Upcoming
Event
The 10th Annual SEI Energy Briefing
SEI
February 1, 2022, 8:30 to10:00 am ET
Topics include:
$1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act programs signed on November 15, being implemented in 2022 including electric vehicle infrastructure
What’s in store for electric vehicle charging and battery storage trends
C-PACE funding
$300M Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program
CO-GEN to achieve greater energy resiliency
Benefits of Solar PV
Who should attend:
Those interested in the state of the national, regional, and local energy economy; facilities managers; energy professionals; project and property developers; municipal developers; and those looking to work in the energy industry.
Upcoming
Event
Sustainability in Indoor Ag: Where Are We Headed Next?
Agritecture
Feb 2, 2022
- Understanding what metrics to track and how to track them
- High energy consumption, especially amongst vertical farms
- Sourcing energy from the grid
- Reliance on plastic packaging in the industry
- General greenwashing... Hosts Kylie Horomia, Head of Industry Transformation at WayBeyond, and Ricky Stephens, Director of Digital Strategy at Agritecture, will chat with speakers who can offer specific ideas, insights, and solutions to some of the challenges uncovered related to sustainability, including:
- Understanding what metrics to track and how to track them
- High energy consumption, especially amongst vertical farms
- Sourcing energy from the grid
- Reliance on plastic packaging in the industry
- General greenwashing
News
Methane limits could be COP26's real legacy
Axios
Jan 28, 2022
Why it matters: The significance of this pledge at the COP26 summit shouldn't be overlooked. Though it's less abundant than longer-lived carbon dioxide, methane is dozens of times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
How it works: While efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions require systemic change, such as retooling the way society generates and uses energy, methane is easier to target.
It only requires actions like plugging leaks in oil and gas infrastructure and other human-caused sources such as agriculture and waste.
The voluntary pledge commits countries to reducing methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
Pledge signatories include 15 of the world’s top 30 methane emitters: the United States, European Union, Indonesia, Pakistan, Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, Iraq, Vietnam and Canada, the White House announced in a fact sheet.
Details: Recent U.N. reports found that tackling methane emissions in addition to carbon dioxide would pay dividends in the near term.
One report published in May by the U.N. Environment Program found that if global emissions of methane were slashed nearly in half by midcentury, it could prevent about 0.3°C (0.54°F) of warming.
The intrigue: President Biden's rollout of the methane pledge will be reinforced by action at home — unlike Biden's climate speech Monday at the summit, which was buffeted by Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) brushback against key pieces of his climate agenda in Congress.
Between the lines: On Tuesday, the EPA will propose new regulations targeting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, including both existing and new sources of emissions.
The EPA regulations will also require states to develop plans to cut emissions from existing sources, including about 300,000 oil and gas well sites.
The methane rules would cut 41 million tons of methane emissions from 2023 to 2035, the EPA said in a statement. According to the agency, that’s more than the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from all U.S. passenger cars and commercial aircraft in 2019.
Context: In recent years, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have increased at a faster rate, making some scientists suspicious of possible links to the boom in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for natural gas.
In addition, melting permafrost in the Far North can free up methane and other greenhouse gases that had been frozen for centuries in organic matter.
Countries are targeting methane to slow the rate of climate change in the next one to two decades, which could avert crossing climate change "tipping points" such as the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Yes, but: Cuts in carbon emissions will be necessary to stem warming in the long term, and those pledges have been far harder to elicit from world leaders so far.
What's next: Methane emissions will soon be tracked down to individual sources via satellites, aircraft and ground-based instruments, making it possible for observations to transform a voluntary initiative like the Global Methane Pledge into an eventual regulatory regime.
For example, the Environmental Defense Fund is developing a methane-monitoring satellite with a planned launch in 2023, with other methane probes planned by other entities.
The U.N. and European Union just rolled out an international methane emissions observatory at the G20 summit, with a plan to include satellite monitoring.
News
We can make money with an idle CHP; what could be better?
Horti-Daily
Jan 28, 2022
A horticultural company's energy costs strongly determine its cost price. That is true at Jaco's farm, Padland Brielle, too. Limiting energy costs as much as possible is, therefore, a top priority for him. "Especially with the current energy prices," says Jaco, who grows 2.5 hectares of cucumbers. He sells these via The Greenery.
