Post-industrial energy audit decision-making process: an Argentine case study

Abstract

Industrial energy audit is one of the main strategies to improve energy efficiency. Usually, as an energy audit output, several improvement alternatives are provided. Choosing the best alternative has been detected as one of the main barriers in adopting energy efficiency projects.This work contributes to this decision-making process with a case study from an Argentine industrial plant. The project includes the installation of a micro-turbine within the steam system to generate electricity. To address the decision-making process, the historical records of steam system flows associated with energy consumption and costs were analysed. The project allows to reduce the annual energy consumption of the whole industrial plant by 6%. Furthermore, the investment needed for the project is recovered in around 4 years, and after a 10-year period, the project will refund more than 240,000$ plus the discount rate. The project reduces CO2 emissions by over 1000 tons per year.