Energy Efficiency May Save $36bn: IDB

LatAm and Caribbean countries could save an estimated $36bn over the next decade by adopting affordable and available technologies to improve energy efficiency, according to the IDB. The region would need to invest roughly $17bn in compact fluorescent lighting, efficient motors and other measures to achieve a 10% reduction in electricity consumption by 2018, according to the multilateral. “Savings would amount to approximately 143,000 GW/hour,” the IDB says. But if the region does not become more energy efficient, it will need to build an estimated 328 open cycle gas-powered electricity plants (250MW each) just to produce the same electricity, according to the report. “At today’s prices, using extremely conservative assumptions, it would cost around $53bn to build those plants,” the IDB says.