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Trigeneration Engineering and Trigeneration Project Development
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Trigeneration
Technologies
www.Trigeneration.com
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What is Trigeneration?
Trigeneration is the simultaneous production of three forms of energy - typically, Cooling, Heating and Power - from only one fuel input. Put another way, our trigeneration power plants produce three different types of energy for the price of one.
Trigeneration energy systems now exceed the efficiency of central power plants by almost 300% as overall trigeneration system efficiency is about 90%. Typical "central" power plants, that do not need the heat generated from the combustion and power generation process, are only about 33% efficient.
Basically, a trigeneration power plant is a cogeneration power plant that has added absorption chillers for producing chilled water from the heat that would have been wasted from a cogeneration power plant.
In addition to the economic benefits and advantages, trigeneration plants reduce our dependence on foreign energy supplies and help our environment by dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide - when compared to typical power plants.
Trigeneration has been hailed the
"hat-trick
of the energy industry" with system efficiencies approaching and
exceeding 90%.
Trigeneration plants are very
energy efficient, conserve natural resources and reduce fuel consumption as
the system operates at such high efficiencies.
Cogeneration and trigeneration power plants are about 90% efficient and approximately 300% more efficient than "central power plants" that average 27% to 40% efficiency. When fueled with renewable fuel, cogeneration and trigeneration plants are carbon neutral, producing no greenhouse gas emissions and the optimum solution for clients seeking to reduce their energy expenses and greenhouse gas emissions.
Our
company or its' affiliated companies also provide engineering, legal, finance,
power purchase agreements,
energy service agreements
and greenhouse gas emissions
consulting services for clients whose projects are located in the U.S.,
Canada, the Caribbean and Central/South America.
Trigeneration
Diagram & Description
Trigeneration Power Plants' Have the Highest System Efficiencies and are
About 300 % More Efficient than Typical Central Power Plants
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Running on "green fuel" such as Biomethane, B100 Biodiesel, Synthesis Gas or natural gas, our CHP Systems are the greenest "clean power generation" systems available.
Our clean power generation systems are a superior "micro-grid" and demand side management solution for data centers, hospitals, universities, municipal utility districts and new real estate developments/subdivisions seeking "net zero energy" solutions.
With Natural Gas prices now running well below $3.00/mmbtu, and more recently in March 2012, below $2.40/mmbtu, our Clean Power Generation plants generate power for a fuel cost at about $0.03/kWh. With operations & maintenance added in - we generate power for less than a nickel or $0.05/kWh - or, anywhere from 50% to 75% less than your present electric rates.
We also provide energy independence from the "dirty" power grid with its high unreliability, black-outs and sky-rocketing electric power prices.
Our "Integrated" CHP
Systems (Cogeneration
and Trigeneration)
Plants
Have Very High Efficiencies, Low Fuel Costs & Low Emissions
The Effective Heat Rate is Approximately
4100 btu/kW & System Efficiency is 92% Plant
The CHP System
below is Rated at 900 kW and Features:
(2) Natural Gas Engines @ 450 kW each on one Skid with Optional
Selective Catalytic Reduction system that removes Nitrogen
Oxides to "non-detect."



Our CHP Systems
may be the best solution for your company's economic and environmental
sustainability as we "upgrade" natural gas to clean power with our clean
power generation solutions.
Our Emissions
Abatement solutions reduce Nitrogen
Oxides to "non-detect" which means our Trigeneration
energy systems can be installed and
operated in most EPA non-attainment regions!
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Trigeneration plants are installed at locations that can benefit from all three forms of energy. These types of installations that install trigeneration energy systems are called "onsite power generation" also referred to as "decentralized energy."
One of our company's principal's first experience with the design and development of a trigeneration power plant was the trigeneration power plant installation at Rice University in 1987 where our trigeneration development team started out by conducting a "cogeneration" feasibility study. The EPC contractor that Rice University selected installed the trigeneration power which included a 4.0 MW Ruston gas turbine power plant, along with waste heat recovery boilers and Absorption Chillers. A "waste heat recovery boiler" captures the heat from the exhaust of the gas turbine. From there, the recovered energy was converted to chilled water - originally from (3) Hitachi Absorption Chillers - 2 were rated at 1,000 tons each, and the third Hitachi Absorption Chiller was rated at 1,500 tons. The Hitachi Absorption Chillers were replaced shortly after their installation by the EPC company. The first trigeneration plant at Rice University was so successful, they added a second 5.0 MW trigeneration plant so today, Rice University is now generating about 9.0 MW of electricity, and also producing the cooling and heating the university needs from the trigeneration plant and circulating the trigeneration energy around its campus.

Trigeneration
Chart
Trigeneration's
"Super-Efficiency" compared
with other competing technologies
As you can see, there is No Competition for Trigeneration!
