Combined Heat and Power Plants Account for 12 Percent of Global Electricity Production

 

 

Just over 12 percent of global electricity production is provided by cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power (CHP), according to the latest Vital Signs Update. Denmark is the global leader, with CHP meeting 52 percent of its electricity needs, about four times the world average.
 
This new Vital Signs trend on combined heat and power includes detailed figures on installed capacity as well as an analysis of factors driving CHP production. It reveals that:
 
  • CHP systems can have efficiencies of 75-90 percent, a drastic improvement over the 33 percent found at an average coal-fired power plant
  • CHP could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 4 percent in 2015 and 10 percent in 2030
  • Natural gas accounts for 53 percent of world CHP capacity, with coal at 36 percent, renewable fuels at 6 percent, and oil at 5 percent
 
Combined heat and power is an integrated energy system that captures waste heat from electricity production and industrial processes and recycles it to provide another energy service (unlike conventional systems that release waste heat into the environment). Due to higher efficiency, CHP can help countries not only reduce fuel demand but also meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, leading many countries to take a second look at this technology as global climate change negotiations ramp up.
 

See the full list of available Vital Signs trends. Download complete trends for $10 each.

 

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