The
Department of Energy’s
Cogeneration Challenge Program
The Department of
Energy has challenged
the cogeneration industry, to double the amount of cogeneration
systems’ power deployed in the U.S.
To help accomplish this, DOE's Cogeneration or “CHP” Challenge
program will work to eliminate barriers that discourage adoption of cogeneration
and power technologies and systems.
Other goals will call
attention to the role of cogeneration in “reducing air pollution by 40 million
metric tons of carbon -- the equivalent of eliminating 40 million cars from U.S.
roadways -- and helping to improve local economic development," said the
DOE spokesman. Members of Congress and representatives of EPA's Office of Air and
Radiation have also proclaimed their support for cogeneration.
Competition in the retail
sale of electricity should create more opportunities for cogeneration, but only
if energy restructuring rules create a level playing field for all potential
energy producers. Energy produced on-site may not only be used at the site, but
may be sold to energy marketers, utilities or transmission and distribution
companies. However, customers who stop purchasing electricity from their
traditional suppliers may be faced with stiff exit fees. This, and the often
artificially high costs of back-up power, constrain full deployment of combined
heat and power technology. By
opening a national dialogue on these issues, the Department of Energy hopes to
highlight and break down these barriers.
Cogeneration features high
efficiency (typically greater than 70% system efficiency), and low environmental
emissions (through reduced fuel usage to produce energy required by end-users,
and use of low emissions technologies). Both of these, on a level playing field,
lead to substantial economic benefits. The European Union has adopted combined
heat and power as an important energy security and climate change strategy. Just
last month, the United Kingdom announced that expanded use of cogeneration will
account for 12% of their national commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
and 50% of their industrial sector commitment. U.K. Deputy Prime Minister and
Secretary of State for the Environment John Prescott, said "the UK has
doubled its cogeneration capacity over the last decade to almost 4000 MW and we
are considering an increased target of at least 10,000 MW for 2010."
Former President Clinton,
in his address to the nation on climate change in 1997, cited cogeneration power
as one of the cost-effective ways to reduce carbon emissions. The former
administration proposed a 10 percent tax credit for new cogeneration systems.
Studies underway by government and public interest researchers suggest that
there are thousands of sites in industrial, commercial, and community settings
in the U.S. that could benefit from cogeneration or trigeneration. It
is estimated that more than 50 gigawatts of cogeneration capacity could be
installed by 2010, with the resulting reductions in carbon dioxide
emissions totaling more than 10 percent of the U.S. target set forth in Kyoto
Protocol on climate change.
Further information on the
Cogeneration - Combined Heat and Power Challenge is available on the Energy
Department's web site, http://www.eren.doe.gov/oit.
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