October 22, 2001—As a follow-up to recommendations to promote the use of combined heat and power in President Bush’s National Energy Policy Report, EPA joined with 17 Fortune 500 companies, city and state governments and nonprofits in Washington, D.C. to announce the Combined Heat and Power Partnership, a more efficient, clean and reliable alternative to conventional electricity generation.
Combined heat and power (CHP), also known as co-generation, is a highly efficient form of electric generation, which recycles and utilizes heat that is normally lost under traditional power combustion methods. CHP captures this leftover heat, providing a source of residential and industrial heating and air conditioning in the local area around a power plant.
These existing CHP projects of the founding partners represent more than 5,800 megawatts of power generating capacity, an amount capable of serving almost six million households (about the size of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area). The projects annually reduce the main global warming gas, carbon dioxide, by more than 8 million tons above what would be achieved from traditional generation methods; in addition, the annual energy savings equal 19 million barrels of oil more than would be attained under conventional combustion.
For additional information, contact Joe Bryson at 202- 564-9631.
