In order to realize energy conservation objectives stipulated in the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2016-2021), $230 billion of investment is required, which could help save the economy $1,000 billion if materialized, deputy oil minister, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh was quoted by IRNA as addressing an energy conference on Tuesday.
Implementation of energy conservation plans would create more than 3.5 million job opportunities, and reduce emission of 2,200 million tons of carbon in the environment.
Energy consumption should be reduced by 6.2 billion barrels of oil by the end of the sixth development plan (2021). All transportation, construction, industries, and household sectors need to cooperate to meet this goal.
A regulation promoting energy conservation was passed in 2009, providing for a 50 percent reduction in energy consumption by the end of the sixth plan. "However, consumption was not reduced and, instead, the rate increased dramatically over the past few years," said the deputy minister.
Referring to Note 2(G) of the budget, which authorizes the oil ministry to invest up to $100 billion in oil and gas and energy conservation projects, Vaziri Hamaneh said up to $70 billion worth of projects were submitted to the Economy Council, of which $30 billion pertains to energy conservation plans. The council has approved only $10 billion worth of conservation projects.
Overhauling power facilities, developing public transportation, replacing dilapidated vehicles, and supplying gas to rural areas are among the projects submitted to the council.
Energy consumption in Iran is considerably higher than the global average, according to a report by ISNA. In order to generate $1,000 of GDP, an average of 0.19 tons of oil equivalent is consumed globally. The figure, nevertheless, stands at 0.63 tons in Iran. A comparison between Iran’s energy consumption and global figures indicates that the world's primary energy consumption increased 27 percent during the past decade, while Iran's overall energy usage rose by 80 percent.
The biggest problem with Iran’s high energy consumption is the high rate of energy waste, which accounts for 25 percent of all energy consumption. In other words, about 0.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent is wasted annually.
