Combined Heat and Power in the News at EPA

Combined heat and power (CHP) systems combine the production of heat and power into one process, using much less fuel than when the heat and power are produced separately. CHP systems can achieve efficiencies of 80 percent or more, compared to producing heat and power separately. This means fewer emissions and lower costs. No wonder the EPA is promoting it.

October 5, the EPA’s Combined Heat and Power Partnership Program held its annual meeting. Check here for the presentations. At the annual meeting EPA also announced the winners of the 2011 Energy Star CHP awards.

Also in October, the EPA released a report on one industrial sector in which biomass CHP can make a big difference: “Opportunities for Combined Heat and Power at Wastewater Treatment Facilities: Market Analysis and Lessons from the Field” .

Biomass CHP systems can play a critical role in the nation’s renewable bioenergy future. CHP systems are already providing reliable, low cost, renewable energy for pulp and paper mills and other forest products industries. Increasingly, advanced biomass CHP systems are helping commercial, institutional consumers, and district energy systems tap local sources of renewable biomass energy, strengthen local economies, and reduce their dependence on imported and environmentally harmful fossil fuels. Links to other examples of ways biomass CHP is being used in the U.S. today can be found here .