such as the BEST Tool Saving Energy in Chinese Cement Industry project, capacity building in the selected 42 plants will feature energy and GHG emissions assessments using international best practices and tools, identification and implementation of energy-efficiency technologies and measures, demonstration of the use of alternative fuels and raw materials, and measuring and tracking of GHG and other pollutant emissions. Activities demonstrating the significance of improving energy and resource efficiency and reducing GHG emissions and will then be expanded to include other cement plants owned by the companies that own the 42 target cement plants, and, finally, to the remainder of China’s cement industry.

Steel Task Force

[INCLUDE PIE CHART TITLED "Steel Production: APP Countries 60%, Rest of World 40%"]

The production process for steel is extremely energy-intensive and requires a large amount of natural resources. In addition, the aggregate amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the global steel industry has reached roughly two billion tons annually, accounting for approximately 5 percent of global man-made carbon dioxide emissions. The majority of emissions generated by steel production are due to coal use and other energy resources as a key process input, which means that increasing energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to improve environmental performance.

The nature of the steel industry provides the sector with attractive options to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency. For one, steel is fully recyclable. At the end of their useful life, products containing steel can be converted back into “new” steel, ready for other applications. Furthermore, the steel production process can utilize wastes and by-products as alternative reductants and raw materials, which reduces air pollution and the use of fossil fuels.

The Steel Task Force is working to facilitate the uptake of best available technology, practices and environmental management systems in Asia Pacific Partnership countries and to promote increased recycling of steel products. The Task Force assists in the provision of expert advice regarding opportunities to reduce GHG and other emissions levels through the introduction of existing and emerging technologies with focus on China and India.

United States Funds State-of-the-Art Clean Technology Guidance for Steel Industry

DOS funding supported the APP Steel Task Force’s state-of-the-art clean technologies framework, which was developed by Partnership members to catalog best available technologies and practices to save energy and reduce environmental impacts in the steel industry. The guidance covers over 100 key energy efficient technologies. Estimates indicate that if these technologies are implemented in full in the iron and steel industries in the Partner countries, potential CO2 reductions could exceed 127 million tons per year, equivalent to the amount of CO2 emissions produced in a year by more than 21 million cars. The guidance, which represents the first major collaboration of steel industries from all seven Partner countries, is currently in use in all APP countries, and Indian plants have been particularly quick in adopting its recommended technologies.

Establishing Energy and Environmental Baselines in the Chinese Steel Industry

Through this project, awarded APP funding by the DOS in 2008, Hatch Associates will establish a baseline of energy and environmental performance data of the steel industry in China and the other six APP countries. Using that data, Hatch will also establish energy and environmental improvement opportunities that can be practically implemented in each country, and identify and assess barriers to such implementation. This work will both provide a benchmarking of China’s steel industry performance in comparison with other APP countries, and propose feasible improvements in China and other APP countries based on potential application of clean technologies. This analysis will also consider which current barriers to implementation and diffusion of cleaner technologies might be overcome.