Significance and Suggestions for Completing the Motor Efficiency Improvement Plan

Cutting-edge news on high-efficiency energy-saving motors: According to the Department of Energy Efficiency of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, due to various reasons encountered during implementation, the "Motor Energy Efficiency Improvement Plan (2013-2015)" could not be completed as scheduled. The motor energy efficiency improvement project will be a protracted battle.

The Department of Energy Efficiency of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that in the two years since the implementation of the "Motor Energy Efficiency Improvement Plan (2013-2015)", although some progress has been made in high-efficiency energy-saving motors, and some inefficient motors have been eliminated, there are still significant problems in the industry. The problem of falsely inflated energy efficiency ratings already exists, and there are still many issues regarding enterprise registration. From a market perspective, inefficient motors still have a large market share, some companies are still producing obsolete motors, and many companies are adopting a wait-and-see attitude towards producing high-efficiency motors.

Key Points of the Motor Energy Efficiency Improvement Plan (2013-2015)

In June 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine jointly issued the "Motor Energy Efficiency Improvement Plan (2013-2015)". The plan proposed to cumulatively promote 170 million kilowatts of high-efficiency motors, eliminate 160 million kilowatts of inefficient motors in use, implement energy-saving technical improvements for motor systems of 100 million kilowatts, and implement high-efficiency remanufacturing of 20 million kilowatts of eliminated motors by 2015.
The plan proposed that by 2015, the upgrading and transformation of motor products would be achieved, with 50% of low-voltage three-phase cage asynchronous motor products and 40% of high-voltage motor products meeting the high-efficiency motor energy efficiency standards; cumulatively promoting 170 million kilowatts of high-efficiency motors, eliminating 160 million kilowatts of inefficient motors in use, implementing energy-saving technical improvements for motor systems of 100 million kilowatts, and implementing high-efficiency remanufacturing of 20 million kilowatts of eliminated motors. It is estimated that in 2015 alone, 80 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity would be saved, equivalent to saving 26 million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 68 million tons.

The plan also pointed out that to promote the transformation of motor production, the 2012 version of the new motor energy efficiency standards would be implemented, prohibiting motor companies from producing inefficient motors with an energy efficiency rating below level 3. To enhance the industrialization capacity of high-efficiency motors, support would be provided for Fujian, Shanghai, and Zhejiang provinces and cities to build 3-5 high-efficiency motor stator and rotor punching industrialization demonstration projects with an annual production capacity of 700,000 tons; support Suzhou and Shanghai to build 2-4 industrialization demonstration projects for new insulation materials and insulation systems with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons; and support companies such as Wuhan Iron and Steel and Baosteel to improve the technical level of large-scale production of high-grade cold-rolled silicon steel sheets, with an annual production capacity of 1.7 million tons.

The Importance of Motor Energy Efficiency Improvement

Motors are driving devices for various equipment such as fans, pumps, compressors, machine tools, and conveyor belts. They are widely used in various industries and fields, including industry, agriculture, transportation, and municipal services. They are the largest electricity-consuming terminal equipment. In 2011, China's motor stock was approximately 1.7 billion kilowatts, with a total electricity consumption of approximately 3 trillion kilowatt-hours. Motor electricity consumption accounted for 64% of the total social electricity consumption and 75% of industrial electricity consumption. At the same time, the average efficiency level of China's motors is 3-5 percentage points lower than that of foreign countries, and the operating efficiency of motor systems (motors and drive equipment) is 10-20 percentage points lower than that of foreign countries.

It is estimated that for every 1% increase in motor energy efficiency, more than 26 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity can be saved annually; if the efficiency of motor systems is improved by 5-8 percentage points, the amount of electricity saved annually is equivalent to the power generation of 2-3 Three Gorges Dams.

Due to the special nature of motors in the field of energy conservation and emission reduction, developed countries have all taken improving motor energy efficiency as an important energy-saving measure. The United States began to mandatorily promote high-efficiency motors in 1997 and ultra-high-efficiency motors in 2011; the European Union also began to mandatorily promote high-efficiency motors in 2011. Through national legislation, research and development of high-efficiency motor systems, and promotion and application, developed countries have achieved a high level of motor energy efficiency.
Suggestions for the Motor Energy Efficiency Improvement Project

It is understood that in the future, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will fully utilize fiscal subsidy policies to stimulate the market for high-efficiency motors. On the one hand, it will implement the fiscal subsidy policy for the promotion of high-efficiency motors in the energy-efficient product benefit project for the people; on the other hand, it will gradually make the selection of high-efficiency motors a necessary condition for high-efficiency fans, pumps, compressors, and other general-purpose equipment to be included in the energy-efficient product benefit project for the people, extending the industrial chain of fiscal subsidy promotion of high-efficiency motors.

High-efficiency energy-saving motors use new motor designs, new processes, and new materials to improve output efficiency by reducing the loss of electromagnetic, thermal, and mechanical energy. Mature technologies already exist, meaning that companies can basically produce them. However, the motor energy efficiency improvement plan has not been completed as scheduled. The reasons include the conflict between long-term and short-term interests, the conflict between short-term investment and output, the opposition between reform and innovation and the status quo, and the reality of unbalanced short-term economic interests caused by enterprise reforms. However, the achievements and experience of China's reform and opening up tell us that innovation is always correct.

Suggestions for the industry's future: Based on the practical experience of industrialized countries and China itself, efforts should be increased in several areas to implement the motor energy efficiency improvement process: First, clear legal constraints, rewards and punishments, and accountability; second, higher requirements and implementation targets for economically (industrially) developed regions; third, increased fiscal subsidies, with key subsidies for key enterprises and additional subsidies for exceeding enterprises; fourth, classification and batch transformation or construction of enterprises using all high-efficiency energy-saving motors (pilot projects), transforming pilot enterprises into benchmark enterprises; fifth, research to reduce the production cost of high-efficiency motors; sixth, strive for high or even ultra-high standards, such as selecting rare-earth permanent magnet neodymium iron boron motors.