Cogeneration / CHP at Goss Engineering
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GOSS ENGINEERING

COGENERATION OVERVIEW

Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of electric power and usable heat from a single fuel source. Cogeneration is also known as combined heat and power (CHP). A typical cogeneration system is often a natural-gas-fired or steam-driven electric generation plant with the addition of heat recovery equipment. The recovered heat can be directly used for space heating or process heating purposes, or indirectly used to power thermal chillers for cooling purposes.

With extensive experience in energy modeling, we can help you determine your electricity needs and if cogeneration is right for your project. Goss Engineering offers feasibility studies, performs economic analysis of proposed cogeneration systems, and can create systems that meet regulatory requirements. If cogeneration is technically and economically the best solution for you, we can design the cogeneration systems to meet your needs

Cogeneration Overview

Cogeneration diagram courtesy of National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Click here for a one-page summary of cogeneration from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Goss Engineering is proud to be a participant in the  Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership of the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection, which promotes energy efficiency in the United States and around the world.

Goss Engineering is proud to be a participant in the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership of the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection.

 

February 2012  – VIDEO  – Energy Secretary Steven Chu on CHP

Energy Secretary Steven Chu responds to a question from Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) on the Department of Energy’s perspective on Combined Heat & Power during Secretary Chu’s testimony on the FY 2013 DOE budget at Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Hearing on Thursday, February 16, 2012.

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GOSS ENGINEERING

GOSS ENGINEERING LEADS THE WAY IN CHP

Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems
 Design, Construction and Operations

A 2009 engineering textbook book published by McGraw-Hill

######### Plan, design, construct, and operate a sustainable on-site CHP (combined heat and power) facility using the detailed information in this practical guide. Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems reveals how to substantially increase the energy efficiency in commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential buildings using waste heat and thermal energy from power generation equipment for cooling, heating, and humidity control. In-depth case studies illustrate real-world applications of CHP systems.

Editors:

Milton Meckler, M.ASCE, F.ASME, P.E. , is president of Design Build Systems (DBS), a company specializing in commercial, industrial, and institutional MEP design and construction. He was one of four Global Award Finalists for McGraw-Hill’s Platts Energy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lucas Hyman, P.E., LEED AP , a professional mechanical engineer with more than 25 years’ experience, is president of Goss Engineering, Inc., a firm specializing in district energy systems.

Buy this book from online bookstores around the world .

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GOSS ENGINEERING

COGEN AWARDS

ASHRAE Tri-County Chapter and ASHRAE Region 10

Technology Award, 2006

First Place: 2003 Cogen Plant Addition – University of Redlands

ASHRAE Region 10

Technology Award, 2001

Cogeneration Feasibility Study — University of California, Irvine

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GOSS ENGINEERING

COMPLETED COGEN SYSTEM STUDIES / DESIGNS / PROJECTS

Date Client Project Title Type of Service

Const. Budget

2012 Xnergy-UCI 300-kW Fuel Cell Design

TBD
2011 Cal Poly SLO Sierra Madre Cogeneration Retrofit Design
Click here to read Project Summary		 Design

$1,300,000
2011 Cal Poly SLO Poly Canyon Village Cogeneration Retrofit Design Design

$600,000
2010 Loma Linda University Central Plant Unit Cost Analysis Study

N/A
2010 Cal Poly SLO Sierra Madre Cogen Retrofit Study Study

TBD
2010 Major Theme Park Shanghai Theme Park TES Master Plan Master Planning

$20,000,000
2010 Cal Poly SLO Poly Canyon Village Retrofit Study Study

TBD
2009 UC Irvine Combined Heat and Power Plant Analysis Study

N/A
2009 UC San Francisco Cogen Plant Utility Recharge Rate Analysis Study

N/A
2006 ACCO CSUF Cogen Plant 30% Design Development Design

$10,000,000
2006 Bob Whiley Corrections 800kW Cogen Plant Addition Design

$1,000,000
2006 Loma Linda University 40MW Cogen Plant Schematic Design Study

$200,000,000

2004 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Biogas Microturbine Study/Design

$30,000

2004 UC Irvine 20MW Cogen Plant Addition Peer Review

$30,000,000

2003 University of Redlands 1500kW Cogen Plant Addition Design

$5,500,000

2002 US Postal Service Cogen Feasibilty Study Study

$2,800,000

2002 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Cogen Feasibilty Study Study

