OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has released “Combined Heat and Power: Effective Energy Solutions for a Sustainable Future,” a new report highlighting combined heat and power (CHP) as a solution to enhance national energy efficiency, improve environmental quality, promote economic growth, and help foster a robust energy infrastructure. The report provides an in-depth discussion of current opportunities and challenges to more widespread application of CHP, and sets the stage for future policy dialogue aimed at promoting this clean energy solution.

The report asks, “What if 20 percent of generating capacity came from CHP?” It then states that if the United States attained this goal by 2030, benefits would include:

• Fuel savings of 5.3 quadrillion Btu annually - the equivalent of nearly half the total energy currently consumed by U.S. households.

• Economically viable application throughout the nation in large and small industrial facilities, commercial buildings, multi-family and single-family housing, institutional facilities, and campuses.

• A 60 percent reduction of the projected increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030 - the equivalent of removing 154 million cars from the road.

• The creation of 1 million new “green-collar” jobs through 2030 and $234 billion in new investments throughout the United States.

CHP is the simultaneous production of electricity or mechanical power and useful thermal energy from a single fuel source. CHP includes a suite of technologies that can use a variety of fuels to generate electricity or power at the point of use, allowing normally lost heat to be recovered to provide needed heating or cooling.

To view the complete report, go to www.eere.energy.gov/industry/distributedenergy/pdfs/chp_report_12-08.pdf.

Publication date: 12/15/2008