Saving Energy—Politics or Business?

Abstract

Vladimir Lenin once remarked that politics was the most concen-
trated expression of economics. The recent history of nations shows that
the greatest successes in the field of energy have been achieved by the
wealthy countries in Western Europe, North America plus Japan. Re-
cently, greater attention to energy saving and environmental protection
is occurring in wealthy countries of the Middle East and the developing
countries of China and India. Less wealthy countries lack the financial
resources to implement widespread energy conservation and environ-
mental protection improvements. Many leading international compa-
nies have transferred production facilities to these countries, reducing
their production costs and taxes while avoiding the costs of energy sav-
ings improvements and stiffer environmental regulations elsewhere.
Many countries can be justifiably proud of their evolution toward
energy efficiency. However, are optimal decisions regarding the use of
energy efficient technologies always based solely on economics? The
answer to this question is certainly not. The reasons are often related
to political circumstances rather than economic. This article presents
a pragmatic approach to feasibility assessments to achieve reductions
in energy usage and generate energy cost savings. Case assessments
including lamp replacements, wind turbine generators, frequency con-
verters, throttling, and electric motors show that using energy efficient
equipment is not always feasible. Their implementation is largely ex-
plained by political influences in the project implementation decision-
making process.