Hong Kong Energy End-use Data 2013 - Energy consumption by buildings keep rising!!!

In September of every year, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) would publish a report on the Hong Kong Energy End-use and it shows the city's energy consumption of 2 years ago (i.e. for the 2013 report, it kept the 2011 energy consumption record).

It is interesting to see that the portion of electricity consumption by buildings kept rising (92% of the citywide electricity consumption!!!) and let's do a quick overview of the statistics of this year. =)

(source: EMSD - HKSAR Government)

• The energy consumption of the whole city kept rising for 4 consecutive years and it is highest among these 10 years (278 618 TJ)
• Buildings consume for 92% of the total electricity used, while it is only 86% in 2001. 
• Even for the total energy use (including other use of fossil fuels), buildings in HK consumes 63% of the total energy use, while it is 54% in 2001. 

As Hong Kong is a city without much industrial activities, it is easy to understand that why buildings take such a large portion of energy in the city. But it is unforgivable that the energy consumption kept rising, while every city worldwide is emphasizing "sustainable development". 

Though you may argue that the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance (BEEO) is just being enforced from 21 September 2012 and BEAM Plus (the building environment assessment system, just like LEED) is getting more popular over the years, the energy consumption will drop starting from 2012 or 2013. However, as BEEO only asks owners to provide their energy data but not setting a target for them and it is only the BEAM Plus for new buildings getting popular due to the GFA concession policy, I really doubted that whether the dream of having the energy consumption dropping will happen shortly. 

Probably, the HK Government should follow 

• Singapore - to set up a sustainable blueprint and strict targets of energy reduction
• Japan - to implement a comprehensive system, the Cap-and-Trade policy, for the buildings. 

For the whole report, please visit the following website: http://www.emsd.gov.hk/emsd/e_download/pee/HKEEUD2013.pdf

(too busy at the moment, probably will do a more detail introduction for worldwide policies and analysis in the future =) )