$15,500,000

2002 UC Irvine Cogen Addition Planning Peer Review

N/A

2002 UC Irvine Microturbine Addition Design

N/A

2001 UC Irvine Cogen Cost Estimate/Planning Feasibility Study

$36,000,000
2001 University of Redlands Cogen & TES Feasibility Study Feasibility Study

$5,000,000
1999 UC Irvine Cogeneration Feasibility Study Feasibility Study

$9,000,000
1998 SFSU Enron – San Francisco State University Cogen Relocation Design

$500,000
1998 California Hospital Cogen Intertie Design

$500,000
1995 Photocircuits Cogeneration Feasibility Study Feasibility Study

$6,000,000
1995 AWMA Cogeneration Retrofit Design

$500,000
1995 DMJM Specs. for Turbine Overhaul, CO/Nox Catalyst exchange Design

$1,500,000
1994 Olive View Medical Center Cogeneration Feasibility Study Feasibility Study

$10,000,000

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GOSS ENGINEERING

TECHNICAL ARTICLES: CHP / COGEN / COGENERATION

Goss Engineering is an active participant in the evolution of CHP design practice in the United States. Goss Engineering staff members have co-authored the following articles on CHP:

Designing Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems
January 28, 2007 ASHRAE Meeting

By Milton Meckler, P.E., (Design Build Systems)

Lucas Hyman, P.E. (Goss Engineering),

and Kyle Landis, P.E.

ABSTRACT: Sustainable on-site cooling-heating-power (CHP) systems for large multi-building projects require a simplified design and implementation approach from conventionally designed mini-utility type CHP systems employing large volume/footprint, costly, high thermal mass heat-recovery-steam-generators (HRSGs) and 24/7 stationary engineers.

This paper will demonstrate the use of prefabricated, skid-mounted hybrid steam generators with internal headers, fully integrated with low pressure drop heat extraction coils located in the gas turbine exhaust, and employing environmentally benign heat transfer fluids. The proposed thermal tracking Integrated CHP Gas Cooling System (ICHP/GCS) includes close coupled plate and frame heat exchangers, pumps, and self-regulating controls, interconnected via a closed, low-pressure, non-volatile recirculation loop capable of efficient, year-round transfer to on-demand HVAC&R building heat sinks including absorption chillers.

Available waste heat is transferred directly to a gas turbine exhaust extraction heat exchanger, interconnected to a recirculating, closed circuit, non-volatile, low-pressure heat transfer fluid loop. Available waste heat is cascaded to serve multi-building space cooling, heating, and domestic hot water loads, which permits maintaining high log-mean-temperature-differentials (LMTDs) at the subject extraction coil, significantly lowering gas turbine back-pressure, and permitting significant life-cycle-cost savings. These benefits were demonstrated during a recent, comparative CHP study of a 3.5 MW gas turbine installation at a central California university campus. more…


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Thermal Tracking CHP and Gas Cooling from Engineered Systems, 2005

 

By Milton Meckler, P.E., (Design Build Systems)

Lucas Hyman, P.E. (Goss Engineering)

Fully dedicated on-site combined heat and power (CHP) systems present both challenges and opportunities for large multi-building projects; particularly when employing a combined cycle approach in the 3 to 20 MW range.

While some distributed power generation systems hedge their bets through reliance on both the sale and export of power (e.g., paralleling with a serving utility to achieve favorable economics), disappointing de-regulation benefits and the failure of energy trading to smooth out power supply vs. demand cost uncertainty has been a sobering experience for many customers.

Recent rethinking by concerned CHP designers has focused on exploring smaller footprint alternatives to the use of higher cost heat-recovery steam generators (HRSGs). One such approach involves use of prefabricated and fully integrated steam generators. These units come complete with associated heat exchangers, controls, and pumping systems employing low pressure, non-volatile, recirculating heat transfer fluids (HTF) capable of direct heat extraction of turbine exhaust gas waste heat to generate steam and allow cascading of the remaining captured waste heat to drive absorption chiller(s). They also include space and domestic hot water heating systems enabling greater utilization of available heat reclamation potentials in satisfying highly variable annual building power, heating, and cooling load demands.

