The implications of CHP planning restrictions on the efficiency of urban energy systems

Abstract

Cities account for approximately two-thirds of global primary energy consumption and have large heat and power demands. Combined heat and power (CHP) systems offer significant efficiency gains and emissions reductions, but they can have high upfront investment costs and create nuisance pollution within the urban environment. Urban planners therefore need to understand the tradeoffs between limitations on CHP plant-size and the performance of the energy system. This paper uses a mixed-integer linear programming model to evaluate energy system designs under a range of scenarios. The results suggest that cost penalties of up to 10% and energy-efficiency penalties of up to 60% may be implied by restrictions on maximum CHP plant size.