Combined Heat and Power: A Technology Whose Time Has Come

Abstract

... The technology not only reduces energy costs through efficiency--at least twenty to thirty percent more efficient than separate heat and power systems--but it also protects the environment by burning less fuel, and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. ... This Comment will argue that, given the policy benefits of the CHP technology, the federal government should create an organization to establish and monitor a CHP legislative blueprint with three financial incentive program options; states should establish two of those three financial incentive programs; and states should include CHP in their Renewable Portfolio Standards. ... Another New York rebate program is the Industrial and Process Efficiency Performance Incentives program, operated by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority ("NYSERDA"), which provides performance-based financial incentives to companies operating energy cost-saving technologies, such as CHP systems. ... A company producing energy via a CHP system, whether thermal or electric, can re-funnel and sell any excess energy produced that is beyond the facility's energy capacity back through the electric grid. ... In addition to not having any CHP rebate or grant programs, Florida is also unable to implement a feed-in tariff system for energy produced by CHP systems because of a statute that prohibits the retail sale of electricity by any electricity generator that is a non-utility company.