China : Improving Energy Efficiency in Public Institutions

Abstract

The next several years are critical for achieving lasting results in China's relatively new energy efficiency program for public institutions. Public institutions in China are defined as those government agencies, public service units, and organizations that either fully or partially receive government budget funds. In the study team's opinion, key challenges for China's public institution energy conservation program for the medium-term might best be summarized to include the following four: (i) completing program institutional infrastructure, (ii) making further inroads in the huge task of completing energy use data collection and diagnostic analysis in China's many public entities, (iii) further improving incentives and generating greater enthusiasm among public entities for action, and (iv) expanding financing options for public entities, especially using energy performance contracting (EPC). Plans already exist to address the first two challenges and emphasis should be placed on quality of implementation. Efforts dealing with the third and fourth challenges, improving incentives and expanding use of energy performance contracting, also are parts of China's current agenda. Meeting these two challenges in particular will require creativity and development of new approaches. Consultation of international experience in these two areas may be particularly helpful, and this receives special focus in this report.