India leads in energy efficiency: Survey

Business leaders throughout India give a higher priority to energy efficiency in their facilities than do those in any other major country, according to the Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI).

This year?s survey results provide a look at how business leaders in India are prioritizing and investing in energy efficiency compared to last year and to other regions around the world.

According to the survey, 85% of business leaders in India consider energy management very or extremely important. This is a drop from 94% last year but significantly higher than in other parts of the world in 2010 — 52% in the U.S., 58% in Germany, 61% in the U.K. and 79% in China.

In addition, nearly all respondents in India are planning to make capital (87%) and operating (93%) investments in energy efficiency over the next 12 months, up from 64% and 72%, respectively, in 2009.

Globally, a smaller percentage are planning to make capital (63%) and operating (70%) investments in efficiency compared with India, although global investment plans are up from 54% and 62%, respectively, in 2009.

?Despite the recession, decision-makers have put efficiency high on their agendas for 2010, especially those in India and China,? said Pramoda Karkal, vice president and managing director, Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls, India.

?In our business we help buildings to operate efficiently and profitably, and we see these benefits being recognized in new markets and regions worldwide.?

Although there is broad consensus that improving energy efficiency helps control rising energy costs, reduces a company’s environmental footprint, and increases the value of buildings, Karkal noted that there are still several barriers preventing global implementation.

The most commonly cited barrier to improving energy efficiency in India is a lack of technical expertise to identify opportunities, followed by a lack of internal capital budget. Limited capital availability ranked first in the United States and Europe, according to this year?s EEI.

?In India and throughout the world, new financing and procurement models are needed to stimulate energy investments,? said Karkal. ?These models need to be scalable and bring private capital, technical expertise and performance guarantees to the market.?

Installing onsite renewable energy systems is the top greenhouse gas reduction strategy for 24% of respondents in India, compared to only 4% in the United States. India leads the world in the percentage of respondents considering solar photovoltaic technology (73%) or biomass (36%) in new construction or retrofit projects.

Additionally, 95% of India respondents believe significant legislation mandating energy efficiency and/or carbon reduction is at least somewhat likely to be enacted in the next two years in India.

The Johnson Controls EEI tracks energy management priorities and investment plans among decision-makers responsible for managing commercial buildings and their energy use. This is the second year Johnson Controls has conducted the EEI survey in India.

This year’s study included 311 respondents from a variety of regions and industry segments. India results are part of a global survey of more than 2,800 executives across Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States conducted in June 2010.

Global EEI survey results will be presented on Thursday during an event at the Shangri La in Delhi.