Recycled Energy Development
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Recycled Energy Development (RED) and National Gypsum Company (NGC) are developing a combined heat and power (CHP) project at NGC’s Burlington, New Jersey, facility. The project will produce approximately 3.4 megawatts of clean electricity and deliver more than 10,000 MMBtu of thermal energy. Overall energy efficiency at the wallboard production plant is expected to top 90 percent when work is complete.
The State of New Jersey provided support for the transformational CHP project, which will reduce NGC’s energy intensity and greenhouse-gas emissions, and serve as a model for energy efficiency and emission reductions at energy-intensive industrial facilities throughout the United States.
This summer, RED’s sister company, Turbosteam, debuted a 425 kW combined heat and power (CHP) project at Moose River Lumber’s Jackman, Maine, plant.
Moose River Lumber produces 120 million board feet per year of high-quality kiln-dried dimension lumber. The CHP project recycles steam produced in a biomass boiler, which is used to dry the lumber and generate high-efficiency electricity. In addition to reducing operating costs at the facility, the project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 2,000 tons per year.
Designed to enhance the economic viability and long-term stability of the company and the region, the Moose River project was partly funded by the Efficiency Maine Large Projects Grant Program, made possible by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
“The turbine project will enable us to produce 40 percent of our electricity on-site and compete in this difficult economic climate, maintaining high quality jobs in Maine,” said Jeff Desjardins, Moose River Lumber’svice president.
A new report by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Making Industry Part of the Climate Solution, emphasizes CHP and waste heat recovery with a special focus on output-based emission standards and a Federal Energy Portfolio Standard for CHP. The report noted, “Improving the energy efficiency of industry is essential for maintaining the viability of domestic manufacturing, especially in a world economy where production is shifting to low-cost, less regulated developing countries.”
In a separate report, How to Avoid a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants with Energy Efficiency, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) calls for increased investments in energy efficiency and CHP. This white paper responds to complaints from many utilities that clean-air regulations will cause them to spend billions on new electric-only power plants, ultimately resulting in significant rate increases. ACEEE finds reducing energy waste actually leads to lower costs, less pollution, and more reliable power.
With partisan battles making it unlikely Congress will approve clean energy legislation anytime soon, attention has turned to two federal agencies working to improve the nation’s energy future. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is attempting to reward small-scale generators for their ancillary benefits—including increased grid reliability and reduced power-line losses. And the Environmental Protection Agency has issued several rules highlighting energy efficiency (including CHP) as the best means to reduce pollution, with output-based standards being key to encouraging such efficiency. Read more: Business Council For Sustainable Energy comments to FERC and Alliance for Industrial Efficiency comments to EPA.
The California Public Utilities Commission recently approved revisions to the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), providing incentives for waste energy recovery and pressure drop recovery projects comparable to those available to wind turbines. California joined 12 other states that recognize recycled energy as clean and key to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. The SGIP also reinstated a lower incentive for fuel-fired CHP. The California legislature, moreover, extended the SGIP for three years.
