Ghg emissions reduction by improving efficiency of utilities transport and use and cross-sectorial energy integration

Abstract

The demands and consumption of energy in the world are increasing, despite major developments towards more efficient energy production and use. Most energy supply still comes from non-renewable sources, and greenhouse gas emissions are constantly increasing, despite the development of various international policies on climate change, such as the Kyoto Protocol or the not yet ratified Paris Agreement. In this study, the potential for enhancing the efficiencies of utility transport and use, as well as cross-sectorial energy integration, are estimated for the current state of energy production, energy conversion, and energy use within and between the main sectors. Improving energy integration between different sectors can lead to significant savings in energy sources, resulting in significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. Integrating different sectors is not a straightforward task since they use different types and loads of utilities at different levels. The first step toward integration of different energy sectors is to properly assess the primary energy source demand. A methodology for estimating primary energy requirements by tackling different types of and loads on utilities was developed. The results indicate that the primary energy source utilisation can be 2.6 times higher compared to the initial energy consumption in different sectors. The energy consumption should be addressed holistically considering at least three different aspects: i) utility transport efficiency, ii) energy efficiency within the sectors (intensification) and iii) energy integration between different sectors.