Some synergies between Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Systems do exist. In reading it over again, I found no less than three real synergies in the list of five that I gave in the article. Here is that list, so you can judge yourself:
- Timing synergies.
- can provide large savings in the short and medium term, but the remaining opportunities in the long term will be limited. Conversely, RES will supply limited amounts energy on the short term, but its opportunities are expected to expand over time.
- Economic synergies.
- Combining EE with RES can reduce the overall cost of the electricity system compared to a renewables-only policy.
- Geographic synergies.
- States with fewer RES can exploit EE opportunities to compensate. This will also help build a broader political consensus around a clean energy policy.
- Power system synergies.
- EE and RES have different load shape impacts, depending upon the time of day and season, so a combination of both can be a benefit to overall system operations.
- Several other synergies exist.
- For example, there are major opportunities for combined heat and power (CHP). CHP can play a role in both energy efficiency and distributed generation programmes.
