Is Cogen for you?

KEY BENEFITS OF COGEN

Cogen Power Technologies works with clients to select the technology and equipment that will best suit their application. Customized solutions are developed to prioritize and maximize benefits for each individual client.

Reduce Operating Expenses

By its very nature, cogeneration simultaneously produces two forms of energy from one unit of fuel (natural gas, biomass, etc.) through a highly efficient process. Waste heat, typically released into the environment, is recovered and utilized to provide space heating and hot water for the facility. With cogeneration, power and heat are produced using 10% to 30% less fuel than with separate heat and power systems and dramatically reduce kWh costs. In addition, losses from the transmission of electricity from the utility across miles of power lines are mitigated by having a cogeneration plant onsite. Inherently efficient, cogeneration eliminates waste and can often double energy production efficiency to significantly reduce annual utility costs.

Predictable Annual Costs

Cogeneration plants can produce all, most, or some of a facility’s annual energy volume. Computerized power management systems allow clients to balance consumption of electricity from local utility versus onsite cogenerated power based on cost and efficiency. This allows the client to have more control over annual energy costs and budget with more accuracy.

Energy Reliability

Cogeneration plants are located on the site where the generated power is used, limiting opportunities for interferences in transmission and distribution. Disruption from weather, natural disasters, mechanical failures, and other troubles are significantly reduced. The cogeneration plant operates in parallel with your utility; therefore you’re less susceptible to power outages. During power outages, onsite cogeneration plants can continue to run and provide customers with reliable, high-quality energy.

Mitigate Electric Capacity Issues

For large facilities, increasing electric capacity requirements can put a strain on the local utilities infrastructure and necessitate costly upgrades to the utility grid. Often this is cost-prohibitive to major expansions. Onsite cogeneration plants replace or supplement the electricity provided by local utilities and can supply power through existing infrastructure.

Extended Lifespan of Equipment

CHP plants will reduce wear and tear on existing mechanical equipment, such as boilers, and extend the operational life of the equipment. When a cogeneration plant is put into service, existing equipment is often relegated to serve as a back-up or supplement to the cogeneration system – prolonging its lifespan by putting less “mileage” on it.

Environmental Benefits

Clearly, increased efficiency and lower fuel consumption are environmentally-sensitive features of the cogeneration process. While a conventional power system’s fuel cycle can run at about 50% efficiency, a cogeneration system can reach 70 – 80% efficiency. In addition, cogeneration systems use cleaner low fuels such as natural gas which results in lowered carbon emissions and the reduction of greenhouse gases that are released into the environment by 30 to 50%.