Our cogeneration
and trigeneration
energy systems are "custom" designed and engineered for each of our
new client's businesses and facilities. Our cogeneration
and trigeneration
energy systems are an ideal energy solution for many businesses,
including; Data Centers, Hospitals, Universities, Airports, Central
Plants, Colleges & Universities, Dairies, Server Farms, District Heating
& Cooling Plants, Food Processing Plants, Golf/Country Clubs, Government
Buildings, Grocery Stores, Hotels, Manufacturing Plants, Nursing Homes, Office
Buildings / Campuses, Radio Stations, Refrigerated Warehouses, Resorts,
Restaurants, Schools, Server Farms, Shopping Centers, Supermarkets, Television
Stations, Theatres and Military Bases.
At about 86% to 93% net system efficiency, our cogeneration and trigeneration energy systems are about 300% more efficient at providing energy than your current electric utility. That's because the typical electric utility's "central power plants" are only about 33% efficient - they waste 2/3 of the fuel in generating electricity in the enormous amount of waste heat energy that they exhaust through their smokestacks.
Trigeneration is defined as the simultaneous production of three energies: Cooling, Heating and Power. Our trigeneration energy systems use the same amount of fuel in producing three energies that would normally only produce just one type of energy. This means our customers that have our trigeneration power plants have significantly lower energy expenses, and a lower carbon footprint.
Our cogeneration and trigeneration energy systems can be an ideal solution for customers wanting increased power reliability and decreased energy and environmental costs. A few of the types of businesses, facilities and operations that might benefit from our cogeneration and trigeneration energy system(s) include the following:
Airports
Casinos
Central Plants
Colleges & Universities
Dairies
Data Centers
District Heating & Cooling plants
Food Processing Plants
Golf/Country Clubs
Government Buildings and Facilities
Grocery Stores
Hospitals
Hotels
Manufacturing Plants
Military Bases
Nursing Homes
Office Buildings / Campuses
Radio Stations
Refrigerated Warehouses
Resorts
Restaurants
Schools
Server Farms
Shopping centers
Supermarkets
Television Stations
Theatres
About us:
We provide trigeneration engineering and project development services including turnkey trigeneration plant development from trigeneration design and project feasibility through commissioning, including;
Economic Feasibility Analysis
Feasibility Studies
Front End Engineering Design - FEED
Greenhouse Gas Emissions consulting
Interconnection Studies
Nitrogen Oxides - NOx
Project Development
Project Management
Project Finance/Funding introduction to potential investors
Power Purchase Agreement consulting & PPA funding
and other engineering and project development services.
Our work is performed on a strict adherence to "vendor-neutrality." We are client and project focused and seek to maximize our client's return on their investment while simultaneously minimizing their operational expenses and environmental exposure.
(NOTE: Engineering and related interim project development
expenses may be at client's expense but will be
refunded
at the close of Power
Purchase Agreement or other project financing. Some of our
engineering
and EPC services
may be provided by one of our Top-ranked ENR Engineering
Procurement Construction partner companies.)
To receive a preliminary no-obligation review of your energy, engineering or
project plans,
send an introductory email to us at the following email address:
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What is "Cogeneration"?
Did you know that 10% of our nation's electricity now comes from "cogeneration" plants?
And
because cogeneration
is so efficient, it saves its customers up to 40% on their energy expenses, and
provides even greater savings to our environment through significant reductions
in fuel usage and much lower greenhouse
gas emissions.
Cogeneration
- also known as “combined
heat and power” (CHP), cogen, district energy, total energy, and
combined cycle, is the simultaneous production of heat (usually in the form of
hot water and/or steam) and power, utilizing one primary fuel such as natural
gas, or a renewable fuel, such as Biomethane,
B100 Biodiesel,
or Synthesis Gas.
Cogeneration technology is not the latest industry buzz-word being touted as the solution to our nation's energy woes. Cogeneration is a proven technology that has been around for over 120 years!
Our nation's first commercial power plant was a cogeneration plant that was designed and built by Thomas Edison in 1882 in New York. Our nation's first commercial power plant was called the "Pearl Street Station."
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What is an Energy Master Plan?
Now that greenhouse gas reporting is a vital and urgent issue for thousands of business in the U.S., and as they will now have to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA, our Energy Master Plan format has been changed to address these concerns for all of the businesses we perform energy master planning services for.
Our energy master planning services are also focused in a broader focus as well for our customers interested in sustainable energy solutions for reducing their carbon footprint, fossil fuel intensity, total energy expenses, potential for blackouts as well as their overall vulnerabilities to being "tied" to their specific electric utility. Our energy master planning services also improve the air quality and work environment for all of our client's stakeholders through our focus on triple bottom-line results.
