Obama issues CHP order

The U.S. Clean Heat & Power Association (U.S. CHP Association) has praised the Obama Administration for last week's Executive Order, "Accelerating Investment in Industrial Energy Efficiency," which calls for a national combined heat and power deployment goal of an additional 40GW by 2020.

Currently supplying twelve percent (12%) of U.S. energy capacity, CHP systems can reach efficiencies above eighty percent (80%). There is approximately 82 GW of CHP installed in the U.S. and industry estimates indicate the technical potential for additional CHP at existing sites in the U.S. is approximately 130 GW (plus an additional 10 GW of waste heat recovery CHP).

Investments in industrial energy efficiency, including combined heat and power, offer significant benefits to manufacturers, utilities and communities across the country, including:

• Improving U.S. manufacturing competitiveness: By accelerating these investments, manufacturers could save at least $100 billion in energy costs over the next decade;
• Creating jobs now through investments upgrading our manufacturing facilities: Meeting the President's goal of 40 GW of new CHP over the next decade would mean $40 to $80 billion of new capital investment in American manufacturing facilities. Most of these efficient technologies are made right here in the U.S.;
• Offering a low-cost approach to new electricity generation capacity to meet current and future demand: Investments in IEE, including CHP, cost as much as 50% less than traditional forms of delivered new baseload power; and
• Significantly lowering emissions: Improved efficiency can meaningfully reduce nationwide GHG emissions and other criteria pollutants.

USCHPA Executive Director, Jessica Bridges, said "CHP technology can be deployed quickly, costeffectively and with few geographic restrictions. Establishing this national goal toward greater CHP deployment will significantly advance cleaner energy generation in the U.S., benefit the environment, and help create much-needed manufacturing and industrial jobs. I applaud the White House for its efforts to support clean power generation through CHP and pledge the combined heat and power industry's support to help achieve this goal."

Joe Allen, 2012 USCHPA Chairman and Director of Government Affairs at Caterpillar's Solar Turbines subsidiary, called the Executive Order a "significant recognition of CHP's benefits to the American economy by improving industry competitiveness through this clean, efficient, and reliable form of power generation." "I welcome the Administration's actions to increase deployment of combined heat and power in the United States," Allen stated.