Meet The Deeply Sexy EnerTech No One Is Talking About: CHP

CHP certainly can boost thermodynamic efficiency. It must be remembered, however, that it is still fossil energy that emits CO2. Some proponents of CHP treat it as if it were a renewable and non emitting power source.

great to see CoGen plants getting talked about, this is something that has been overlooked for years

Hurrah! That's a huge opportunity that's available right now, with current technology, that will bring huge emissions and financial benefits. Cogen just needs more attention, capital, and in some cases legislative support.

Here in Massachusetts we could use a change in laws. If you go cogen, you will actually increase the amount of fuel burned at your facility because you're generating some of your own electricity. This will be done cleaner than the grid mix, because you're burning natural gas (w/ maybe some diesel), and no coal. Heat generation may also be cleaned up, depending on what fuel you currently use.

The total amount of fuel burned, and therefore emissions created, to serve your energy needs is substantially reduced.

Your on-site emissions of NOx may increase even though your overall emissions will substantially decrease. However, the DEP wants your on-site emissions up to "best available controls technology" standards. That extra expense and complication can push small and medium-scale projects off the table. So we stick with the status quo and do not realize the potential emissions (NOx, SO2, and carbon) savings.

In this case we need to factor in the overall emissions (on-site plus purchased energy) before and after, into the permitting process.

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Absolutely. And to clear up any potential misinterpretation by the free market fundies, we are not talking here about the need for "de-regulation." What we are talking about is modifying permit regulations and agency guidance to do it smart - at the state level.

At my urban university, we've had that for ever. We're in the process of building our second-generation cogen plant.

Cogeneration in the long term does not look promising.

Modern combined cycle natural gas power plants are achieving 60% efficiency, and modern heating systems are achieving 97% efficiency.

Overall the two average out to about the same efficiency as a cogeneration system. More to the point, cogeneration systems are usually single cycle gas turbines, which are very inefficiency when the heat is not needed.

In other words, cogeneration might be efficient in the winter months when large quantities of heat are needed---but in the summer these plants are very inefficient because no one needs heat, but they still need power.

Here in Burlington VT we have the McNeil Wood Chip power plant. They have been trying to get funding to provide heat for the North End for years, but so far no takers.

What about home heat and power? Ballard power is selling fuel cell systems in Japan that produce heat and hot water as a byproduct of electricity production from natural gas.

http://www.ballard.com/Cogeneration_Fuel_Cells/

Here's a quote:

"The Ebara Ballard solution is a 1kW product installed on-site at consumers’ homes that generates both electricity and hot water while reducing the homeowner’s dependency on the electrical grid. The heart of this solution is the Mark1030™ fuel cell product, which was developed to operate on hydrogen reformed from natural gas, a commonly available fuel. The Mark1030™ has successfully powered hundreds of residential cogeneration systems in every corner and climate throughout Japan and is saving homeowners hundreds of dollars in annual energy costs while reducing CO2 emissions by up to 40% compared to traditional power generation."

There is a company here in Massachusetts that sells a home CHP system called the freewatt.

If it weren't so expensive, I'd consider putting one in my house.

www.freewatt.com

I work at a Federal Agency in DC that, amoung other things, regulates rate issues regarding home heat and power. Specifically how local LDC treat power flowing into the grid, etc. Ballard came in and gave a nice presentation. They really want their product to be able to get the same tax benefits and rebates as green energy. Some states do that already and some give a tax benefit although not as big as wind, or solar.

However, it is a very expensive option.

Great post! I'm associated with a CHP company called Recycled Energy Development -- the one led by Tom and Sean Casten, who are thought leaders in this field. To the commenter (Bill Young) who noted that CHP is not renewable, I think we need to change how we think of this. The point is that CHP is clean. What difference does it make how we reduce greenhouse gas emissions as long as we do it?

And with CHP, the potential is massive. EPA and DOE studies suggest that more energy recycling (which includes not just CHP but also waste heat recovery, which takes place at manufacturing facilities) would cut U.S. greenhouse gases by 20%. That's as much as if we pulled every passenger vehicle off the road. Meanwhile, we'd save money due to greater efficiency. The climate change problem is too urgent to wait for wind and solar (which are very costly) to solve all of these problems. We need all hands on deck -- and, critically, we need to make sure we're helping the economy at the same time as we help the planet. CHP can do that; little else can, at least not at such a level.

CHP and energy efficiency are the lowest hanging of the low hanging fruit. Thomas Casten of Recycled Energy has some very good ideas about how to use both to reduce greenhouse gases and provide a bridge to a renewable, restorative economy.

Here's my report on his September 2008 talk at MIT
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/10/125348/584

Why is this OLD technology brought up?

Ahw oh is this for america ??
Almost all electricity plants have CHP here...

Well if CHP isn't widely used yet.. THEN FREAKING start it :)
We have a gas->electricity plant that is 55% efficient. But without the heat.
That heat is used to for different purposes. They put factory's arround the plant that used heat. Or use it for there proces. Or housing nearby.
And the CO2 is used for plants in plant houses.
(normaly they have to produce there own c02.. why not use something that is the waste of someone else.. ;) )

But here all power plants have CHP it's normal :S..

I do now know why america uses so much energy.. :) By not using it right. And not efficient enough.