Our energy master planning services are not solely focused on our client's facilities' "demand side" of the energy equation, but also how our client's energy is acquired and purchased on their supply side. This understanding that supply and demand side planning is equally important enabled a holistic review of how CUMC uses and pays for energy and the impact of these sources on the environment.
Our energy master plan begins with a review of our client's past three years electricity, natural gas, oil, waste and water expenditures and depending on the final requirements and project scope authorized by the client, will typically include;
Perform ASHRAE " Level 2" Energy Audit
Perform a "retro" commissioning study
Provide a "benchmark" of client's energy use and their greenhouse gas emissions
Identify automated demand response, demand side management and demand side response opportunities
Review client's current energy procurement methods and develop new strategies for reducing energy expenses
Identify opportunities for onsite power generation, including cogeneration, ecogeneration or trigeneration energy systems as well as renewable energy technologies such as; Distributed PV, Solar Cogeneration and Waste to Fuel
Review existing Power Purchase Agreements and all other energy agreements/contracts.
Identify external funding opportunities such as the use of Power Purchase Agreements
Identify opportunities for "fuel switching" or energy switching such as propane to natural gas and "cutting the cord" to the client's electric utility for an onsite power generation energy system.
Identify current energy management system and/or building automation system potential
Identify LEED opportunities
Identify Smart Metering, Micro-Grid and Unified Smart Grid opportunities
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Waste
Heat Recovery in Cogeneration
and
Trigeneration power and energy
systems
In most cogeneration and trigeneration power and energy systems, the exhaust gas from the electric generation equipment is ducted to a heat exchanger to recover the thermal energy in the gas. These heat exchangers are air-to-water heat exchangers, where the exhaust gas flows over some form of tube and fin heat exchange surface and the heat from the exhaust gas is transferred to make hot water or steam. The hot water or steam is then used to provide hot water or steam heating and/or to operate thermally activated equipment, such as an absorption chiller for cooling or a desiccant dehumidifer for dehumidification.
Many of the waste heat recovery technologies used in building either cogeneration or trigeneration systems require hot water, some at moderate pressures of 15 to 150 psig. In the cases where additional steam or pressurized hot water is needed, it may be necessary to provide supplemental heat to the exhaust gas with a duct burner.
In some applications air-to-air heat exchangers can be used. In other instances, if the emissions from the generation equipment are low enough, such as is with many of the microturbine technologies, the hot exhaust gases can be mixed with make-up air and vented directly into the heating system for building heating.
In the majority of installations, a flapper damper or "diverter" is employed to vary flow across the heat transfer surfaces of the heat exchanger to maintain a specific design temperature of the hot water or steam generation rate.
Typical
Waste Heat Recovery
Installation

In some cogeneration and
trigeneration
designs, the waste heat exhaust gases can be used to activate a
thermal wheel or a desiccant dehumidifier. Thermal wheels use the exhaust gas
to heat a wheel with a medium that absorbs the heat and then transfers the
heat when the wheel is rotated into the incoming airflow.
A
professional engineer should be involved in designing and sizing of the waste
heat recovery section. For a proper and economical operation, the design of
the heat recovery section involves consideration of many related factors, such
as the thermal capacity of the exhaust gases, the exhaust flow rate, the
sizing and type of heat exchanger, and the desired parameters over a various
range of operating conditions of the cogeneration
or trigeneration
system — all of which
need to be considered for proper and economical operation.
The Market and Potential for Waste Heat Recovery technologies and solutions
There are more than 500,000 smokestacks in the U.S. that are "wasting" heat, an untapped resource that can be converted to energy with Waste Heat Recovery technologies.
About 10% of these 500,000 smokestacks represent about 75% of the available wasted heat which has a stack gas exit temperature above 500 degrees F. which could generate approximately 50,000 megawatts of electricity annually and an annual market of over $75 billion in gross revenues before tax incentives and greenhouse gas emissions credits.
Waste Heat Recovery technologies represent the least cost solution which provides the greatest return on investment, than any other possible green energy technology or "carbon free energy" opportunity!
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The Advantages of Cogeneration and Trigeneration
By: Monty Goodell, MBA
Owners of commercial buildings and commercial businesses are increasingly seeking ways to use energy more efficiently. This is a direct result of dramatically increasing electric rates, decreased power reliability (blackouts, brownouts, rolling blackouts, and other power interruptions), as well as competitive and economic pressures to cut expenses, increase air quality, and reduce emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol, while not ratified in the United States, continues to be a major driver in much of the rest of the world. In the United States, "ecogeneration" is becoming a preferred method to produce a company’s or facility’s power and energy requirements.
Ecogeneration defines the optimization of economic and ecological benefits in the power generation process. Ecogeneration produces huge savings for our environment through the reduction, or even elimination, of pollution associated with power and energy production. Additionally, ecogeneration appeals to our customers’ economic bottom line by providing them with significant fuel and electrical savings.
