Chile already has advanced experiences and technologies available in energy efficiency at an industrial level

(This is an automatic translation of the original release issued in Spanish)

PRESS RELEASE from Fundación Chile
July 2024

From August 5 of this year, companies that qualify as Consumers with Energy Management Capacity or CCGE, will have a period of 12 months to implement their Energy Management System (SGE) that covers at least 80% of their total energy consumption, which includes policies, goals, action plans and energy performance indicators, designate an energy manager and have measurement and verification systems.

Faced with this regulatory context, and also with the objective of positioning energy efficiency as a viable alternative to face the constant increase in electricity rates, Fundación Chile, ANESCO Chile and the Energy Sustainability Agency, with the support of the Ministry of Energy, organized the seminar “Energy efficiency for a carbon neutral industry”, which provided a meeting space between the productive sector and energy service companies (ESCO), in order to promote knowledge of the existing opportunities in energy efficiency for the creation of a carbon neutral industry.

The meeting included the participation of Brian Motherway, Head of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transition of the International Energy Agency ( IEA ), who made an analysis from an international perspective, of the economic and environmental context for the development of EE and its impact on the carbon neutrality; and the presence of prominent sector representatives.

Susana Jiménez, vice president of the Confederation of Production and Commerce, highlighted during the day that "the approval of the law in February 2021 and the preparation of the first National Energy Efficiency Plan represent a first step to generate a common framework and establish goals at the country level. But the great challenge is the one we have faced since the last two years and going forward, in which concrete actions must be materialized that bring us closer to the goal of being a carbon neutral country by 2050. There are more and more of them. companies in Chile that are putting people at the center of their decisions, acting with transparency, measuring their social and environmental impacts and seeking continuous improvement to make a real contribution to the sustainable development of society. Without a doubt, energy efficiency can. also be a catalyst to boost productivity and improve the quality of life of Chileans.”

Along these lines, Ignacio Santelices, Sustainability Manager at Fundación Chile explained that, in this context, and considering that the Chilean industrial and energy market is strongly led by the private sector, “the actions taken by companies within the framework of the Energy Efficiency Law provides a unique opportunity to take a leap in productivity. Productivity that allows for greater economic growth and, at the same time, is more sustainable in environmental and social terms. In this sense, it is key to generate meeting spaces, where ecosystem actors can see concretely how energy efficiency is a key tool to advance the energy transition and also to face the contingency of high prices, since there is no energy cheaper than that which is not consumed.”

For her part, Roxana Silva, president of ANESCO Chile, added that it is essential to share experiences and available and proven technologies in energy efficiency and self-consumption to address the information asymmetry that still exists in the industry. “This type of meeting seeks to promote knowledge and the implementation of innovative solutions that contribute to sustainability and efficiency in different business sectors. We have always postulated that the energy user has a fundamental role in the transition, in carbon-neutrality and that it depends on him to be able to move forward with greater force. All the available tools are in line with modernizing them as well as supporting them to face the context of greater pressure due to price issues, for example, from energy audits, improvement of equipment technology and implementation of energy management systems, among others.

Finally, Rosa Riquelme, executive director of the Energy Sustainability Agency, highlighted that the implementation of energy efficiency measures can increase the competitiveness of companies and is a concrete tool that not only allows contributing to global sustainability objectives, but also brings benefits to the industry. “Among the multiple benefits is, for example, the reduction of costs, which is directly reflected in the income statements of the companies that implement these measures and systematize them through Energy Management Systems, being thus more productive hand in hand with what is established in the Energy Efficiency Action Plan and the Energy Efficiency Law. But they also improve their competitiveness at a local and international level, since they reduce their carbon footprint through the efficient use of energy, adding value to their offer.”

Some of the applications and success stories presented during the day were “Integration of energy efficiency and decarbonization technologies with the ESCO model”, developed by GasValpo; “Management of non-condensable gases in industrial refrigeration to achieve carbon neutrality goals” by Danfoss; “Experience in operational efficiency platform” by EClariti; “App and platform for managing electromobility chargers” presented by EHive; “Control and monitoring technology” from Clickie; “Implementation of energy, water and emissions improvements in agribusiness under ISO 50,001 methodology” by Gasco; and “Implementation of the ESCO model” developed by Energy Tracking and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Santiago.

Likewise, to deepen the reflection on the challenges and benefits of incorporating energy efficiency in the industry, a conversation panel was developed where actors from different productive sectors participated: Marcos Cid, energy manager of Teck Resources Chile; Juan Carlos Sepúlveda, general manager of Fedefruta, Marcel Silva, head of the productive sectors unit of the Ministry of Energy and Roxana Silva, president of ANESCO Chile.