Thermal tracking CHP utilization can be optimized through maintaining favorable log-mean-temperature-differentials (LMTDs) at the turbine gas extraction coil, also resulting in a lower exhaust gas temperature discharge to ambient. Various examples of such alternative HRSG cycles will be presented for gas turbine driven chiller and/or generator application, as well as gas turbine combined cycle operation to demonstrate the operational versatility and life cycle benefits of this approach for the above referenced range of commercially available gas turbines.    more…

 

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GOSS ENGINEERING

TECHNICAL REFERENCES ON COGENERATION / CHP / COGEN

from industry, university and government sources

Cogeneration: A User’s Guide — by David Flin

Description: If there are two phrases we have come to know very well, they are ‘environmental awareness’ and ‘credit crunch’. The world is looking for ways to decrease the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere, without incurring major costs in doing so. By increasing efficiencies up to about 90 per cent using well-established and mature technologies, cogeneration represents the best option for short-term reductions in CO2 emission levels. more

A Catalog of CHP Technologies from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The  Catalog of CHP Technologies (PDF)  (all chapters, 139 pp, 1.5 MB) provides an overview of how combined heat and power (CHP) systems work and the key concepts of efficiency and power-to-heat ratios. It also provides information about the cost and performance characteristics of five commercially available CHP  prime movers .

Download specific chapters from the Catalog of CHP Technologies:

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The MIT Cogeneration Project

[Project Description] The MIT Cogeneration Project represents a ten year, forty million dollar initiative by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to generate its own electrical and thermal power. The new plant is projected to save the Institute millions of dollars over the life of the plant through the technology of cogeneration. Through cogeneration, we generate our electrical and thermal power simultaneously by utilizing the waste heat from a gas turbine to generate steam. This technology is approximately 18% more efficient than the technology that it replaces. MIT also feels strongly that environmental preservation is more important than ever. We have utilized the latest technology available for reducing our emissions into the air of Cambridge. The new technology used in our plant will reduce emissions by 45% compared to our old technology. This reduction is the equivalent of eliminating 13,000 automobile round trips into Cambridge per day. MIT is also committed to making this new facility a resource for the entire MIT community. We are currently working on integrating our plant with academic departments in order that both the cogeneration facility and the academic community can benefit. more

The Combined Heat and Power Association

based in the UK, works to promote the wider use of combined heat & power and community heating. “FactFile” on CHP

UNEP Energy Technology Fact Sheet on Cogeneration

United Nations Environment Programme – Division of Technology, Industry, and Economics

[Excerpt] Cogeneration, also known as Combined Heat and Power, or CHP, is the production of electricity and heat in one single process for dual output streams. In conventional electricity generation 35% of the energy potential contained in the fuel is converted on average into electricity, whilst the rest is lost as waste heat. Even the most advanced technologies do not convert more than 55% of fuel into useful energy.

Cogeneration uses both electricity and heat and therefore can achieve an efficiency of up to 90%, giving energy savings between 15-40% when compared with the separate production of electricity from conventional power stations and of heat from boilers. It is the most efficient way to use fuel. Cogeneration also helps save energy costs, improves energy security of supply, and creates jobs.   more

Solar Turbines (a Caterpillar Company)

manufactures a wide range power generation equipment for combined hear and power applications..

Waukesha Engines

provides cogeneration equipment around the world. Click here for cogen case study of combined heat/air conditioning and power in a large shopping mall in Brazil.

Capstone Turbine Corporation Video Case Study: Reagan Library Cogeneration System

Prominent equipment maker explains benefits of gas-turbine-based system that simultaneously produces electricity, hot water for heating building, and cold water for air conditioning system, at presidential library in Simi Valley, CA..

[Excerpt]The Ronald Reagan Library in California knows the benefits of CHP using Capstone MicroTurbines®. The massive library gets nearly all its electricity (940 kilowatts) from 16 Capstone microturbines and has reduced energy costs about 10% each year. The CHP system, which also uses the microturbines’ waste-heat energy to produce cold water for air conditioning and hot water for heating, is 85% – 90% efficient. This 6-minute video case study about the Library’s microturbine powered CHP system includes an interview with John Lehne, Facilities Director at the Library.    more

ClearEdge Power

designs and sells cogen equipment suitable for homes and small businesses. Their product uses fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity and heat.

Cummins Power Generation makes cogeneration equipment. Their site includes many technical papers and PDF brochures, including:.

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