Energy assessments under the top 10,000 program - A case study for a steel mill in China

One of the largest energy-savings programs for the Chinese industrial sector was the Top 1,000 Program, which targeted the 1,000 largest industrial enterprises in China. This program was launched in 2006, implemented through 2010, and covered 33 % of national energy usage. Because of the success of the Top-1000 initiative, the program has now been expanded to the Top 10,000 program in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). The Top 10,000 program covers roughly 15,000 industrial enterprises, or about two-thirds of China's total energy consumption. Implementing energy audit systems and conducting industrial energy efficiency assessments are key requirements of the Top-10,000 program. Previous research done by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has shown that there is a significant potential for improvement in energy assessment practices and applications in China. Issues such as lack of long term policy mechanisms, insufficient motivation for industrial enterprises, limited technical scope of energy assessments, and lack of systematic standardization have been identified. Through the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. State Department (with additional cofunding from the Energy Foundation China), LBNL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), and DOE Energy Experts worked collaboratively with Chinese local organizations and conducted a series of industrial energy efficiency assessment demonstrations in selected Chinese industrial plants. The project's goal is to strengthen the practices of energy assessments and build up local capacity in China through structured training programs to introduce standardized methodologies and bring the "systems approach" for energy system analysis to the Top 10,000 enterprises. Five energy system assessment training workshops were conducted under the project, and more than 300 Chinese experts from local energy conservation centers, universities, research organizations, energy service companies, and plant engineers were trained. This paper begins by introducing China's national energy intensity and carbon intensity reduction targets. Then, the paper explains the development of Top 10,000 program, including program requirements, the method for target allocation, key supporting policies, as well as challenges in implementing the program. By focusing on a process heating energy system assessment conducted in a Chinese steel mill, the paper presents an example of an energy system assessment conducted on steel reheating furnaces, including overall energy efficiency levels, areas of heat loss, and the potential for energy savings. In addition, the paper provides energy-savings recommendations that were identified during the assessment, as well as potential energy and energy costs savings. To conclude, this paper presents key findings that could further improve the Top 10,000 program by implementing a systems approach and providing a well-structured capacity building program for energy assessments.