The adoption of combined heat and power, or cogeneration, facilities would gain a boost if the Obama Administration grants manufacturers their wish.
The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), which is made up of manufacturers and other industrial energy users, delivered to the Obama Administration a number of policy changes its members would like to see enacted. See the letter here.
One of the policy changes would be to require electric utilities to purchase electricity produced by manufacturers who add CHP, recycled energy and cogeneration plants.
CHP electricity generation works at 80 percent energy efficiency, compared to 32 percent efficiency at a power utility, according to the IECA.
The IECA is banking on a Department of Energy statement that increasing the U.S. CHP and recycled energy power supply from 9 percent to 20 percent of the grid by 2020 would stall U.S. GHG growth by 60 percent.
The IECA also is asking for a 30 percent tax credit for five years on equipment, technologies and services that boost energy efficiency and productivity at their plants.
Other requests include low-cost loans and cost-sharing grants.
In addition to President Obama, House and Senate Majority Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were copied, along with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.
More and more, industrial firms are looking to the advantages of cogeneration.
Amalgamated Sugar Co., Idaho’s Office of Energy Resources and Idaho Power plan to jointly study the feasibility of a facility that would generate both steam for sugar beet processing and electricity for Idaho Power.
Frito-Lay added a cogeneration system at its Killingly, Conn., plant.
