Which action would directly help reduce energy intensity in industry?

Which action would directly help reduce energy intensity in industry?

• A. Adopting energy-efficient technologies
• B. Increasing energy consumption
• C. Expanding plant size without efficiency improvements
• D. Outsourcing production

Answer: (A)

Energy intensity is about how much energy is needed to produce a unit of output. To directly reduce it, you need to lower the energy required for each unit of production or boost output with the same energy. Adopting energy-efficient technologies achieves this by making processes use less energy for the same work—think efficient motors, better insulation, advanced process controls, heat recovery, and overall process optimization. These changes lower energy use per unit of output and thus reduce energy intensity.

The other options don’t directly lower energy intensity: using more energy increases the metric, expanding plant size without efficiency improvements raises energy use per output, and outsourcing shifts where production happens rather than making the production itself more energy-efficient.