Motor systems energy efficiency supply curves: A methodology for assessing the energy efficiency potential of industrial motor systems

Motor‐driven equipment accounts for approximately 60% of manufacturing final electricity use worldwide. A major barrier to effective policymaking, and to more global acceptance of the energy efficiency potential in industrial motor systems, is the lack of a transparent methodology for quantifying the magnitude and cost‐effectiveness of these energy savings. This paper presents the results of groundbreaking analyses conducted for five countries and one region to begin to address this barrier. Using a combination of expert opinion and available data from the United States, Canada, the European Union, Thailand, Vietnam, and Brazil, bottom‐up energy efficiency supply curve models were constructed to estimate the cost‐effective electricity efficiency potentials and CO2 emission reduction for three types of motor systems (compressed air, pumping, and fan) in industry for the selected countries/region. Based on these analyses, the share of cost‐effective electricity saving potential of these systems as compared to the total motor system energy use in the base year varies between 27% and 49% for pumping, 21% and 47% for compressed air, and 14% and 46% for fan systems. The total technical saving potential varies between 43% and 57% for pumping, 29% and 56% for compressed air, and 27% and 46% for fan systems.