He uses a 1.4MW CHP to heat his greenhouse. He delivers the generated electricity back to the grid. "However, we don't use it during our eight-to-nine-week crop changeover. And it regularly stands idle at other times during the year too. Especially in the summer, when we don't need much heat."
Flexibility
Offering power generated by his CHP for emergencies was not an option for Jaco until recently. "Your power had to be exclusively available to TenneT [a high-voltage grid operator] for at least 24 hours. I could do that during the crop changeover. But it was too risky for the rest of the year. I didn't want to risk my CHP not being available if I might need it. That would negatively affect my crop," he explains.
However, in early 2021, AgroEnergy introduced this emergency 'flexpool'. That brought providing emergency power within the grower's reach. Participating growers can make their power available at hours that suit them. It does not have to be available for 24 hours.
AgroEnergy pools this capacity and offers it collectively to the market. "We can now offer CHP power at hours that suit us. And we don't have to be on standby for 24 hours. That provided the flexibility I was looking for," says Jaco.
"We now make emergency power available during crop rotations. And also, at other times during the year, when we don't need the CHP. We let AgroEnergy know when we'll have emergency power available. That's on the CHP usage predictions they give us. Other than that, there's nothing else to do."
No impact on daily operations
De Bakker has been part of this pool since October. And he has no regrets. It is even bringing in good money. "The fees for offering emergency power vary but are generally good. And you earn money from an idle cogeneration plant. What could be better?"
"Offering emergency power is, thus, an ideal way of optimizing CHP efficiency. And there's no question of negative effects on daily operations. We only offer emergency electricity when it suits us."
The grower cannot think of any disadvantages to the emergency power pool. "Except perhaps that you have to determine two days ahead exactly when you'll have CHP capacity available. You have to keep an eye on that," Jaco concludes.
Partner
News
4.2 MW CHP system rigged into place in New York City, Times Square
NES-WES
Jan 26, 2022
This marks over 50 MW's of CHP and power projects that our team has completed in the Metro New York City area. Huge shoutout to our team for their continued hard work! Check out some photos of the rig below!
Partner
News
CAPSTONE GREEN ENERGY TO PROVIDE 600 kW CHP SYSTEM TO ALABAMA HOSPITAL
Capstone Green Energy
Jan 24, 2022
The 600 kW microturbine-based energy system will be fueled by low-pressure natural gas (LPNG) and will run in parallel with the local area grid providing supplemental power for the hospital's needs. The highly efficient energy system will be configured to repurpose the waste heat produced by the microturbine for the hospital's hot water requirements.
Beyond supporting the power needs of a critical hospital facility, the new clean energy system provides a hedge against rising utility costs. This, along with the system's high efficiency, will ultimately reduce the facility's operational costs. Likewise, the system offers environmental benefits, including an estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions roughly equivalent to removing an estimated 245 cars from the road annually.
"We continue to experience increasing interest in Capstone Green Energy portfolio products," said Doug Demaret, President of Lone Star Power Solutions. "Our relationship with Capstone makes Lone Star unique in our ability to provide completely integrated on-site clean energy solutions for customers that have sophisticated energy requirements. We are glad to be able to offer tailored solutions to meet their economic, operational, and environmental goals."
"There are few energy solutions out there that can deliver the kind of reliability and security that microturbines provide to power-critical sites like hospitals," said Darren Jamison, Chief Executive Officer of Capstone Green Energy. "When you factor in the cost benefits and environmental factors, you have a complete solution that improves the bottom line, strengthens service delivery, and reduces environmental impact. Utilizing a Capstone clean energy system is a truly ideal strategy for hospitals," concluded Mr. Jamison.
News
Georgia Tech Research: CHP as a Platform for Clean Energy Systems
Georgia Tech
Jan 24, 2022
The paper, digitally available now and in print this December in the journal Applied Energy, finds that CHP – or cogeneration – could measurably reduce Georgia’s carbon footprint while creating green jobs. Georgia ranks 8th among all 50 states for total net electricity generation and 11th for total carbon dioxide emissions, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“There is an enormous opportunity for CHP to save industries money and make them more competitive, while at the same time reducing air pollution, creating jobs and enhancing public health,” said principal investigator Marilyn Brown, Regents and Brook Byers professor of Sustainable Systems at Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy.
