The Environmental Compliance Office and Sustainable Development in the Federation of Egyptian Industries (ECO-FEI) is currently reviewing the factories to implement energy efficiency projects as part of the “Energy Efficiency is a Skill” initiative.
The initiative introduces best practices to improve energy efficiency in industry. It also aims to localise certain technologies to improve boilers, insulation systems and motors in industrial operations. ECO chose the chemicals sector to implement the initiative as it has multiple industries and viable opportunities in the savings of the thermal and electrical energy consumption that may exceed 30 per cent.
The plan is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Egyptian-German Committee for Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Environmental Protection (JCEE) representing the Office of German technical cooperation GIZ, to achieve the maximum benefit in energy savings for industrial facilities.
Ahmed Kamal Abdel-Moneim, executive director of ECO-FEI, said 50 companies were selected initially from 110 in energy-consuming industries such as glass, paper, acrylic, plastic, rubber and paints. Only 20 were short-listed.
The project also implemented six training programmes for the factories in various industrial zones in Cairo and Alexandria, to prepare certified energy managers. Training is one of the most important outputs of the initiative, Abdel-Moneim said.
After the training, a specialised team from the Environmental Compliance Office visited the factories to conduct a detailed energy review as practical training with the participation of the engineers trained in data collection and analysis and identifying feasible rationalisation opportunities.
There are “great opportunities” for Egyptian companies and factories to benefit from implementing projects to improve energy efficiency in their factories and achieve financial savings, Wafaa Ismail, head of the energy sector in ECO, told Al-Ahram Weekly.
ECO helps industries through the “revolving loan” first implemented in 2002. The loan, which goes up to LE7 million, is paid back in annual installments over five years, including a grace year and annual administrative expenses of 3.5 per cent, and decreasing over the period of the loan installments, which makes it financially and economically attractive.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 15 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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