The Energy Evaluation Asia Pacific Newsletter is now out! Download it here:

We wish you all a safe and well end to 2020. See you in 2021!

The Energy Evaluation Team

Watch it here! https://youtu.be/jpGOe3fUngU

Energy Evaluation Org are pleased to present an exclusive presentation on Integrated Evaluation for the Energy Transition featuring Kevin Cooney.

Kevin owns Buka Energy Strategies and is a key member of Energy Evaluation, sitting on our Board of Trustees.

Today Kevin takes us through the Energy Transition needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and why this Energy Transition needs integrated evaluation. He ends with how Energy Evaluation Org fits into the transition.

Timestamps:
00:24 : Introduction to Kevin Cooney
01:24 : What is different about the energy transition
04:06 : Key trends and opportunities driving the transition
07:19 : Why evaluate programs, policies and investments in an integrated manner?
09:20 : ‘If it quacks like a Duck…’ supply/demand imbalances
11:35 : A truly Smart Grid integrates DERs
13:54 : Three Tiers of DER Analysis
17:52 : Net Present Value often varies across Investment Categories
20:20 : People and Process Impacts
22:41 : How energy Evaluation as an Organization fits into the Energy Transition

Thanks Kevin for a great presentation!

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Reflections on the effect of COVID-19 on Energy Evaluation in the Asia Pacific Region

In a recent meeting, our Energy Evaluation Asia Pacific Group took some time to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on them personally, at work, nationally, and more widely on Energy Evaluation in the region. Here is a short summary of the discussion.

COVID-19 and energy

The global pandemic has affected the economic situation worldwide, with the global economy expecting to shrink by at least 6% in 2020.[1] It has also highlighted the importance of a reliable energy supply to enable hospitals to deliver vital care, and it has connected people in new ways despite working remotely in their own homes. Reduced energy consumption, in particular electricity, was a side-effect of economic slowdown and lockdowns.[2] However, an increased portion of this consumption and associated cost has fallen to individual households.

Working online

Face to face meetings are now tough to hold, and there’s a feeling that everything that can be done online, should be done online. Some of our members in China felt this had increased productivity, and had actually helped accelerate some projects. Others at the early stages of projects in Indonesia noted slow progress in the absence of face to face meetings. A colleague in New Zealand reported that they had used the time to organise for the future.

The current situation

Financial recovery and several stimulus programmes are happening in the region, some include energy efficiency measures but few plan to include evaluation.

In India, our members spoke about challenges and opportunities arising from the pandemic, with India being at a cornerstone point where new programmes on supply side and infrastructure are being initiated and are in a strong position to integrate energy efficiency and include evaluations at the design stage itself. Our colleagues in India had heard a lot of discussions by ministers about energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes and how they will contribute to generating jobs, but there is little discussion being had on energy efficiency and evaluation of these programmes in a serious manner.

Australia is planning both financial recovery programmes and energy efficiency programmes. Supporting low income and vulnerable households will be a clear priority, and recent multiple benefits work has provided evidence for governments wanting to have the maximum impact. Everyone is spending more time at home so households are now consuming energy and incurring costs which had been absorbed by workplaces previously.

In the USA, our members reported a lot of money going into financial recovery programmes which include spending on the energy transition. They believe that there is a need for policymakers to ensure energy and carbon emissions goals are being met while addressing the pandemic. Policymakers have been focused on the implementation of programs and policies and less attention has been spent on evaluation. There is an opportunity for evaluators to engage with policymakers to ensure evaluation is part of the mix when developing and implementing energy programs.

What next?

Past evaluations have produced a wealth of evidence which can be put to use in the current economic crisis. This discussion has prompted us to draw together the lessons we have learned from previous moments of crisis, and we will be publishing a blogpost on this soon, including useful resources. Watch this space!

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Visit our website for more resources: https://energy-evaluation.org/

[1] http://www.oecd.org/economic-outlook/june-2020/

[2] https://www.iea.org/reports/covid-19-impact-on-electricity

New report launched on Australia’s progress towards the UN #SDGs shows gains in #health, #education 
& #employment but less success in reducing household #debt, housing affordability & action on #ClimateChange.
www.sdgtransformingaustralia.com

Multiple Benefits project partners to collaborate with businesses to improve competitive advantage and energy performance.

The EU-funded Horizon 2020 project “Valuing and Communicating the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency” today launched its new web site. The site will serve as a platform for collaboration between project partners and businesses to make energy efficiency investments a lasting competitive advantage.

Why don’t companies invest more in energy efficiency? One answer is that efficiency projects are not viewed as strategic priorities. While energy engineers propose projects based on energy savings and payback, investment committees prioritise projects on the basis of strategic impacts to the company.

By quantifying and communicating multiple benefits of energy efficiency – like improved product quality, enhanced worker productivity, improved indoor air quality, reduced maintenance costs – energy efficiency can become strategic.

But, what does strategic mean? “An investment is strategic if it contributes to create, maintain or develop a sustainable competitive advantage” says Dr. Catherine Cooremans, a project partner from the Université de Lausanne who specialises in the strategic and cultural dimensions of investment decision-making.

Developing a training platform and toolkit with and for businesses

Starting in 2019, the project team will offer businesses a training platform and toolkit, including analysis methods and communication tools.

Partners will work directly with at least 50 businesses to analyse, communicate and evaluate the strategic impacts of energy-saving actions. In parallel, Multiple Benefits partners will compile a public evidence base of case studies, project examples and results to bolster investment proposals.

More information

The project website is now launched at the following URL: www.m-benefits.eu. Companies and others who are interested in learning more should sign up for the mailing list