The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme to encourage energy saving in energy intensive sectors such as power, steel and cement has begun to attract companies to its fold, according to CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India, has included cement manufacturers among top nine energy consuming sectors which require efforts to improve efficiencies and bring down power consumption.
Mr. K.S.Venkatagiri, Principal Counsellor, at the Centre said 500 companies have been identified as top consumers of power accounting for nearly 65 per cent of the power consumed in the manufacturing sector. It is estimated that these consume about 220 million tonnes of oil equivalent energy.
The focus of the PAT initiative is to ensure they bring about saving of about five per cent over the next three years. The incentive for them is they get certificates that can be traded and encashed through energy exchanges.
The country’s cement sector, which is the second largest with an installed capacity of about 323 million tonnes per annum, is estimated to touch 600 mtpa by 2020. Therefore, the focus is on energy efficiency in the cement sector as new plants come up.
IFC, SIDBI and ICICI Bank and other lenders are keen to take part in the investments required to save energy in the cement sector. The Green Business Centre here is hosting Green Cementech 2012 later this month. Experts from the energy sector, members from the pollution control boards and Bureau of Energy Efficiency will participate.