Combined heat and power (CHP) approaches have not taken off in Minnesota, according to Will Nissen, a senior policy associate at Fresh Energy. Nissen, writing and MinnPost, said that the state is well positioned to use the approach because of its abundance of forests.
Keys to increasing the use of CHP, according to contributors to the piece quoted by Nissan, are creating a local resources and “creating market demand for sustainably harvested wood.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that CHP systems can reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants by 40 percent with virtually no water contribution. Natural gas, biomass or coal and oil can be used as the base fuel. Another key benefit is that it can supplement the electric grid and generating plants.
