Reducing the Environmental Impact of Industrial End-Users by using Cost Exemption Schemes. Lessons Learned from an Energy Management Perspective

The paper aims at evaluating the energy savings and financial efficiency of the Romanian State-Aid (SA) Green Certificate exemption scheme for two large industrial end-users. Comparing the initial Energy Performance Improvement Actions (EPIA) plan with the partially implemented one, the authors proved that the end-users had a cautious approach when estimating the obtainable energy savings and financial benefits and that the SA mechanism is extremely efficient at supporting industrial end-users in the transition towards environmental sustainability. Based on various Energy Performance Indicators, the evolution of the companies over a period of four years was analysed and the financial impact of the SA mechanism was quantified, both from the End-User point of view and from the State Budget point of view.