Energy technologies that fall under ecogeneration include: wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen fuel, hydrogen fuel cells, soybean diesel fuels, ocean/tidal power, waste to energy/waste to fuel and waste to watts, combined cycle, district energy, cogeneration, trigeneration, and even quadgeneration power plants.
There are two major ecogeneration initiatives and technologies that we will discuss in this article — cogeneration and the newer technology, trigeneration. Trigeneration is one of the most attractive options, and is even more efficient and economically rewarding than its cousin, cogeneration.
Cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power (CHP), is the simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat, usually in the form of either hot water or steam, from one primary fuel, such as natural gas. While not necessarily defined correctly, cogeneration has also been referred to as district energy, total energy, combined cycle, and simply cogen.
Cogeneration has been mostly a technology used in the utilities and industrial marketplace.
Trigeneration, as the name implies, refers to three energies, and is defined as the simultaneous production of heat and power, just like cogeneration, except trigeneration takes cogeneration one step further by also producing chilled water for air conditioning or process use with the addition of absorption or adsorption chillers. Trigeneration, also referred to as CHCP (combined heating, cooling and power), BCHP (building cooling, heating and power) and integrated energy systems, permits even greater operational flexibility at businesses with demand for energy in the form of heating and cooling. Just as a cogeneration power plant captures and makes use of the waste heat, absorption or adsorption chillers capture the waste (or rejected) heat and produce chilled water.
Trigeneration systems are found in commercial applications typically where there is a need for air conditioning or chilled water by the customer.
When a trigeneration power system is installed on-site, that is, where the electrical and thermal energy is needed by the customer so that the electrical energy does not have to be transported hundreds of miles away, and the thermal energy is fully utilized, system efficiencies can reach and surpass 90 percent.
How Trigeneration Works: The Trigeneration Process
On-site trigeneration plants are much more efficient, economically sound,
and environmentally friendly than typical central power plants. Because of
this, customers’ energy expenses are significantly lower, and the
associated pollution is also much less than if the customer had an energy
system supplied with electricity from the grid, along with water heaters and
boiler systems on-site. Trigeneration's superior efficiencies surpass even
the latest state-of-the-art combined cycle cogeneration power plants by up
to 50 percent. Coupled with a four-pipe system, hot water/steam and chilled
water can be produced simultaneously for circulation throughout the building
or campus (which would be referred to as a district energy system).
And size is not an impediment, since trigeneration systems can be installed, for example, in small commercial settings, such as restaurants, hotels, schools, office buildings, and shopping centers, to large applications such as petrochemical plants, refineries, and in a city's downtown area, providing the energy requirements for multiple buildings. And it will still provide system efficiencies of 90 percent.
History
Of Cogeneration Technology
Many people know that Thomas Edison built the first commercial power plant.
However, most people do not know that Edison's first commercial power plant
known as the "Pearl Street Station," built in 1882 in Lower
Manhattan, New York, was also a cogeneration power plant!
Because cogeneration and trigeneration continue to be the most efficient method of generating electrical and thermal energy, in terms of energy output, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has called for the doubling of electrical power generated from cogeneration power plants — from the existing 46 GW (one gigawatt = 1,000 MW) to 92 GW by the year 2010. When this goal is reached, cogeneration will represent about 14 percent of the total U.S. generating capacity of electricity. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) estimates that an additional 95 GW of cogeneration capacity could be added between 2010-2020, resulting in 29 percent of total U.S. electric power generation being produced through cogeneration. Europe is also dramatically increasing the number of cogeneration power plants over the next decade.
And
the historical basis and success of cogeneration has been the foundational
basis for expanding the efficiencies of cogeneration to trigeneration and
even quadgeneration, with each new increase in energies recovered resulting
in higher efficiencies and lower fuel/energy costs and fewer related
emissions.
President Bush's
National Energy Plan
In the United States, President George W. Bush's National Energy Plan
recognizes the efficiency of cogeneration technologies — and it plays an
important role in meeting national energy objectives and maintaining comfort
and safety in commercial and office buildings. Released in May 2001, the
president's National Energy Plan states:
A family of technologies known as combined heat and power (CHP) can achieve efficiencies of 80 percent or more. In addition to environmental benefits, cogeneration projects offer efficiency and cost savings in a variety of settings, including industrial boilers, energy systems, and small building scale applications. At industrial facilities alone, there is potential for an additional 124,000 MW of efficient power from gas-fired cogeneration, which could result in annual emissions reductions of 614,000 tons of NOx emissions and 44 million tons of carbon equivalent. Cogeneration is also one of a group of clean, highly reliable, distributed energy technologies that reduce the amount of electricity lost in transmission while eliminating the need to construct expensive power lines to transmit power from large central power plants.
