CHP projects to get a boost in the US

The US Energy Department has launched seven new regional Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnerships to help lower energy consumption and reduce harmful emissions. This action falls in line with the President’s Climate Action Plan and follows the President’s announcement last year that the US would aim to add 40 GW of new CHP capacity by 2020 - a 50% increase on the current capacity. It is estimated that meeting this goal would help save US$100 billion in energy costs over the next 10 years and would reduce emissions equivalent to taking 25 million cars off the road.

For the last ten years, the Energy Department has supported regional centres that help organisations understand the benefits of CHP. The CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships are effectively the next generation of these centres and will help boost the take-up of CHP by a range of public and private bodies. They will offer assistance in terms of financing, management and state policies, market analysis tools and resources, and technical site evaluations.

The Energy Department is also supporting CHP demonstration projects for manufacturing facilities to test how the systems impact plant operations and energy use, as well as helping to identify financing and maintenance best practices. Furthermore, the Gas Technology Institute is developing a new CHP burner technology that cuts greenhouse gas emissions while improving overall system efficiency. A combined 65 kW CHP system and biomass gasifier is under development by Capstone Turbine Corporation, which is also working on a 370 kW CHP system than is 44% more energy efficient than a traditional system and can make substantial savings in CO₂ and NO_X emissions.

Adapted from press release by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/25102013/us_energy_department_supports_chp_projects_339/