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Current Events |
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About Us The Northeast CHP Application Center was established in October 2003 for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) and Pace University (Pace). The Center is a partnership between UMass, Pace, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), MA Division of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Maine State Energy Office (MEPUC). Its mission is to provide application assistance, technology information, and educational support in the seven Northeast states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.>
The objective of this site is to provide you with information on CHP for commercial/industrial facilities to support your decisions relating to these systems. Information on the site has been organized to address anticipated needs of various user groups. Click on a link (above or on the right) of your choice to learn about some of the basics, benefits, success stories, and much more about CHP. As you move through the site, your current location will be identified by "bread crumbs" within the gray bar along the top of all pages. Available sub-topics will appear in the list of links in the sidebar on the right. Mission Accelerate the market penetration of energy efficient and environmentally superior CHP in order to improve the environment, raise productivity in buildings and industry, lower regional energy costs, strengthen energy security, enhance consumer choice and reduce price risks for end-users.Vision
State Priority Areas
Targeted Activities
CHP has strong support from the Bush Administration. The Administration's National Energy Plan encourages research and development efforts on next-generation energy technology. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has described the Administration's goal as making CHP technology the "preferred system for commercial buildings by 2020." The Department of Energy (DOE) and industry partners have and will continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in new energy efficient CHP technologies, with the intent of meeting growing electrical demand with clean, reliable, and secure energy choices. Many of these technologies and systems are commercially available today. The DOE plans to create eight CHP Regional Application Centers (RACs). The objective of creating RACs is to ensure that these technologies are deployed by working on a State-by-State and regional basis to educate market players on the benefits of CHP technologies while reducing the perceived risk. In addition, these RACs will provide a valuable feedback loop to DOE and industry regarding future R&D program needs. According to the CHP Industry Roadmap, the goal of the RACs is to double the amount of CHP installed capacity in the United States by the year 2015 (utilizing 1999 as the base year). This translates to the equivalent of 47,000 MW of new CHP capacity installed by 2015. Each RAC will provide essential and appropriate applied research and development support, focused on the technology transfer and deployment of advanced CHP technologies. The RACs will achieve this objective through a strategy of targeted education and outreach as well as project technical assistance. A copy of the guidebook is available in the library section of this Website. A Guidebook has been developed to specify the work scope for and provide standards for developing and implementing each RAC. The Guidebook will ensure some consistency in structure and operation as the concept grows throughout the country. The Department of Energy - Office of Power Technologies (DOE-OPT), through Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), established the first Cooling, Heating, and Power (CHP) for Buildings Regional Application Center in April of 2001. The pilot CHP Application Center was established in the Midwest at the University of Illinois at Chicago to develop and proof the Regional Application Center processes. The Center is a partnership between the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Gas Technology Institute. It is the intent of both DOE-OPT and ORNL to establish up to eight RAC regions.
In June 2001, Secretary Abraham announced the "First Generation" Packaged Cooling, Heating and Power Systems for Buildings awards. Contracts of $18.5 million were negotiated with seven industry teams for research, development and testing of new, first generation packaged CHP systems for commercial and institutional buildings. The awards are discussed later. Modular or packaged CHP systems for buildings are a breakthrough in energy efficiency. According to DOE officials, integrated CHP systems can offer up to a 30-40 percent improvement in a building's energy efficiency over today's best practices, leading to reduced energy and demand charges for building owners. For better interoperability and marketability, CHP component manufacturers need to create systems that physically fit the generation and heating/cooling/dehumidification components together, match power and thermal loads within the system, and communicate effectively between components within the system and with external energy control devices. Ronald Fiskum, a Program Manager for DOE's Office of Distributed Energy Resources, says, "In the near future, CHP for Buildings systems will be engineered in the factory-instead of in the field. The system behind the building here at the University of Maryland may one day be on just one skid. You bring the whole skid in, you hook up the electricals, and you're ready to go." Designing plug-and-play systems for CHP systems is critical to reducing the time and effort required to integrate system components. Universal connection standards would greatly simplify installation and maintenance-and encourage acceptance of the technology by the architectural and engineering community. Simplified, pre-engineered, skid-mounted CHP equipment would make building owners responsible only for connecting power, piping, or ducting. Controls may be connected to a local network, permitting onsite personnel to operate the equipment directly from a desktop PC. State and local policies and regulations regarding the deregulation of electricity and distributed generation have and effect on the installation and financial feasibility of CHP. Restrictive permitting or long delays in obtaining permits can dissuade building owners from installing CHP. High exit and/or interconnection fees, and standby electric rate structures can be financial disincentives for CHP. Some States, such as Texas, have made progress to set policies that are CHP friendly such as promoting standard interconnection requirements and fees, and setting reasonable goals for time limits on studies. As more States move toward electrical deregulation and distributed generation becomes an integral part of the electrical infrastructure, policies and regulations should support CHP becoming the "preferred system" for buildings. Because of the higher energy efficiency, the CHP systems have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45%. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, CHP systems could reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 million metric tons of carbon if goals to double U.S. installed CHP capacity by 2010 were met. This advanced technology integration requires a new application of existing technical expertise and cooperation between government, academia, and industry.
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