Since the 1930s approximately two-thirds of all the fuel used to make electricity in the U.S. is generally wasted by central power plants in the form of unused thermal energy in the electrical generation process. While there have been impressive energy efficiency gains in other sectors of the economy since the oil price shocks of the 1970s, the average efficiency of power generation in this country has remained around 27 to 35 percent for nearly 70 years. The use of cogeneration and trigeneration can significantly improve that efficiency.
Pollution
Associated With Inefficient Power Plants
Currently, power plants in the U.S. have been cited for producing two-thirds
of its annual sulphur dioxide emissions, one-quarter of the nitrogen oxide
emissions, one-third of mercury emissions, and one-third of carbon dioxide
emissions. These resulting pollutants produce serious environmental and
health consequences, including:
Increased sick days in areas with high urban smog levels.
Lung problems in the young and old, including increased rates of asthma and chronic bronchitis.
Global climate change.
Urban haze and smog.
Acid rain.
Acidification of lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans.
Dead and dying lakes, stream, rivers, and wildlife in and near these areas.
"Curing" the problems associated with inefficient electrical power generation begins with pollution prevention. The choices are clear — we must stop wasting energy and start increasing the efficiency of power generation facilities. Instead of building inefficient, wasteful, pollution-generating central power plants owned by utility companies, where the thermal energy is wasted, we need to start building efficient, on-site power plants where the heat energy can be utilized. These on-site cogeneration, trigeneration, and quadgeneration power and energy systems are also referred to as "distributed generation" or "distributed energy" technologies. They can be installed easily and affordably, and they operate economically throughout their life cycle.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) understands that resolving these problems must start with pollution prevention, which equates to using fewer energy resources to produce goods and services. The National Energy Plan includes four specific recommendations to promote CHP, three of which were directed to EPA for action:
Promotion of CHP through flexible environmental permitting.
Issuing of guidelines to encourage development of highly efficient and low-emissions CHP.
Promotion of the use of CHP at abandoned brownfield industrial and commercial sites.
As a follow-up to those recommendations, EPA joined with 18 Fortune 500 companies, city and state governments, and nonprofit organizations in February 2002 in Washington, DC, to announce the EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership (CHPP). The CHPP aims to advance CHP as a more efficient, clean, and reliable alternative to conventional electricity generation. This initiative now boasts nearly 50 partners, including state and local regulators, end users, project developers, and equipment suppliers.
Clean
On-Site Power For Commercial And Industrial Customers
Distributed generation locates smaller and more efficient power plants where
the power and thermal energy is actually needed. These on-site power systems
are also called "inside the fence" power systems and are designed
and engineered to maximize the customer's power and energy requirements.
The DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently sponsored a study to estimate the potential of cogeneration installations in the U.S. According to their study, there are 1,431,805 buildings in the United States that are suitable for on-site cogeneration power systems (most of these are actually better suited for trigeneration) requiring a capacity of 77,281 MW. At an average of $1 million per MW, this translates into a $77,281,000,000 market opportunity. That's over $77 billion in the U.S. alone. Trigeneration would be an even greater market opportunity as this study focused on applications where thermal energy load was in the form of steam or hot water, and does not take into consideration use of thermal technologies, such as absorption/adsorption chillers or desiccant dehumidification, as part of the potential for the building's thermal load.
When absorption/adsorption chillers are added to a cogeneration system, it is now referred to as a trigeneration system. Therefore, the total market potential in the study could be significantly higher than the 77,281 MW when considering the opportunity for trigeneration applications. The study also estimates the total existing capacity of cogeneration installations in the U.S. to be only about 4,930 MW, and that over 70 percent of the existing facilities are under 1 MW and are powered by small reciprocating engines.
Even quadgeneration is a possibility, taking trigeneration one further step, producing four energies from one process. By extracting most, if not all, of the available heat from the power/energy generation process, end users obtain the most efficient, optimized energy system. But the efficiency gains are wasted if the recovered waste heat is not put to work or the existing boilers or water heaters displaced, reduced, or eliminate entirely. This is why it is absolutely critical that a thorough and complete feasibility study is done to determine a properly sized on-site energy system, and that conventional systems are either eliminated, compensated for, or integrated into the new energy system.
It should go without saying, but if the facility that installs a trigeneration system does not replace or reduce other systems, there can be a net loss of efficiency. If the facility does not offset the net efficiency gains of the new trigeneration system by reducing, displacing, or eliminating the existing water heaters/boilers load, then the facility will not have an optimized installation and therefore will not profit to the extent it could have had the feasibility and design studies been properly conducted.
Trigeneration
Takes Lead Over Cogeneration Due To Superior Efficiency
A trigeneration system consists of a cogeneration plant, and either
absorption or adsorption chillers that produce chilled water by making use
of some of the waste heat recovered from the cogeneration power plant.
