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Energy Efficiency Trends in Canada, 1990 to 2009

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Chapter 2: Energy Use

Overview — Energy use and GHG emissions

The industrial sector accounts for the largest share of energy use and is second in terms of GHG emissions in Canada.

Energy is used in all five sectors of the economy: residential, commercial/institutional, industrial, transportation and agriculture. In 2009, these sectors used a total of 8,541.6 PJ of energy. The industrial sector accounted for the largest share of energy, followed by transportation, residential, commercial/institutional and agriculture. Total GHG emissions associated with the energy use of the five sectors was 463.9 Mt in 2009.

Figures 2.1 and 2.2 show the distribution of secondary energy use and GHG emissions by sector. Energy consumed by the transportation and agriculture sectors is relatively more GHG-intensive than the other sectors.

Figure 2.1 – Secondary energy use by sector, 2009

Figure 2.1 – Secondary energy use by sector, 2009.

One petajoule is approximately equal to the energy used by more than 9000 households in one year (excluding transportation).

Figure 2.2 – GHG emissions by sector, 2009

Figure 2.2 – GHG emissions by sector, 2009.

Natural gas and electricity are the main types of end-use energy purchased in Canada.

Natural gas and electricity are the main types of end-use energy purchased in Canada. Natural gas and electricity are used in all sectors of the economy, while motor gasoline is mainly used in the transportation and agriculture sectors. In 2009, natural gas and electricity accounted for almost half the energy used in Canada (Figure 2.3). Motor gasoline and other oil products (diesel fuel oil, light fuel oil, kerosene and heavy fuel oil) represented approximately 33 percent of energy use.

Figure 2.3 – Secondary energy use by fuel, 2009

Figure 2.3 – Secondary energy use by fuel, 2009.

Trends — Energy use and GHG emissions

Energy use grew less rapidly than the economy, but slightly more rapidly than the population.

Between 1990 and 2009, energy use in Canada increased by 23 percent, from 6,936.1 PJ to 8,541.6 PJ (Figure 2.4). At the same time, the Canadian population grew 22 percent (approximately 1 percent per year) and GDP increased 57 percent (about 2 percent per year). More generally, energy use per unit of GDP declined, while energy use on a per capita basis increased.

Figure 2.4 – Total secondary energy use, Canadian population and GDP, 1990–2009

Figure 2.4 – Total secondary energy use, Canadian population and GDP, 1990–2009.

Energy use has been growing at the fastest rate in the transportation and commercial/institutional sectors.

Figure 2.5 – Total secondary energy use and growth by sector, 1990 and 2009

Figure 2.5 – Total secondary energy use and growth by sector, 1990 and 2009.

The industrial sector uses the most energy in our economy, consuming 3,168.4 PJ of energy in 2009. However, energy use growth in the commercial/institutional and transportation sectors outpaced all other sectors. Over the 1990–2009 period, the commercial/institutional sector registered a 37 percent increase in energy use (Figure 2.5), driven mainly by a 170 percent increase in auxiliary equipment energy use. Transportation energy use grew by 37 percent primarily due to a 67 percent growth in freight energy use.

Figure 2.6 – Total GHG emissions and growth by sector, 1990 and 2009

Figure 2.6 – Total GHG emissions and growth by sector, 1990 and 2009.

Growth in energy use was reflected in growth of GHG emissions. In 2009, Canada’s GHG emissions excluding electricity-related emissions declined 1 percent compared to 2008, while emissions including those from electricity generation fell 4 percent. As demand for electricity dropped 4.7 percent in 2009, the mix of electricity generation also changed. In particular, between 2008 and 2009, decline in electricity generated from coal contributed to 52 percent of the total decline in electricity generated. Consequently, total CO2 emissions decreased 16 percent in 2009 compared to 2008. The CO2 emissions avoided from the reduction of coal use contributed 83.6 percent to the total CO2 decrease. The transportation sector experienced the highest growth in emissions at 36 percent followed by the commercial/institutional sector at 29 percent (Figure 2.6).

The transportation sector accounted for the largest proportion, 38 percent, of energy-related emissions (178.3 Mt CO2e), followed by the industrial sector, 31 percent (144.5 Mt CO2e), including electricity-related emissions. This difference in the shares of energy and emissions is driven by the dominance of refined petroleum products in the transportation sector providing for a more GHG-intensive energy mix.

Energy intensity and efficiency

Canada improved its energy efficiency between 1990 and 2009. The following section discusses two indicators of energy efficiency: energy intensity and an energy efficiency measure using factorization.

Energy intensity

Canada’s energy intensity improved 21 percent between 1990 and 2009. Despite this improvement, per capita energy use increased 1 percent.

Energy intensity, when defined as the amount of energy required per unit of activity (GDP), improved 21 percent between 1990 and 2009 (Figure 2.7). This reduction in energy intensity reflects an overall improvement in energy efficiency, which is how effectively energy is being used in producing one unit of GDP. More simply, if the economy in 2009 had produced the same level of GDP that it did in 1990, it would have used much less energy.

Figure 2.7 – Total secondary energy use intensity per capita and unit of GDP index, 1990–2009

Figure 2.7 – Total secondary energy use intensity per capita and unit of GDP index, 1990–2009.

