Cogeneration - Combined Heat and Power (CHP) - What is?

Cogeneration ( Cogera??o PT; Cogeneración ES) is a very efficient technology to generate electricity and heat. It is also called Combined Heat and Power (CHP) as cogeneration produces heat and electricity simultaneously. Cogeneration supplies currently 11% of electricity and 15% of heat in Europe. Using a fuel to simultaneously generate heat and electricity with a single unit is more efficient and cost-effective than generating heat and electricity separately in two different units. 

Distributed Power is defined as a system to produce small- and medium-scale electric power at or near consumer place of electric power. The advantage is that it can avoid the transmission power loss that conventional large-scale power plant with long-distance transmission cannot evade.

CHP (Combined Heat and Power) / Cogeneration is one type of distributed power. With this approach, high energy security can be achieved by installing generators in the area where the heat and the power are consumed, and more efficiently using energy by utilizing the heat produced during generation.

Cogeneration is a highly efficient form of energy conversion and if using gas engines it can achieve primary energy savings of approximately 40% compared to the separate purchase of electricity from the electricity grid and gas for use in a boiler.

If the fuel for the gas engine is renewable such as biogas, hydrogen, syngas or biomethane, CHP can be a highly sustainable source of electricity and heat.

Combined heat and power plants are typically embedded close to the end user and therefore help reduce transportation and distribution losses, improving the overall performance of the electricity transmission and distribution network.

How does Cogeneration works?

(Example: Power+Steam+Hot Water) Other configurations are possible, with Turbines and Engines. Different sub products are also possible.

Recovered heat from CHP can also be used to produce free cooling when it is set up in trigeneration mode. In these instances, an absorption chiller is connected to the Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (CCHP) system so that waste heat can instead be used to produce chilled water for process cooling, refrigeration and air conditioning.

The CHP main benefits for both its users and our society:

Increased energy efficiency. Cogeneration is up to 40% more efficient than the separate generation of heat and power.

Lower emissions. Cogeneration saves every year 200 milion tonnes of CO2 in Europe thanks to being very efficient. This equals the total emissions of 42.5 million passenger cars or 2.6 million trucks.

Reduced energy costs. Users of cogeneration benefit from higher efficiencies and therefore need less fuel to cover their heating and electricity demand.

Supporting renewable energy. Cogeneration can run on any renewable fuel and is the most cost-effective way of using renewable fuels. Currently, 27% of fuels used in cogeneration in Europe are renewable, mainly biomass and biogas.

Empowered businesses and citizens. Cogeneration comes in all sizes, from 1kW to nearly 1GW. It is fit to supply heat and electricity to all types of users, from a single household to a large industrial complex or entire town.

Enhanced energy system resilience. Cogeneration can generate the exact amount of electricity and heat needed at a certain time in a certain place. This brings flexibility and resilience to an energy system which has to cope with a growing number of intermittent renewables such as solar and wind power.

Reduced transmission and distribution costs. Cogeneration generates electricity and heat at the spot. Users of cogeneration rely less on electricity from the grid avoiding grid costs both at end-user and system level.

Reduced import dependency. High efficiency leads to reduced fuel demand in Europe.

More jobs for Europe. The cogeneration sector employs 100,000 people in Europe and this number is expected to grow as the European Union is investing in energy efficiency and renewables to reduce emissions.

Which Generators can benefit from Cogenerations?

Cogeneration offer a range of benefits for different organizations from many sectors:

• Hospitals
• Food and Drinking Industries
• Industrial and Manufacturing
• Agriculture
• Water treatment and Sewage
• Education ( Schools and Universities)
• Automotive
• Pharmaceutical
• Commercial, retail and office buildings
• Oil & Gas, Chemicals and Paper Industries

Major energy consumers operating in competitive global markets, can have big benefits from CHP.

Energetus CHP solutions have been successfully developed in a wide range of sectors. To know more contact us.

Jose Machado

Visit: https://www.energetus.pt/products/energy-solutions/

Source: Energetus SA; Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Cogen Europe