Schematic presentation of a gas turbine-based trigeneration facility
While
cooling can be provided by electric-driven compression chillers, low quality
heat (i.e., low temperature, low pressure) that is not used by the
cogeneration power plant can be used to drive the absorption or adsorption
chillers so that the overall primary energy consumption is reduced.
Trigeneration power plants with absorption and/or adsorption chillers have gained acceptance due to their capability of not only integrating with cogeneration systems but also because they can operate with industrial waste heat streams that can be fairly substantial. The benefit of power generation with absorption or adsorption cooling can be realized through the following example that compares it with a power generation system with conventional electric-driven compression systems.
Assume in this example a factory needs 1 MW of electricity and 500 refrigeration tons (RT). (Defintion: A refrigeration ton or RT is defined as the transfer of heat at the rate of 3.52 kW, which is roughly the rate of cooling obtained by melting ice at the rate of one ton per day.)
Let us first consider the gas turbine that generates electricity required for the processes as well as the conventional electric-driven compression chiller. With an electricity demand of 0.65 kW/RT, the compression chiller needs 325 kW of electricity to obtain 500 RT of cooling. Therefore, a total of 1,325 kW of electricity must be provided to this factory. If the gas turbine has an efficiency of 30 percent, primary energy consumption would be 4,417 kW.
However, a trigeneration system with absorption or adsorption chillers can provide the same energy service (power and cooling) by consuming only 3,333 kW of primary energy.
In this example, the trigeneration power plant saves about 24.54 percent of the primary energy needed compared to the cogeneration power plant with electric-driven compression chillers. Since many industries and commercial buildings can use combined power and heating/cooling, trigeneration systems have a high potential for industrial and commercial applications. (The above example is courtesy of ASHRAE.)
Trigeneration, when compared to combined-cycle cogeneration, can be up to 50 percent more efficient, further reducing operating costs, fuel expenses, and environmental pollutants.
Trigeneration systems for commercial buildings are very profitable investments for building owners. A new trigeneration system can pay for itself in as little as two years, depending on local electric rates, natural gas (or other fuel) costs, and the load profile of the building. Trigeneration systems help not only the building owner, but also benefit society in a number of ways, including:
Increased power reliability,
Reduced power requirements on the electric grid; and
Reduced dependence on foreign oil.
The on-site trigeneration system can be economically attractive for many types of buildings, including, but not limited to, the following:
Hospitals
Schools, colleges, and universities
Office buildings
Shopping centers
Government facilities
Manufacturing plants
Data centers
Nursing homes
Hotels
Supermarkets
Refrigerated warehouses
Retail stores
Restaurants
Convention Centers
Ice skating arenas
Airports
Golf/country clubs
Casinos
Resorts
Facilities
with trigeneration systems use them to produce their own electricity, and
use the unused excess (waste) heat for water heating, space heating, air
conditioning, process steam, and other thermal needs.
Improved Power Reliability
Economic losses due to power outages in the U.S. have cost American
businesses billions of dollars. The following table shows the economic
impact of power outages on some industries.
Economic impact of power outages
As
we all know, power outages and rolling blackouts are occurring more
frequently than ever before. And they are not happening only in California;
many other states have experienced similar problems. These problems
primarily occur when demand for power exceeds its supply, for example, on
hot days when power demand for cooling systems increases significantly.
Similar situations occur on very cold days when demand for heating becomes
very high. There may also be local areas that are more prone to power
outages because the demand for power exceeds the ability of the local
distribution line to provide the energy. Other times, weather-related storms
knock down power lines and substation transformers.
Cogeneration and trigeneration systems give commercial and industrial end users their own reliable power supply to keep equipment and facilities operating. Plus, they help reduce the load on the power grid and local area lines and, thus, help improve the local community’s power reliability.
Improved
Indoor Environments
Also of increasing interest is the issue of indoor air quality. In order to
prevent the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria, it is important to keep
humidity in the indoor air to below 60 percent. Cogeneration and
trigeneration systems for buildings can help improve indoor air quality by
supporting the use of a desiccant dehumidification system to dry the air.
Desiccant systems use a material that directly removes moisture from the
air, then use heat, such as that provided by the exhaust gases of the
cogeneration/trigeneration equipment, to regenerate the desiccant. This
provides a very energy efficient and cost effective method of dehumidifying
indoor air, rather that using an air conditioner to "over cool"
the air to remove humidity.
Summary: Advantages Of On-Site Cogeneration And Trigeneration
Cogeneration
and trigeneration are accepted as the most energy-efficient means of
producing electricity and now produce almost 17 percent of the U.S.'
electricity and 15% of electricity globally.
saves
customers up to 50 percent on their energy expenses.
provides
even greater savings to our environment through significantly reduced
emissions associated with power plants.
backed
by environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is promoting the use of more
electricity to be produced through cogeneration power plants. The EPA
recently formed the CHP/Cogeneration Partnership to foster more cogeneration
power plants to meet our nation's electricity demand.
