Indo-German Symposium Discusses Energy Efficiency in Thermal Power Plants as Well as in Buildings

A two-day Indo-German Symposium on Energy Efficiency held under the aegis of Ministry of Power, Government of India and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany in New Delhi concluded today. The Symposium focussed on energy efficiency in thermal plants as well as in buildings.

The generic theme of the first day of the symposium was energy efficiency enhancement in the power plants. On the opening day the Symposium discussed India's expansion plan for power generation and how to increase energy efficiency in existing thermal power plants. In-depth deliberations and discussions on India's expansion plan for power generation, its future technological requirement, state of the art plants and future research efforts, existing efficiency bench marks which are available in German and European power sector were held. The symposium also familiarised all the power producers, planners, designers regarding current efforts in efficiency improvement, India's requirement for efficiency related programmes, economic and environmental benefits and implementation of efficiency enhancement measures.

On the second day of the symposium the focus was on energy efficiency in buildings. Experts from both countries presented recent studies, discuss state-of-the art technologies and best practices. The symposium provided an opportunity to focus on frontier German technology and innovation in building design and construction as well as energy efficient materials. The presentation about External Insulation Finish Systems (EIFS) provided useful insights to the policy makers, architects, engineers and the industry representatives present to integrate it in local design and construction. In addition, the knowledge and experience sharing of the regulatory processes put in place by Germany have been important inputs to the Ministry of Power and BEE which are in the process of putting in place the regulatory process for this area.

There is a huge potential of energy savings in existing buildings. Energy Audit studies conducted in several office buildings, hotels and hospitals indicate energy saving potential of 23% to 46% in end uses such as lighting, cooling ventilation, refrigeration etc. The potential is largely untapped, partly due to lack of effective delivery mechanisms for energy efficiency. Performance Contracting through Energy Service Companies is an innovative delivery mechanism for overcoming the barriers faced by energy users.

The best practices of Germany in terms of innovative contracting models to implement energy efficiency like Energy Supply Contracting (ESC) and Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) have provided useful insights to the road map for stimulating the building energy efficiency programme in India. The implementation experience of Germany, particularly in addressing the barriers that existed will prove to be immensely useful to BEE, particularly when the programmes are being scaled up.

The Symposium was inaugurated by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Power and attended by about 300 representatives of State Power Utilities, large private companies, financial institutions, architects, builders, suppliers of energy efficient building material, representatives of policy and regulatory bodies, consulting companies and technical experts from Germany and India. The keynote addresses were delivered by Mr. Andreas Obersteller, Deputy Director General, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Germany and Mr. Rakesh Nath, Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority. During the course of the two-day event over 50 experts from India, Germany and other countries presented their papers.

Source: Press Information Bureau
Date: : May 16, 2008