Programme description

Title: Improvement of Energy Efficiency
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Chile
Lead executing agency: Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE), Programa País Eficiencia Energética (PPEE)
Overall term: 2006 to 2010

Context

Chile’s economy has been growing by 5 percent every year since 1999. At the same time, energy needs and in particular the demand for electricity have risen sharply. Trend analyses are forecasting that energy consumption will increase annually by 5.4 percent right through to the year 2030. Faced with this scenario, the need to increase energy efficiency has become a high-priority policy issue, prompting the Chilean Government in 2005 to establish a national energy efficiency programme – the Programa País Eficiencia Energética (PPEE). Building design and construction and the industrial sector – especially mining – offer particularly significant energy-saving opportunities. Low quality standards and energy-inefficient buildings and industrial processes present enormous potential for improving energy efficiency. Experience from Europe clearly demonstrates the scale of opportunities in Chile for saving energy in business and industry as well as in private households.

Objective

The professional, technical and institutional competences and capacities of state and private actors for implementing energy efficiency measures in industry and the construction sector have improved.

Approach

This GTZ project supports the core activities of Chile’s national energy efficiency programme while also serving to moderate dialogue, support processes and foster ongoing efforts.

In the building industry, project advisory services cover various aspects of energy-efficient design and construction. The project’s modus operandi is to create a process of constructive dialogue and establish cooperative efforts between the private and public sectors.

The rise in energy prices has driven industrial enterprises to focus intensively on achieving more efficient use of energy. With the aim of fostering energy efficiency, the project agreed with its Chilean partner to adopt the approach of working mainly with the nation’s industry associations. This concept is intended to promote dialogue and cooperation between the private and public actors within these organisations as well.

Results achieved so far

The project has helped to intensify contacts and improve communication between the private and public sectors. Selected energy efficiency measures were implemented in the construction sector and industry as example pilot schemes, and thereby revealed substantial energy-saving potential. The experience yielded by these efforts has provided models that public and private actors are now transferring to further projects.

In the building industry, pilot projects have been carried out for example in social housing construction, in developing a concept plan for an energy-efficient hospital on Easter Island, and advising the new urban development project ‘Ciudad Parque Bicentenario’. The project is also advising the Ministry of Health on designing future energy-efficient hospitals.

In the public construction sector, efforts have led to the signing of a first contractual agreement for provision of energy services between two hospitals and an energy services company, Energy Services and Contracting (ESCO). What is more, a development partnership with a private sector business has been established (i.e. a public-private partnership, or PPP), in which the Philips company and GTZ, with the participation of Chile’s national energy efficiency programme, have agreed to introduce more efficient lighting technologies in Chile.

Cooperation in industry focuses on the industry associations from various sectors. An energy efficiency agreement has been concluded with the printing industry association, one component of which is to conduct sample energy analyses of several printing plants. Based on the results, the association will prepare and issue energy efficiency recommendations to the country’s entire printing industry. This approach is also being used with other sectors of industry – thereby accomplishing the goal of private sector actors opting to implement energy-efficient measures.

As a result of the project advisory services, the project’s partner has launched initial steps to introduce facilities for cogeneration of heat and electric power (CHP). A national study is underway in 2009 to assess the potential for such cogeneration processes.

Further information

• Local website of the programme
  Programa País de Eficiencia Energética
  http://www.ppee.cl
• Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE)
  Programa País de Eficiencia Energética (PPEE)
  http://www.cne.cl