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Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Combined
Heat and Power (CHP) |
DER Road Shows (for local code officials) As part of debates on electricity reliability, Institute staff are examining policy options to help develop and deploy technological innovations such as DER. The average efficiency of the U.S. electricity-generation system has been stagnant over the past several decades, but the potential gains from currently-available technologies are substantial. Therefore, innovation-based electricity reforms could remove the numerous legal, regulatory, and perceptual barriers that block the introduction of innovative energy technologies. DER includes distributed power, heating, cooling and related technologies and electric and thermal storage and demand management. It includes energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy applications. The Institute identifies barriers to energy-efficient technologies and applications like combined heat and power (CHP) and other forms of clean distributed generation. The Institute also plays an integral role in the Department of Energy’s Industries of the Future (IOF) program, working with states and industries on integrated approaches to manufacturing modernization that focus on productivity as well as energy efficiency. DER is one facet. Institute staff see the integration of energy-efficiency into the older manufacturing plants as well as new developments as a means for the region to keep up with, and potentially become, a leader in the global economy. This is through the energy savings (cost and supply), productivity increases, and lowered emissions that can be realized through innovative clean energy technologies and applications.
Combined heat and power (CHP) technologies produce both electricity and steam from a single fuel at a facility located near the consumer. These efficient systems recover heat that normally would be wasted in an electricity generator, and save the fuel that would otherwise be used to produce heat or steam in a separate unit. Noting that Northeastern and Midwestern states enjoy few energy resources, the Northeast-Midwest Institute and Coalitions have advanced technologies and practices that enable the region's residences and businesses to use energy efficiently. In that regard, the Institute in late 1998 helped form the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association. Institute staff served as conference coordinator for USCHPA's 2005 Policy Summit. The Institute is also part of the CHP Team headed by the Department of Energy that meets regularly to address policy and technical issues facing CHP. Background on the CHP Initiative DOE and EPA have set forth a goal of doubling the amount of CHP capacity in the U.S. by 2010. The intent of the goal is to increase the efficiency of the nation's power generation system by insuring that at least 46 GW of electricity generation capacity added over the next 10 years comes from new CHP plants. Most energy forecasts call for CHP additions of 4 GW or less over the next ten years. A CHP Initiative was created with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to raise awareness of the energy, economic and environmental benefits of CHP and to highlight barriers that limit its increased implementation. The Initiative supports a range of activities including regional workshops, industry dialogues and development of educational materials. In 2001, as a follow-up to recommendations to promote the use of combined heat and power in President Bush's National Energy Policy Report, EPA joined with 17 Fortune 500 companies, city and state governments and nonprofits in Washington, D.C. to announce the EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership (CHPP), a more efficient, clean and reliable alternative to conventional electricity generation. CHP Fact Sheets CHP Reports
An expansive list of CHP Reports is on the USCHPA website, under "Papers & Articles." General CHP Presentations
For more detailed presentations from Capitol Hill briefings, go to the NEMW Congressional Coalition Energy Site Additional CHP Presentations are available at the USCHPA web site, Presentations Page.
Power Parks are an integrated "systems approach" to delivering power when and where it is needed. These systems are designed to be more energy efficient and environmentally sound by utilizing far less fuel to generate the same or better power than any previous central power generation or delivery system. Some compare this change to that experienced in the computer industry with the transition from solely relying on main frames to greater reliance on laptops, or with energy, from solely relying on central power plants to a greater reliance on DER technologies. A distributed energy resource (DER) portfolio often found in the Power Park design concept includes both renewable and fossil energy generation, storage and energy efficiency technologies. Many of these innovative energy technologies alone and in hybrid configurations (typically pairing an intermittent renewable with conventional generation), are found in applications, such as combined heat and power (CHP), supplying power, both thermal and electrical, in grid and off-grid markets. Developing old or abandoned industrial sites is a critical "smart growth" strategy for economic development in urban areas. Smarter use of resources in expanding suburban areas is also critical. In order to provide energy consumers valued-added solutions, attract new industry and create jobs, there is an essential need to provide reliable, energy efficient power while maintaining a sustainable environmental quality of life. Power Parks could play an integral role in a restructured energy marketplace. Customers demand solutions based on power quality and reliability. DER technologies are cleaner, more efficient, more environmentally sound, and as deployed in Power Parks can improve our energy management opportunities in both the near and long term. Power Parks and Brownfields The National Energy Policy Development Group Report recommends that the President direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work with local and state governments to promote the use of well-designed combined heat and power (CHP) and other clean power generation at brownfield sites, consistent with the local communities' interests. The EPA will also work to clarify liability issues if they are raised at a particular site.
Institute staff have advanced an integrated approach to manufacturing modernization that focuses on productivity as well as energy efficiency. For instance, they work closely with manufacturers, state officials, and utilities in several states. With Ohio's Department of Development and Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, they published a guidebook for Ohio-based manufacturers. With the New Hampshire Governor's Office of Energy and Community Services, they are helping to train high school students to provide energy efficiency audits to small businesses. The Institute -- in partnership with the Metal Casting Center, ComEd, and North Business and Industry Council -- developed an industrial efficiency pilot program targeting metal casters in the Chicago area. It is working with the New Hampshire Governor's Office and the Business and Industry Association on an initiative designed to measure and promote energy efficiency and waste reduction among New Hampshire manufacturers. Moreover, they are cooperating with the California Energy Commission, Pacific Gas & Electric, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the California Manufacturing Association to hold workshops on manufacturing technologies and financial options. In addition to numerous articles, Institute staff have written Utilities and Manufacturers: Pioneering Partnerships and Their Lessons for the 21st Century (99 pages), describing the wide-ranging benefits that can be gained from utilities and manufacturers working together, Financing Manufacturing Efficiency and Growth: A Manufacturer's Guide to State and Federal Resources (334 pages), as well as Implementing Industrial Energy Efficiency (34 pages). The Northeast-Midwest Institute works with the U.S. Department of Energy in its Inventions and Innovations Program to help inventors and innovators commercialize efficient and productive technologies. The Institute also works closely with State Industries of the Future (IOF) Programs to develop strong state-industry partnerships in energy efficiency. The Institute has organized conferences in Albany, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and more.
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