Essays on The Rebound Effects of The Energy Efficiency

Abstract

The industry contributes the most to the world’s energy savings in all sectors through more efficient energy use (IEA, 2018). Yet, the literature provides evidences that the potential Energy Efficiency (EE) savings in the industry are not fully achieved. The gap between the potential EE measures and the actual implemented measures is called “energy efficiency gap” and might offset the increase in energy savings. In this thesis, we firstly measure the size of energy efficiency gap, resulted from the energy efficiency improvements (EEI) aiming to save electricity and heat within the fourteen sub-sectors in the Turkish industry. Secondly, we reveal the reasons for the energy efficiency gap by focusing on behavioural and organizational responses to EEI the Turkish industry. To this end, we developed a questionnaire, which consists of questions that if the implementer of an EEI considers a factor as a barrier and driver. We conducted a questionnaire survey with 135 industrial enterprises that have completed at least one state-funded Efficiency Improvement Project (EIP). 86 of them responded to the survey. The results show that the energy intensity level and scale of enterprises take the lead in the importance of perceived barriers and drivers. The findings also suggest that the average scores of the perceived barriers in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises [SMEs] are mostly higher than those in Large-sized enterprises [LEs]. This finding reveals that the tendency of considering a factor as a barrier diminishes as the scale becomes larger. Finally, we applied the PLS-SEM methodology to the primary data. Specifically, the results demonstrate that increasing awareness, improving techno-economic capability, reinforcing subsidies and incentives, mitigating economy, information, and competence-related issues would result in improving EE. If the performances of EIPs, sectoral experiences, and good practices about them, energy conservation opportunities through them are shared among the firms, EE improves.