Distributed Energy Catching On, Energy Rate Hikes Not as Dire, Survey Says

by | Feb 23, 2016

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energy, sustainability predictions survey, ecovaThis article is sponsored by Ecova.

Forty-three percent of energy, sustainability, facility and finance professionals are seeking to use energy data to increase financial efficiency and guide budgetary decisions, according to the 2016 Energy and Sustainability Outlook Survey from Ecova. The survey illustrates steady advances in organizational efforts to move the needle toward long-term energy and sustainability management goals, particularly in the context of low cost/no cost efforts and EMS infrastructure, Ecova found.

Other useful information from the survey, intended to help those in the industry prepare for the many energy management challenges, changes, and opportunities that lie ahead, include the following findings:

  • Resources are expected to increase, but still remain a challenge;
  • Driven by finance, a third of respondents gather EMS data despite interpretation challenges;
  • In terms of energy prices, rate hike expectations are not as dire;

  • Distributed energy resources are catching on;
  • 47% indicate they are engaged in multiple waste initiatives;
  • More than half report water reduction efforts;
  • LED retrofits lead CAPEX investments;
  • Companies are aware of the value of strategic sustainability plans.

One vital finding from the report, Ecova says, is that short-term cost savings continue to be a driver, but energy management professionals are also demonstrating a growing appetite for understanding how to leverage the longer-term dynamics of the energy market to the benefit of their sustainability goals, the survey found. That growing appetite is encouraging, but the research shows that while organizations are making progress in sustainability management, current efforts are largely off-pace to keep up with the dynamic near-term future of energy and resource consumption.
As it relates to understanding the resources at their disposal, the ability to distill insight from data, and correcting the disparate exactions of energy prices within organizations, there is much progress to be made.

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