Energy equivalent to the output of 31 nuclear power station blocks was saved by the installed base of ABB drives, which regulate the speed and power of electric motors, in 2011 – an increase of 19% compared with the previous year.
That's the grand claim by Ulrich Spiesshofer, head of ABB's Discrete Automation and Motion division, who points to the estimate that 25% of electricity worldwide is consumed by industrial electric motors.
The savings correspond to 260 million tons of CO2 emissions and approximately £27 billion coswt to industry – also more than three and a half years' worth of power consumption by the UK's 26 million households.
"The future potential for energy and cost savings is enormous since only about 10% of industrial motors are combined currently with electric drives," comments Spiesshofer.
"Using energy more efficiently will remain, for a significant time, the biggest opportunity available to cut energy consumption as well as costs and emissions," he explains.
