Begin with the decision
Specify whether the immediate decision is to fund a study, authorize capital expenditure, appoint a supplier or verify a completed improvement. Each decision needs a different level of evidence. A broad emissions ambition is not a project specification.
Describe the operating boundary: facilities, meters, fuel types, production lines, time period and exclusions. List whose data is required and who can approve changes. A team cannot validate savings if the baseline boundary changes halfway through the work.
Read the diagram as text
Baseline: Metered energy + operations → Intervention: Equipment + responsibility → Cash flow: Savings less recurring costs → Verification: Measure and explain changes
Build a baseline that can be revisited
Collect energy consumption, production or service activity, operating hours, weather where relevant, and exceptional shutdowns. Keep raw meter records alongside calculations. Record units, conversion factors and missing observations.
For emissions estimates, distinguish measured activity from an emissions factor and record the factor’s jurisdiction, publication year and method. Do not combine factors from different years or treat purchased offsets as an operating efficiency improvement.
Screen alternatives on the same boundary
| Efficiency | Reduced consumption for an equivalent service. Check comfort, quality and production constraints. |
| Electrification | Changed energy carrier. Assess electrical capacity, load profile and grid emissions separately. |
| On-site generation | Output matched to site demand and export conditions. Include downtime and curtailment. |
| Storage and controls | A timing and flexibility intervention. Model dispatch rules, losses and operating life. |
| Process redesign | A changed production system. Document dependencies and implementation risk. |
From screening to implementation
- Measure
Create a baseline and identify data gaps.
- Compare
Assess technically viable options with a consistent cost and operating boundary.
- Specify
Define performance, commissioning and measurement responsibilities.
- Deliver
Track changes, constraints and commissioning results.
- Verify
Compare measured performance with an agreed counterfactual and explain deviations.
A useful project output
Produce a short decision paper, not a collection of unrelated slides. It should include the baseline, option comparison, recommended next step, capital requirement, operating effect, unresolved risks and the measurement plan.
The energy-efficiency worksheet provides an early screen. It deliberately keeps degradation, tax and financing out of the simplified model; those belong in a project-specific analysis before an investment decision.
Funding-readiness checklist
Mark only items supported by evidence. This records document coverage, not creditworthiness or funding approval.
Sources & further reading
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