Benefiting the Environment, Economy, and Public Health
The research finds that if Georgia added CHP systems to the 9,374 sites that are suitable for cogeneration, it could reduce carbon emissions in Georgia by 13%. Bringing CHP to just 34 of Georgia’s industrial plants, each with 25 megawatts of electricity capacity, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2%. The study authors, using modeling tools they developed, note that this “achievable” level of CHP adoption could add 2,000 jobs to the state; full deployment could support 13,000 new jobs.
According to Brown, CHP systems can be 85 to 90% efficient, compared with 45 to 60% efficiency of traditional heat and power systems. CHP has advantages over renewable electricity from solar and wind, which only offers intermittent power.
CHP technologies co-produce electricity useful for heat and cooling, resulting in ultra-high system efficiencies, cleaner air, and more affordable energy. Georgia industries that would profit from CHP include chemical, textile, pulp and paper, and food production. Large commercial buildings, campuses, and military bases also could benefit from CHP. By utilizing both electricity and heat from a single source onsite, the energy system if more reliable, resilient, and efficient.
CHP can meet the same needs at higher efficiency using less overall energy, while reducing peak demand on a region’s utility-operated power grid, Brown explained. In addition, if there is an outage or disruption in a community’s power grid, companies with their own onsite electricity sources can continue to have power.
Calculating CHP Costs and Benefits per Plant
The research used a database of every Georgia industrial site to determine which facilitates operated or could operate a CHP system. They then identified the appropriate type of CHP system for plants without one. To help assess if a CHP system was a financially sound investment, they developed a model to estimate the benefits and costs of each CHP system, factoring in the cost to install the equipment, operations and maintenance, fuel expenses, and financing. The result was an estimated “net present value” of each system that reflected the present value of future costs and benefits, Brown explained.
The paper also used data analytics to predict economic and health benefits of CHP for Georgians. Plants converting to cogeneration could boost the state’s clean energy workforce by 2,000 to 13,000 depending on how widely it’s adopted, Brown said. Currently, the state has about 2,600 jobs in electric vehicle manufacturing and less than 5,000 in the solar industry, according to the 11th Annual National Solar Jobs Census 2020.
In addition to job growth, CHP adoption could lead to dramatic health benefits for the state’s more vulnerable residents, Brown emphasized. “We’re displacing more polluting electricity when companies generate their own from waste heat,” she noted.
The study estimates nearly $150 million in reduced health costs and ecological damages in 2030 in the “achievable” scenario for CHP, with nearly $1 billion in health and ecological benefits if every Georgia plant identified in the study adopted CHP.
“The public health improvements are gigantic -- that’s a lot of lives saved, as well as childhood asthma and heart problems avoided,” Brown said.
Georgia Tech’s research was sponsored by Drawdown Georgia, a statewide initiative focused on scaling market-ready, high-impact climate solutions in Georgia this decade. The organization has identified a roadmap of 20 solutions, including electricity solutions such as CHP.
The impact of CHP could be dramatic considering that electricity generation accounts for nearly 37% of Georgia’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, according to findings Brown and other researchers published earlier this year in the journal, Environmental Management.
Identifying Ideal CHP Sites
Georgia Tech researchers identified numerous different industrial sites in Georgia that could use combined heat and power. Ideal locations include established universities or military bases, and large industrial sites such as paper making, chemical sites, and food processing facilities. Georgia’s number-one industry is agriculture, with chemicals and wood products among the state’s top manufacturers.
“I find Georgia’s potential to take advantage of existing industrial and commercial facilities to build CHP plants very interesting,” said study co-author Valentina Sanmiguel, a 2020 master’s graduate of the School of Public Policy in sustainable energy and environmental management. “I hope both industries and policymakers in Georgia realize the benefits that cogeneration has on the environment, the economy and society and take action to implement CHP in the state at a greater scale.”
Dissecting Hurdles to Adoption
Despite the advantages of CHP, there remains hurdles to its adoption – for one, establishing these facilities is capital-intensive, ranging from tens of millions for a campus CHP plant to hundreds of millions for a large plant at an industrial site. Once built, these facilities require their own workforce to operate, explained Brown.
“The cost-competitiveness of CHP systems depends significantly on two factors – whether they are customer or utility-owned, and the type of rate tariff they operate under,” said Brown.
In the paper, Georgia Tech cited three ways to improve the business case for CHP: clean energy portfolio standards, regulatory reform, and financial incentives such as tax credits.