Cogeneration
is a proven technology that has been around for over 100 years. The world's
first power plant designed and built by Thomas Edison in 1882 was a
cogeneration plant. Trigeneration just takes cogeneration one step further.
Two-thirds
of the fuel used to make electricity today in the United States is wasted.
While there have been impressive energy efficiency gains in other sectors of
the economy since the oil price shocks of the 1970s, the average efficiency
of power generation in the United States has stagnated at around 33 percent
since 1960. Cogeneration and trigeneration offer significant efficiency
improvements.
A
new trigeneration power plant may pay for itself in as little as 2-3 years.
It
is important to note that increasing the use of cogeneration and
trigeneration systems is, and has been, one of the best technologies
available for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants created
by the typical power plant as well as a means for conserving fuel and
reducing our reliance on foreign oil.
The
Kyoto Protocol, while not being ratified here in the United States, is
moving ahead with ratification throughout the rest of the world. Countries
throughout much of Europe and Asia view cogeneration and trigeneration as
the best energy technologies to meet the stringent emissions requirements of
the Kyoto Protocol.
Primary fuels commonly used in trigeneration include natural gas, oil, diesel fuel, propane, coal, wood, wood-waste, and bio-mass. These "primary" fuels are used to make electricity that is a "secondary" energy. This is why electricity, when compared on a Btu to Btu basis, is typically three to four times more expensive than primary fuels such natural gas.
A typical cogeneration power plant consists of an engine, steam turbine, or combustion turbine that drives an electrical generator. A waste heat exchanger recovers waste heat from the engine and/or exhaust gas to produce hot water or steam for a building. In trigeneration power plants, an absorption or adsorption chiller is added to a cogeneration system to also utilize the waste heat to make chilled water for air conditioning.
Cogeneration produces a given amount of electric power and heat with 20 to 30 percent less fuel than it takes to produce the electricity and heat separately. Trigeneration produces chilled water in addition to electric power and heat with approximately 50 percent less fuel than it takes to produce electricity, heat, and chilled water separately.
What are CHP Systems?
A CHP System integrates distributed generation (DE) with thermally-activated power and energy technologies for heating and cooling.
CHP Systems are more commonly referred to as "Trigeneration" plants and also referred to as:
Cogeneration plus Absorption Chillers - or - ADsorption Chillers
CHP Systems are also at the center of every District Energy System.
CHP Systems, District Energy Systems, Integrated Energy Systems, or Trigeneration plants, no matter how they are referred, achieve overall, net system energy efficiencies of 80% plus, and several Trigeneration plants are nearing 90% efficiencies nearing almost 300% increased efficiency over power provided by electric utilities and their central power plants"! This means significantly lowered:
energy costs
fuel costs
CHP
Systems
achieve these greater energy efficiencies through the conversion of exhaust or reject heat from power generation into needed energy services like cooling and heating of
buildings as well as campuses. This is called "Waste
Heat Recovery" or "Recycled
Energy." Development of "packaged" or "modularized" CHP
Systems for end-use applications, such as commercial and institutional buildings, is
something the founder of our company has been involved with since the mid
1980's.
In the past, Cogeneration
plants have been economically attractive only in sizes above several megawatts. The emergence of a number of small generation technologies, including fuel cells, advanced low emissions engines, and
gas turbines with outputs in the 1000
kW - 5000 kW range, should extend the benefits of Integrated
Energy Systems to a much larger user base, with a consequent increase in national energy and environmental benefits.
For example, the application of CHP Systems(including Absorption Chillers - or - ADsorption Chillers) in commercial buildings could reduce commercial building energy consumption by 30%.
Application of such smaller-scale packaged
CHP Systems provides a major breakthrough in energy efficiency
technology, energy savings as well as reduced greenhouse
gas emissions. And, by locating the power generation at or near the end-user/consumer,
i.e. their facility, building, or campus, the difficulties in siting and building new electric transmission and electric distribution infrastructures to meet today's increasing power demand are minimized.
The most promising markets for Trigeneration
plants, CHP Systems, District
Energy Systems or Integrated
Energy Systems are commercial or institutional buildings, government facilities, and district energy systems that distribute thermal energy to buildings in a college campus, hospital complex, industrial park,
food processing operations, refrigerated warehouses, and also very attractive
for cities.
____________________________________________________
What
is a Power Purchase Agreement?
A Power Purchase Agreement is a legal agreement wherein our clients agree to buy either the power
(electricity) or the power and energy (hot water, steam and/or chilled water for
air-conditioning) - or both - directly from us, for a term of 10 to 20 years, where we have
installed, own and operate our solar energy systems.
In
nearly every case, once we have installed our solar
energy systems at our client's facility, we can immediately
reduce our (commercial) client's electricity expenses by 10% over what
they were paying for their power electricity from their electric utility.
