Energy-Efficient Motors Curb Environmental Crisis

As the world's largest energy consumer, China is projected to consume two times more energy than the U.S. by 2040. According to China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the annual investment in power generation is expected to be more than 5.3 trillion renminbi. Although thermal power is expected to experience a tight control on its investment, nuclear and other renewable power generation segments are expected to attract more investment because of their energy-saving and environment-protection capabilities. China is the world's largest coal producer and accounted for 47.7 percent of world production in 2013, up from 43 percent in 2009. Its dominance as a consumer is even more pronounced; it represented 50.2 percent of world coal demand in 2012. The Chinese government has launched an initiative to close down some coal-mining operations to streamline the sector and improve safety standards. After quantifying the impact of coal dependency, China has paid billions of dollars for economic loss resulting from environmental pollution. The worsening pollution is now forcing the Chinese government to curb the problem by further sacrificing economic growth. According to statistics, the electricity consumption of industrial motors in 2011 was about 2.6 trillion kilowatt-hour (kWh), accounting for 75 percent of the total industrial electricity consumption. The average efficiency of China's motors is 3 to 5 percent lower than that of foreign countries, and the efficiency of motor systems is 10 to 20 percent lower than that of other countries. The impact of inefficient electricity use is creating environmental problems and economic repercussions. The pressure to ensure energy conservation, emissions reduction and environmental protection has caused manufacturers to turn their attention to high-efficiency motors. Because motor energy conservation has become vital to industrial energy savings, motor efficiency remains one of the highest priorities for manufacturers. As a result, many companies are planning comprehensive upgrades to improve motor efficiency. China set a mandatory target of reducing its energy intensity per unit of GDP by 20 percent in the 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010) and targeted 16 percent reduction during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015). Strong financial incentives and regulatory policies have been established to help the Chinese government achieve its energy conservation and emission reduction targets. China has also pledged to reduce its carbon intensity per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent from the 2005 level by 2020. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China has stated that the motor efficiency upgrading is a trial to promote industrial energy conservation. In 2013, China established the Motor Energy Efficiency Improvement Plan (2013-2015) for long-term consideration and sustainable development. A 1 percent increase in motor efficiency is expected to save more than 26 billion kWh of power in a year. A 5 to 8 percent increase in motor efficiency would save an amount of power equal to two to three times the generation capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station. The market condition in China, however, is slowing the growth of the high-efficiency motor market. Manufacturers must improve motor capabilities and optimize the motor industrial structure through reorganization, elimination and integration to guarantee the supply of high-efficiency motors. To promote high-efficiency equipment, manufacturers should comply with the compulsory motor efficiency improvement standard and eliminate low-efficiency motors from the market. End users must prohibit low-efficiency motors in new and reconstructed projects. The goal of high-efficiency motor promotion is to launch new projects to carry out energy conservation improvements in motor systems. As manufacturing systems are becoming increasingly complicated, managing the entire system through manual labor alone has become more difficult. As a result, automation is becoming more widely accepted because of its convenience, effectiveness and labor savings. At the same time, the demand for sophisticated motors is increasing. This rise in demand generates potential revenue growth opportunities and stimulates enterprises to improve design, manufacturing and processing, which will fulfill market needs and accomplish more work per unit of electricity consumed. Because they are constructed with improved manufacturing techniques and superior materials, energy-efficient motors usually have higher quality and service factors, which increase reliability. While energy-efficient equipment is able to handle higher temperatures and other harsh conditions, maintenance and service are still significant and critical factors. Downtime leads to a drop in productivity, which affects profitability. For this reason, maintaining motors according to proper instructions is crucial. Motors also require proper ventilation and periodic inspection to maintain energy efficiency. Because motors are used in large quantities with long running times, selecting energy-efficient equipment provides significant energy-saving potential. As a result, decreasing a motor's energy loss and increasing its output efficiency are now issues of concern worldwide, particularly in China, where a major focus for the Chinese government is energy savings and reduction in emissions. As a key component of China's energy conservation project, the motor energy efficiency improvement plan is systematically and strictly regulated and implemented. The trend is toward greater automation and optimization of processes to both improve the energy utilization rate and control energy consumption and pollutant emissions.