Those approaches have worked well in North Carolina, noted Isaac Panzarella, director of the Department of Energy Southeast CHP Technical Assistance Partnership, and the assistant director for Technical Services for the North Carolina’s Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University. North Carolina State University, where Panzarella is based, recently installed its second CHP facility on campus.
North Carolina, he added, has a policy that supports the use of renewable energy. Along with solar and wind, North Carolina embraced converting waste from swine and poultry-feeding operations into renewable energy.
“It’s taken a long time, but finally there are more and more of these digester or biomass operations, using CHP to generate electricity and thermal energy from those waste resources,” he said.
While Georgia Tech is not yet operating a CHP system, the Campus Sustainability Committee is currently examining options for lessening their energy footprint.
“Georgia Tech seeks to leverage Dr. Brown’s important research, and the deep faculty expertise at Georgia Tech in climate solutions, as we advance the development of a campus-wide Carbon Neutrality Plan and Campus Master Plan in 2022,” said Anne Rogers, associate director, Office of Campus Sustainability. “The Campus Master and Carbon Neutrality Plan will provide a roadmap to implementing sustainable infrastructure solutions to advance Georgia Tech’s strategic goals.”
Brown emphasized that Georgia utilities should get behind cogeneration projects to help the state reduce its carbon footprint.
Another hurdle is the relatively low electric rates in the Southeast, which provide less of an opportunity to achieve a reasonable payback on those systems.
Georgia’s industries that wish to be competitive globally need to look at CHP considering that the rest of the world is embracing renewable and recycled energy at a faster rate than the U.S., Brown noted.
“In industries where CHP is well understood, and there are solidly established businesses, it’s a great investment and a smart way to keep jobs in the community, while being good for the environment. The hurdles are not about technology; they are all about policies and business models,” she concluded.
Combined Heat & Power eCatalog of Recognized Package CHP Systems
Packaged CHP Systems:
Rigorous Recognition Process
The Packaged Combined Heat and Power Catalog (eCatalog) is a voluntary public/private partnership designed to increase deployment of CHP in commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings and manufacturing plants. The core of the eCatalog are CHP Packagers who commit to provide pre-engineered and tested Packaged CHP systems that meet or exceed DOE performance requirements and CHP Solution Providers who commit to provide responsible installation, commissioning, maintenance and service of recognized Packaged CHP systems and also provide a single point of project responsibility.
Customer Engagement Partners: Incentivizing CHP in Your Area
Maximize Your CHP Investment When You Install Recognized Systems
An essential element in market success of energy efficient technologies, such as CHP, is a robust customer engagement partner to educate end-users and provide assistance through the project development process. States, localities and utilities that are implementing programs and policies to increase the use of CHP in support of key economic, security, efficiency and environmental goals can integrate the eCatalog into their efforts by linking recognized CHP packages offered by Solution Providers or Packagers in their region to their programs. The eCatalog provides a unique platform for convening recognized CHP equipment and suppliers with state, local and utility market outreach, customer acquisition and incentive programs.
eCATALOG PACKAGED CHP SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
Packaged CHP System standardized1 electrical and thermal performance data presented for comparison in the eCatalog have been reviewed and recognized as accurate based on engineering data and available performance test data submitted by the Packagers. Emissions data presented in the eCatalog are based on either third-party emissions test results when available, or prime mover manufacture’s emissions certification data, both using standard EPA test methodologies or equivalent. When evaluating CHP performance for a particular project, it is important to use final performance data from the Packager or Solution Provider that reflects specific site conditions such as actual fuel characteristics, ambient temperatures and altitude, and thermal load temperatures or pressures. As an example, hot water thermal capacity ratings in the eCatalog are based on a standard hot water supply temperature of 180 F, with packager specified return temperatures for each system. Actual hot water available from a packaged CHP system for a project will depend on the specific temperature requirements of the hot water supply and return at the site, and may vary from data presented in the eCatalog.
“Even a small blip on the power grid can disrupt our production equipment and cause six to eight hours of lost production time. With the CHP systems, if there is a power blip we go into island mode and don't experience any disruption.”
Learning
What are the benefits of CHP?
Combined heat and power (CHP) systems can provide reliable, flexible, low-cost, energy efficiency to a variety of industrial, commercial, and institutional energy consumers.
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