Abstract
The industrial sector in Colombia constitutes approximately 22% of the country's total energy demand. Specifically, the food industry subsector accounts for 21% of the energy demand within the industrial sector as of 2021. In this study, we project the energy demand for the food industry subsector until 2031, comparing two scenarios. The first scenario assumes the maintenance of current conditions in technology penetration, energy intensity, and efficiency. This is based on the diagnosis of energy consumption in various industrial subsectors and the National Energy Plan 2020-2050. The second scenario incorporates changes in technology penetration, energy intensity, and efficiency in line with the indicative energy efficiency plan PROURE. The findings indicate that adherence to the PROURE guidelines could result in final and useful energy savings of up to 30% and 28.3%, respectively for electrical and thermal uses. In an absolute basis, thermal energy savings are more significant than electrical energy savings. As thermal energy consumption is primarily dedicated to medium-temperature applications, there is a need for initiatives aimed at enhancing the performance of generation systems and optimizing the utilization of steam
