PAT Cycle-II has Resulted in CO2 Emission Reduction of 70 MT: RK Singh

The Union Minister of Renewable Energy & Power R.K. Singh recently made a slew of announcements in the Rajya Sabha, shining the light on the progress made in renewable energy in the country. Here is a look at some important advancements

RK Singh in appreciation of the implementation of PAT Cycle – II, said that it has resulted in CO2 emission reduction of about 70 MT

With an objective to accelerate Energy Transition in industrial sectors, Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh, recently chaired an interaction session with top management of energy-intensive industrial units. During the meeting, the Minister appreciated the implementation of PAT (Perform, Achieve and Trade) Cycle – II, stating that it has resulted in total energy savings of 14.08 MTOE, along with CO2 emission reduction of about 70 million tonnes (MT) worth monetary savings of Rs 31,445 crores.

At the event, the Minister also released “User Manuals” for different stakeholders such as Designated Consumers (DCs), State Designated Agencies (SDAs), CERC, SERC, POSOCO, Accredited Energy Auditors (AEAs), power exchanges, etc. who are implementing Government’s flagship PAT scheme, which is now covering over 1000 large units from 13 sectors.

“I appreciate the hard work by all the industries for contributing towards an energy-efficient economy.” At the same time, he advised BEE to come up with more such programs in the future. “Such interaction would pave a way forward for further initiatives to be taken by DCs in the sphere of energy efficiency. PAT Cycle-II has achieved its goal and we expect its success in the coming future,” RK Singh said.

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A report on “Impact of Energy Efficiency Measures for the Year 2019-20” was also released. Citing the report, the minister stated that various energy efficiency measures have led to an annual thermal energy savings of 15.59 MT of oil Equivalent, worth Rs 28,683 crores, while overall electricity savings are to the tune of 145.03 Billion Units, worth Rs 87,019 crores per year.

More than 500 delegates from industries, like ministries, state officials and partner agencies attended the discussion and the common response was appreciation for this Unique Initiative of the Government. They also gave inputs for future targets.

During the interaction, the stakeholders also suggested that along with regulatory policy like PAT, fiscal incentives and other supports such as the promotion of Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) and cutting edge Energy Efficient technologies through special incentives. Delegates also highlighted that in the future ESCerts may be considered for off-setting RPO obligation and other compliance requirements.

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The power minister stressed that India stands at the forefront of addressing the global challenge of climate change and has committed to an ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of reducing emission intensity by 33-35 percent in 2030 against the levels of the year 2005. 

Further highlighting India also has a target to set up 175 GW of Renewable Energy (RE). In its Second Biennial Update Report (BUR 2) submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2018, it has been highlighted that India has proactively pursued mitigation and adaptation activities and achieved a reduction in emission intensity of GDP by 24 percent over the period 2005-2016. As per the NDCs, India is committed to achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil-fuel energy resources.

In his concluding remarks, Singh recommended the Industry opt for more electricity base processes thereby decarbonising the economy, leading to accelerated Energy Transition, preferably using renewable energy.

PAT scheme is a regulatory instrument to reduce specific energy consumption in energy intensive industries, with an associated market based mechanism to enhance the cost effectiveness through certification of excess energy saving which can be traded.

Under this scheme, reductions in specific energy saving targets are assigned to Designated Consumers (DCs) for a three year cycle. The target reduction for each DC is based on their current levels of energy efficiency, so that energy efficient DCs will have lower target of percentage reduction, as compared to less energy efficient DCs which will have higher targets. While calculating the specific energy consumption “gate-to-gate” approach is adopted, thereby including all energy consumption against the total production. A robust process of normalization is adopted to neutralize the impact on specific energy consumption due to factors beyond the control of participating DCs. Verification of the performance of DCs at the end of the cycle is carried out by a cadre of energy professional i.e. Accredited Energy Auditors who are empaneled with BEE. For PAT Cycle –II three new sectors viz. Railways, Refineries and Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) were included

CO2 Emission RK Singh