11-03-14 JDA - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

TCAAP Energy Integration Resiliency Framew ork Policy White Paper – Energy Supply Alternatives 22 more constant heating loads, and where customers require coincident electric and hot water/space heating demand. As with other CHP applications, these systems can increase the overall efficiency of producing power from 33 percent to nearly 75 percent, when compared to traditional electricity generation. The capital costs for this technology are high, thus to enhanc e the economic viability, it is important that continuous thermal energy is integrated with the fuel cells and the most prevalent and economic application of fuel cell energy involves production of both heat and electricity. 5.1.4. Microturbine (Small-Scale) CHP Microturbines are small combustion turbines that burn gaseous or liquid fuels producing electrical output ranging from 30-330 kW. Thermal output from a microturbine generates exhaust temperatures at 500 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing for CHP by capturing waste heat to generate hot water for space heating, domestic hot water, or district heating. Microturbines are very modular, meaning that units can be connected in parallel to increase generation capacity over time as development and load materializes. Microturbines are most applicable for distributed generation situations due to high utilization and low emissions requirements. As microturbines are good fits for CHP systems, ideal candidates for microturbine generation include clusters of commercial and residential buildings, institutional entities, and industrial operations needing hot water for manufacturing processes. Determining factors for suitability of microturbine technology are the ability to utilize all of the waste heat provided for local thermal energy needs, limited footprints, high cost of power, and high power reliability requirements. 5.1.5. Large-Scale CHP Large-scale CHP integrated with district heating and cooling is an efficient and clean approach to generating electric power and thermal energy for multiple buildings from a single fuel source, or a multiple set of locally available fuel sources. CHP can meet all or a portion of the site electricity needs and places power production at or near the end-users’ sites so that the heat released from power production can be used to meet the local thermal requirements. While there are multiple technologies available for implementing CHP for a site and district energy system, the primary goal is to efficiently cogenerate power and thermal energy for local buildings distributed through a district energy system. For any sized CHP system, the prime fuel can be natural gas, biogas, biomass, or a number of other fuels. Due to the greenfield characteristics of the site, TCAAP has the opportunity to economically implement CHP coupled with a new district heating and cooling system in the higher density areas of the TCAAP development. A CHP plant coupled with district energy generally requires a higher level of energy