23-Baxi-SenerTec Uk CHP Geothermal Heating Cooling News 020608

Subscribe to newsletter

Editor's Note: Baxi-SenerTec Uk provide:-

CHP
Geothermal Heating Cooling
Mini CHP

Request Information

Home
Include Article
Advertise

Links
Request Information
Terms of use
Contact

Request Facilities / Interiors product information

Request Architectural product information A-J

Request Architectural product information K-Z

Request Mechanical HVAC product information

Request Electrical product information

Baxi-SenerTec Uk - Planning boost for CHP

Local and national government support for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is growing on the back of new planning legislation and increasing demand for microgeneration, according to leading industry figures.

CHP is now regarded as one of the most convenient and cost-effective ways of meeting the new requirements of the revised London Plan, which comes into effect this April, and the national guidelines published in the Government’s Planning Policy Statements 1 and 22.
“CHP is a low carbon technology that will get you planning permission and save you money,” said Dominic Bowers, managing director of PB Energy Services, during last month’s EcoBuild conference and exhibition.

“The UK has the greatest potential for wider adoption of CHP in Europe and already has the broadest range of installations – from 1kW plant right up to the ConocoPhillips plant at Immingham, which at 730 Megawatts is Europe’s largest. [It is currently being expanded to 1,180MW.]
“However, currently only 7 per cent of total electricity capacity in this country comes from microgeneration compared with 12 per cent in Germany and 40 per cent in Holland. These are very similar markets to ours so we should be aiming much higher,” added Mr Bowers.
Greater London Authority planning officers have stated that CHP must be part of the energy considerations on every new development put before them and if it is not adopted in the final design, the developer must provide a good reason.

The revised Part L of the Building Regulations has also stimulated the market, according to David Shaw, business manager at Baxi SenerTec.

“CHP was always an attractive option for applications with high heating loads, but it is proving even more popular now because it is a convenient and cost-effective way of complying with Part L.
“CHP can be adopted to complement conventional boiler plant without a need to reconfigure existing pipework and internal heat emitters. This means users can start to enjoy carbon and energy savings more quickly without the major expenditure and upheaval required to integrate renewables,” added Mr Shaw.

He also reported that sales of SenerTec’s Dachs mini-CHP system had doubled in the past year, thanks in large part to the changes created by Part L and the new planning laws.
Microgeneration systems that produce electricity close to the point of use are over 90 per cent efficient, according to the Carbon Trust, which has been conducting domestic field trials using 87 micro-CHP units.

Large scale conventional power stations, on the other hand, are less than 35 per cent efficient.
“We are literally throwing away over two thirds of the energy we produce,” said Mike Malina, energy expert at M&E Sustainability. “Just 32 per cent of the energy produced by central power stations actually ends up as usable power – the rest is lost in transmission and in waste heat from the generation process.

“These losses mean large central generation strategies are doomed to failure – and that includes the new generation of nuclear stations planned by the Government. We must move towards a distributed energy strategy with the majority of our energy generated closer to the point of use if we are to have any chance of meeting our carbon reduction targets.

“CHP is an ideal solution as it is relatively easy to adopt, is extremely flexible and can solve an end user’s power and heating needs at a stroke,” added Mr Malina.
The Government has calculated that every 1 MW of CHP helps reduce carbon emissions by between 510 and 760 tonnes per year. There is currently 5,792 MW installed in the UK, provided by about 1,500 sites, reducing the country’s annual carbon emissions by over four million tonnes.

Meanwhile Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks announced that the Government was considering a new ‘feed-in tariff’ for consumers, who produce their own electricity on site and sell it back to the National Grid.

He said there would be a consultation early this summer on the overall strategy for increasing the amount of electricity produced by microgeneration technologies and renewables.
“We will be looking afresh at proposals to boost microgeneration, including a feed-in tariff,” said Mr Wicks, adding that increasing the market for microgen would not be “at all challenging to the mainstream renewables obligation”.

Feed-in tariffs were instrumental in improving the market for renewable and microgeneration energy production in Germany.

Email: yvonne.macfarlane@beattiegroup.com