UK Government Statistics Show the Growth of CHP
The latest UK government statistics show that Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is making a valuable and growing contribution to the UK energy mix, says Hugh Richmond, CEO of Edina.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP), also known as cogeneration, creates electricity and useful heat together in a single process, allowing organisations to reduce energy costs, while also supporting energy resilience and sustainability.
For the right sites, high efficiency CHP provides typical energy cost savings of 30-40% compared to grid supplied power and heat from boilers. This can often deliver a return on investment within 2 to 3 years.
Cogeneration provides sustainability benefits and can also boost energy resilience by providing an off-grid power supply. This guards against the growing risk of electricity supply disruption.
The Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) provides a comprehensive picture of energy production, with specific chapters addressing an element of the contribution to the UK’s energy requirement.
Key findings:
- UK CHP capacity increased 66MWe to 5,985MWe last year
- The amount of electricity generated by CHP increased by 5% in 2018
- Percentage of renewable fuels used in CHP increased to 17.4%
- Spark spread remains positive
The figures show that the number of CHP schemes in the UK increased by 64 to 2,473 between 2017 and 2018 as more industrial sites, businesses, public sector organisations, district heating schemes and others invested in cogeneration.
Overall, the UK’s CHP capacity increased by 66MWe, while the amount of ‘good quality’ electricity produced increased by 5% in 2018. CHP accounted for 6.9% of all electricity supplied in the UK.
'Cost saving is the fundamental driver of CHP uptake, with businesses of all types and sizes investing in cogeneration to reduce heat and electricity bills', said Hugh Richmond.
Edina’s MWM CHP engines achieve extremely high efficiencies of 85% – 90%, almost twice as efficient as taking electrical energy from the grid and thermal energy from on-site boilers. This results in substantial savings on utilities costs.
Hugh Richmond added: 'The economic success of CHP is also determined by the positive ‘spark spread’. This is a simple calculation that compares the price of energy with the cost of fuel used to generate that energy.
'Given that most CHP units are fuelled by natural gas, which over recent years has been significantly cheaper than grid electricity, there is a spark spread price advantage, which is illustrated by the latest UK energy statistics.'
MARKET LEADING CHP EXPERTISE
Edina is market-leader in the provision of CHP and is the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for high efficiency MWM gas engines.
From its sites across the UK and Ireland, Edina supplies full service and maintenance coverage supported by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year field service engineering support and remote monitoring, control systems monitoring and remote support from our UK Head Office.
This ensures exceptionally high levels of CHP efficiency and availability to promote operational resilience. Our full turnkey/EPC power solution is creating competitive advantage and sustainability savings for organisations across all sectors.
To discuss CHP feasibility for your organisation, speak to a member of the Edina team today and call: +44 (0)161 432 8833 or email us.
-
Most popular related searches
Customer comments
No comments were found for UK Government Statistics Show the Growth of CHP. Be the first to comment!