New research from
Siemens Financial Services (SFS) estimates the significant energy savings manufacturers could make through a wide-scale deployment of ‘Energy-as-a-Service’ solutions. SFS’ report
Accelerating Change reveals that the manufacturing industry in the UK could potentially save over three million tonnes (or 18,000GWh) of gas and electricity per year by adopting Energy-as-a-Service financing structures. To put this into context, this estimate comes close to meeting around two-thirds of official climate targets for the sector. The study also breaks down savings opportunities for British regions.
This is especially important to manufacturers in light of regulatory and financial pressures to minimise carbon emissions by reducing energy use in manufacturing processes. These pressures are all the more urgent as shareholders are increasingly aware of how fuel costs, network costs and poor energy purchasing decisions are harming their investments. However, affording the substantial technology investment to achieve energy savings/decarbonisation targets remains a challenge, especially in a time of rising input costs and volatile industrial demand.
As the report makes clear, new business models, known as Energy-as-a-Service arrangements or energy performance contracting, can secure these operational cost reductions without putting pressure on capital resources and ensure expected savings are realised. Such financing schemes remove the need for a manufacturer to deploy its own capital. Instead, the manufacturer is charged a monthly fee against the delivered cost savings, sometimes producing a net operational benefit. Moreover, an Energy-as-a-Service provider covers all aspect of transformation, including installation, operation, performance management and maintenance.
To learn more about the topic, visit the
Siemens Transform conference taking place on 17-18 July at Manchester Central, a free two-day conference and exhibition focusing on the challenges organisations are facing in the UK and Ireland and how they can accelerate their digital and sustainable transformation. For more details on on the event, visit the website
here.