Conversely, the amount of energy required per capita, which is the energy intensity for each individual, increased 1 percent between 1990 and 2009 (Figure 2.7). This upward trend in part reflects the increasing use of electronic goods, increasing ownership of passenger light trucks and increasing distance and weight of goods transported by heavy trucks. In other words, although Canada is producing economic value more efficiently, each household is using a greater number of energy-consuming goods and services per capita compared to 1990. This is despite the fact that many electronic goods have become increasingly energy-efficient since 1990.

Energy efficiency

This edition of Energy Efficiency Trends in Canada marks a change in the factorization process that allows us to more accurately reflect changes in the pure energy efficiency effect. In particular, we have included a separate estimate of the impact of changes in capacity utilization with respect to energy use. The impact of capacity utilization became very noticeable in 2009 as the downturn in the industrial sector occurred, and many processes operated substantially below capacity but continued to require threshold levels in energy use. The analysis has been conducted back through time, which has the effect of smoothing out the trend in energy efficiency. Although detailed analysis is limited to the industrial sector because of data availability, the impact can be seen in the aggregate savings.

Energy efficiency has improved 24 percent since 1990. These improvements reduced energy use by approximately 1,560.4 PJ, decreased GHG emissions by 81.1 Mt and saved Canadians $26.8 billion in 2009.

One of the greatest sources of untapped energy is the energy we waste. Isolating and tracking energy efficiency in the Canadian economy is carried out in a conscious effort to publicize this energy resource. This analysis examines all areas of the economy to determine what would have happened had there been no improvements and to identify, from the underlying data, areas that can continue to improve energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency refers to how effectively energy is used to provide a certain level of service or output. To isolate the effect of energy efficiency in the economy, as well as in individual sectors, the analysis uses a factorization method. Factorization separates the changes in the amount of energy used into six effects: activity, structure, weather, service level, capacity utilization rate and energy efficiency.

  • activity effect — Activity is defined differently in each sector. For example, in the residential sector, it is defined as the number of households and the floor space of residences. In the industrial sector, it is defined as industrial GDP, gross output (GO), and physical industrial output, such as tonnes of steel.

  • structure effect — Structure refers to changes in the makeup of each sector. For example, in the industrial sector, a relative increase in activity in one industry over another is considered a structural change.

  • weather effect — Fluctuations in weather lead to changes in heating and cooling requirements. This is measured in terms of heating and cooling degree-days. This effect is taken into account in the residential and commercial/institutional sectors, where heating and cooling account for a significant share of energy use.

  • service level effect — Service level refers to the penetration rate of devices and equipment. For example, the term denotes the use of auxiliary equipment in commercial/institutional buildings and appliances in homes or the amount of cooled floor space. Although these devices are becoming more efficient, the addition of more devices would represent an increase in service levels, which has tended to offset these gains in efficiency.

  • capacity utilization rate effect — Capacity utilization rate refers to the proportion of the installed production capacity that is in use. In 2009, sectors such as mining, transportation equipment and iron and steel showed significant declines. For more details on this, see Appendix B.

  • energy efficiency effect — Energy efficiency refers to how effectively energy is being used; that is, using less energy to provide the same level of energy service. Energy efficiency gains occur primarily with improvements in technology or processes. An example would be insulating a home to use less energy for heating and cooling or replacing incandescent lights with fluorescent lights.

As Figure 2.8 indicates, without significant ongoing improvements in energy efficiency in end-use sectors, energy use would have increased 46 percent between 1990 and 2009 instead of 23 percent. These energy savings of 1,560.4 PJ are equivalent to the energy use of about 26 million cars and passenger light trucks in 2009.

Figure 2.8 – Secondary energy use, with and without energy efficiency improvements, 1990–2009

Figure 2.8 – Secondary energy use, with and without energy efficiency improvements, 1990–2009.

Figure 2.9 illustrates the relative impact of each effect on energy use over the 1990–2009 period for the economy as a whole. The following is a summary of and rationale for the results:

  • activity effect — Canada’s GDP grew 57 percent between 1990 and 2009. The overall growth in activity effect is estimated to have increased energy use by 39 percent, or 2,735.7 PJ, with a corresponding 144.6-Mt increase in GHG emissions.

  • structure effect — Over the 1990–2009 period, a shift in production toward industries that are less energy-intensive resulted in a decrease of 409.6 PJ and an 11.5-Mt decrease in GHG emissions.

  • weather effect — In 2009, the winter was colder and the summer was cooler than in 1990. The result was an overall increase of 41.8 PJ in energy demand for temperature control and a 2.0-Mt increase in GHG emissions.

  • service level effect — From 1990 to 2009, changes in service level (e.g. increased use of computers, printers and photocopiers in the commercial/institutional sector) raised energy use by 193.4 PJ and increased GHG emissions by 9.7 Mt.

  • capacity utilization rate effect — The overall decline in the capacity of utilization translated into 576.5 PJ in energy waste and thereby increased GHG emissions by 26.3 Mt.

  • energy efficiency effect — As noted above, improvements in energy efficiency saved 1,560.4 PJ of energy and avoided 81.1 Mt of GHG emissions from 1990 to 2009.

Figure 2.9 – Summary of factors influencing the change in energy use, 1990–2009

Figure 2.9 – Summary of factors influencing the change in energy use, 1990–2009.

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