USCHPA Applauds Treatment of CHP in Bingaman CES Legislation

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USCHPA Executive Director Jessica Bridges today commended Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) for introducing legislation to establish a national Clean Energy Standard (CES) that aptly recognizes the energy and environmental benefits of combined heat and power (CHP) and effectively incentivizes greater deployment of CHP in the American marketplace.

CHP is the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful thermal energy.(1) Currently supplying eight percent (8%) of U.S. generating capacity, CHP systems can reach efficiencies above eighty percent (80%). There is approximately 82 GW of CHP installed in the U.S., which achieves a savings of 248 million metric tons of CO2 annually. Industry estimates indicate the technical potential for additional CHP at existing sites in the U.S. is between 130 and 170 GW, plus an additional 10 GW of waste heat recovery CHP. This is generating capacity that is readily available, provided policies are established to support further CHP deployment.

In a letter to Bingaman, Bridges said USCHPA is pleased that greater efficiencies under the proposed CES will be awarded with greater credit. CHP system efficiencies average above sixty-five percent, and many new systems achieve efficiencies above eighty percent. In addition, Bridges said the industry is also pleased that the CES recognizes the thermal benefits of CHP by making additional credits available under the CES for emissions avoided from not using a separate thermal source.

"Chairman Bingaman really 'gets' combined heat and power and we appreciate that the CES bill similarly recognizes both the electric and thermal benefits of CHP," Executive Director Jessica Bridges stated. "We look forward to working with Chairman Bingaman to advance the legislation," Bridges concluded.

The U.S. Clean Heat & Power (U.S. CHP Association) is the voice of the combined heat and power (CHP) industry. USCHPA is a trade association whose membership includes manufacturers, suppliers, and developers of combined heat and power (CHP) systems. CHP lowers demand on the electricity delivery system, reduces reliance on traditional energy supplies, makes businesses more competitive by lowering their energy costs, reduces greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions, and refocuses infrastructure investments toward next-generation energy systems. Already harnessed by many industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities, CHP is a proven and effective energy resource that can be immediately deployed to help address current and future global energy needs by incorporating commercially available and domestically produced technology.

(1) Combined heat and power systems include waste heat recovery, or "bottoming cycle" CHP systems.

SOURCE U.S. CHP Association