Heat and Energy Saving Strategy Consultation
Consultation Summary
Chapter 7 - Combined heat and power and surplus heat
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Generating heat and electricity together is more efficient than generating them separately. We also want to see surplus, or waste, heat from power generation or industry put to good use. Chapter 7 explains the Government's strategy for supporting combined heat and power and surplus heat use in the future, for example, through incentives for renewable heat and electricity generation and carbon pricing mechanisms such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. It also calls for further suggestions to ensure this approach is sufficiently robust.
Chapter Summary
Utilising the waste heat that is produced during the generating of electricity, in a process known as combined heat and power (CHP), will also have a vital role to play in helping the UK meet its targets to reduce emissions and increase the use of renewable energy. CHP can improve efficiency by over 30% compared to generating heat and electricity separately and is already delivering significant carbon emissions reductions within the UK – 10.2 MtCO 2 in 2008. The high fuel efficiency of CHP means that less fuel is burned, resulting in savings on fuel bills, increasing the competitiveness of businesses using CHP and increasing security of energy supply. There are also opportunities to put the surplus heat produced in some industrial processes to productive use, rather than simply discharging it into the environment.
CHP is supported by a number of policies, such as the EU ETS, exemption from the Climate Change Levy and the Renewables Obligation. It will also by incentivised by the forthcoming financial support for renewable heat. We wish to ensure that this range of carbon pricing mechanisms provides sufficient support to CHP, and we are open to any further proposals to improve this framework.
CHP can also be used to provide low carbon cooling. Using CHP to provide cooling can make CHP more economically attractive as it provides a use for heat year- round and improves the efficiency of operation of the plant.
