Investments in the Optimization of Energy Efficiency - A Comparative Study

摘要

Resource and energy efficiency of production facilities is a crucial competitive factor for industry. Due to increasing cost pressure and competition on the market, identifying and unleashing energy saving potentials as well as avoiding inefficiency is inevitable. However, for investment policy, the increase of energy efficiency is not always given highest priority. In this study we consider industry's investment behavior for energy efficiency in relation to alternative production factors. For this purpose, this paper analyzes potential optimization issues and criteria that are taken into consideration for the decision making process for investments.