part 1: overview of cogeneration and its status in asia - Fire

Cogeneration experiences around the world 83
CHAPTER 3: COGENERATION EXPERIENCES AROUND THE WORLD
3.1 Introduction
There is no standard procedure or method to gather reliable and up-to-date data on
cogeneration-based power generation and installed capacity in each country on a basis
comparable with the others. There is yet to be a commonly agreed definition and an
assessment of the quality of cogeneration in terms of its energy efficiency and environmental
benefits.
Based on data available in literature, north European countries are presently the leaders in the
field of cogeneration, having between 30 to 40 per cent of their power generating capacities as
cogeneration. In the case of the European Union of 15 countries, cogeneration represented 13
per cent of the total gross installed power generating capacity and 9 per cent of the total gross
electricity generation in 1994. However, countries like Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands
far exceed the others.
Next in line are the central European countries and China, which have an average of 10 to 15
per cent. The United States has less than 10 per cent of electricity coming from cogeneration
whereas the figure for Australia is just over five per cent. Worldwide trends indicate that a
significant increase in cogeneration is likely to occur over the next 20 years.
There is a general consensus that the importance of cogeneration technology is linked with its
potential for rendering higher energy efficiency, more stable energy supply, and reduced
environmental impact. Even in countries where the power sector is mature and the demand
for electricity has stabilized, options are being explored to deal with the seasonal variations in
electricity demands with an expansion of decentralized electricity generation, where small and
medium scale cogeneration will find a niche market.
In many industrialized countries, cogeneration is playing an increasingly important role in
industry and in the residential and service sector. It is being perceived not as a competitor to
the conventional power generation system, but as an advanced technology that can be
applied to hospitals, hotels, shops and offices. Another area where cogeneration has become
popular is the district heating network, and more recently district cooling in tropical climates.
This section briefly describes cogeneration experiences of selected countries around the
world, focussing mainly on the United State of America and Europe where cogeneration is
better organized and data for most countries are more easily accessible. 1
3.2 United States of America
The United States of America has been widely recognized as the first country for having set
up policy for promoting cogeneration. The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
("PURPA") was signed into law in November 1978. Enacted as part of a package of legislation
to combat the "energy crisis," and the perceived shortage of natural gas, PURPA's primary
purposes were to promote conservation (through cogeneration of both steam and electricity)
and to encourage greater use of alternative sources of power generation. In order to
accomplish these objectives, PURPA established a class of non-utility generators comprised
of small power producers and cogenerators.
1 Much of the information in this section was gathered from a number of websites.