Cogeneration Vital to Energy Plan

Cogeneration Vital to Energy Plan

Jun 28 - Daily Breeze

Key California policy-makers are now making important decisions about where the state's utility companies will obtain their electricity in the future. As a proven, reliable system that is environmentally sound and makes California less dependent on electricity generated out of state, cogeneration should remain a vital part of California's energy plan.

Cogeneration is a process by which two energy products -- usually steam and electricity -- can be produced from a single fuel source, making the most of our valuable energy resources. In essence, thermal heat and steam are generated to run equipment and machinery. Cogeneration is a major contributor in meeting California's energy needs, as it provides enough electricity to meet 12 percent of the state's demand for electricity.

Numerous universities and hospitals and various industries use cogeneration to power their facilities, providing them with dependable power when the grid goes down. If the facility does not use all the electricity it generates, that electricity goes back to the electrical grid for use by consumers.

Cogeneration helps stabilize the price of energy and increases the amount of electricity available for California. Much of this power is under contract with an investor-owned utility, but many of those contracts will expire over the next few years.

Without a decent prospect that these energy contracts could be renewed under a legitimate process that sustains state policies promoting the development of and continued reliance upon cogeneration as an accepted alternative technology, the existing cogeneration facilities in California may be retired, only to be replaced by electricity generated by other sources that do not have the efficiency and environmental benefits of cogeneration.

A look at one major cogeneration operation, the Watson Cogeneration Co., shows how this technology benefits many users. The privately financed, $300 million facility is housed on the 630-acre site of the BP Carson Refinery in the industrial heart of the city of Carson.

Fueled by natural gas and refinery gas, the project generates 410 megawatts of electricity and 1.2 million pounds-per-hour of steam at full operation and is literally the powerhouse behind 20 percent of California's gasoline production. The refinery uses 100 percent of the steam produced and a portion of the power, but a majority of the power is sold to Southern California Edison for distribution and supports nearly 340,000 of SCE's customers.

Cogeneration is a highly efficient use of energy and it saves enough natural gas in California each year to provide electricity to some 4.9 million homes. In addition, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has identified cogeneration as a leading candidate for reducing global carbon dioxide emissions and warming.

Watson has consistently met the standards set by the South Coast Air Quality Management District -- reducing the level of carbon monoxide emissions to less than that normally found in the air. The reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions achieved by cogeneration at the refinery is the equivalent of eliminating the emissions of some 162,000 vehicles per day.

California has historically been the leader in implementing policies that promote the creation and use of alternative energy sources. Cogeneration brings improved energy efficiency, reduced costs, lower pollution and dependable energy to all Californians. It is helping stabilize the price of energy consumed in the state by reducing the demand on the state's electrical grid and lowering the risk of rolling blackouts.

Let's not let our legislators and appointed commissioners lose sight of the important role cogeneration should play in the state's energy plan.

Tom Lu, executive director at the Watson Cogeneration Co. in Carson, has more than 20 years of experience in operating and managing cogeneration facilities and the industrial users of cogeneration-produced power and steam.

For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit: http://www.energycentral.com .