Energy savings: Start with the quick wins

"My hobby is energy efficiency,” proclaimed Dr. Werner Janik, who sat down with Turbomachinery International at PowerGen Europe, in June. ABB’s global head of sales for Energy Efficiency and Service in Power Generation, discussed his experience helping energy facilities.

“When people invest in a new plant,” said Janik, “their concern is primarily to keep the total installed cost as low as possible. Energy efficiency becomes a relevant topic after a couple of years when they realize they can do more with their existing assets, or when political and economic pressure rises to produce more output while reducing energy consumption and emissions.”

To help older facilities, his company recently launched an energy efficiency initiative wherein power plant operators have their facilities evaluated so they can best decide what to do. This week-long evaluation results in an energy savings report which prioritizes improvement opportunities.

For example, in May 2012, at the Jaworzno III Power Plant in Jaworzno,

Poland, an evaluation predicted annual energy savings at Unit 4 in the range of 125,000 MWh thermal and 21,000 MWh electrical, a gross savings of almost $3 million per year. 43 energy savings opportunities were identified for the power plant’s turbine island, boiler island, generator, electrical balance of plant, materials handling, and motors & drives. Fifteen of these projects were designated as “quick wins.”

Read more in the July/August 2012 issue of Turbomachinery International.