Educate Consumers on More Efficient Use of Energy

New Straits Times

Educate Consumers on More Efficient Use of Energy

Posted on: Sunday, 24 August 2008, 22:57 CDT

CONSUMERS need to become more efficient users as more than half of the energy generated today goes to waste, Shell Malaysia chairman Datuk Saw Choo Boon says.

In an average car, for instance, about 20 per cent of every unit of petrol goes into moving it forward, while the rest is lost as heat.

“And this goes for other usage of energy. For an aircraft during takeoff, the figure is only eight per cent, while there is only 35 per cent of burnt coal in a power plant that becomes electricity. The rest, again, is lost as heat,” Saw said in an interview.

He said efforts should concentrate on educating the public to become twice as efficient in energy use by 2050.

“That is entirely feasible provided that they apply new technology and we apply discipline in the use of energy. If people experience a true value of energy, then they will be more amenable to reducing energy,” he said.

Saw said Shell will continue to educate the public on fuel efficiency as well as find ways to come out with fuels and technologies to reduce or contain carbon dioxide (CO2) emission.

“We will also work with governments and advocate the need for more effective CO2 regulations.”

Saw said Shell has invested heavily in alternative energies, including gas-to-liquid (GTL), hydrogen and biofuel.

GTL, in particular, has the lowest vehicle emission and is very effective for big cities.

Shell has already sold GTL diesel in 400 of its stations in Europe and Thailand, but not in Malaysia as yet because of the high cost of production.

Saw said that another possible solution for urban pollution was compressed natural gas (CNG) or natural gas vehicle. However, the infrastructure required for CNG is quite costly as the investment is high.

“It would be cheaper to operate if the stations were located near a gas pipeline. If there is no pipeline, it has to be supplied using trucks, which is costly and a bit of a hassle.”

Saw added that Shell was keen to work with the government on developing biofuel.

“Biofuel is another interesting option. It can, depending on which crop conversion process is used, offer lower CO2 emission. We are one of the world’s leading distributors of first-generation biofuel.

“In fact, this year, we have quadrupled our investment in biofuel,” he said.

(c) 2008 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

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