The
right Power Purchase Agreement,
solar
cogeneration or solar
trigeneration energy solution, may save your company
hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions of dollars over the term of the
agreement.
Simultaneously, having the wrong or poorly drafted PPA can cost your company thousands or millions of dollars. You wouldn't consult a brain surgeon to treat your child's broken bone! Selecting the wrong attorneys, law firm or team to promulgate or re-negotiate your Power Purchase Agreement can leave you "powerless" and penniless - and still requiring the skills and expertise of competent and qualified professionals to resolve the situation.
Because a Power Purchase Agreement is at the "heart" and underlying foundation of our projects, we can help your business with the selection and oversight of PPA's.
We can help your city or community create a Municipal Utility District or Public Utility District that may then qualify for our very competitively priced energy and electricity rates. Now is the time for cities, municipal and governmental clients to consider having our company install one of our renewable power and energy systems that will generate "clean" power and energy, lower costs, and avoid the coming electricity shortages and grid congestion problems!
Products and services provided by us include the following power and energy project development services:
Project Engineering Feasibility & Economic Analysis Studies
Engineering, Procurement and Construction
Environmental Engineering & Permitting
Project Funding & Financing Options; including Equity Investment, Debt Financing, Lease and Municipal Lease
Shared/Guaranteed Savings Program with No Capital Investment from Qualified Clients
Project Commissioning
3rd Party Ownership and Project Development
Long-term Service Agreements
Operations & Maintenance
Green Tag (Renewable Energy Credit, Carbon Dioxide Credits, Emission Reduction Credits) Brokerage Services; Application and Permitting
Optional SCR System Reduces Nitrogen Oxides To "Non-Detect"
Without Ammonia or Urea
Small footprint Trigeneration
Plants measurements are: 15' wide by 15'
in height by and 55' in length
We will NOT use
the following engines or turbines:
Microturbines
Daewoo engines
Kawasaki turbines
in ANY of our cogeneration
or trigeneration
power plants.
Our
territory includes the U.S.A., Canada, the Caribbean
and Central America.
We can package any combination of standard size plants to come up with your optimum size system. Our standard and customized CHP Systems, Cogeneration and Trigeneration plants use the leading brands of reciprocating engines or turbines and include our proprietary Waste Heat Recovery technologies that help us achieve system efficiencies greater than 90% and effective heat rates as low as 4050 btu's/kW. We provide both standard and customized Trigeneration plants that meet our customer's most stringent economic and environmental requirements.
Our Power Plants can run on renewable fuels for even greater environmental and economic savings! These fuels or energy sources include: Biomethane, B100 Biodiesel, Synthesis Gas and natural gas.
Net system efficiencies of our Trigeneration power plants are now exceeding 90% with up to 95% lower emissions when using Biomethane, B100 Biodiesel, Synthesis Gas and natural gas as the fuel for Trigeneration power plants.
For pricing and delivery information on our Cogeneration, Trigeneration, Biomethane or B100 Biodiesel power plants, call/email us or send an email with your project's requirements to: info@trigeneration.com
___________________________________________________
Absorption Chillers & Adsorption Chillers
Absorption
chillers use
heat instead of mechanical energy to provide cooling. A thermal compressor
consists of an absorber, a generator, a pump, and a throttling device, and
replaces the mechanical vapor compressor.
In
the chiller, refrigerant vapor from the evaporator is absorbed by a solution
mixture in the absorber. This solution is then pumped to the generator. There
the refrigerant re-vaporizes using a waste steam heat source. The
refrigerant-depleted solution then returns to the absorber via a throttling
device. The two most common refrigerant/ absorbent mixtures used in absorption
chillers are
water/lithium bromide and ammonia/water.
Compared
with mechanical chillers, absorption
chillers have a
low coefficient of performance (COP = chiller load/heat input). However, absorption
chillers can
substantially reduce operating costs because they are powered by low-grade
waste heat. Vapor compression chillers, by contrast, must be motor- or
engine-driven.
Low-pressure,
steam-driven absorption
chillers are
available in capacities ranging from 100 to 1,500 tons. Absorption
chillers come in
two commercially available designs: single-effect and double-effect.
Single-effect machines provide a thermal COP of 0.7 and require about 18
pounds of 15-pound-per-square-inch-gauge (psig) steam per ton-hour of cooling.
Double-effect machines are about 40% more efficient, but require a higher
grade of thermal input, using about 10 pounds of 100- to 150-psig steam per
ton-hour.
In
single-effect absorption
chillers, all
condensing heat cools and condenses in the condenser. From there it is
released to the cooling water. A double-effect machine adopts a higher heat
efficiency of condensation and divides the generator into a high-temperature
and a low-temperature generator.
Actions
You Can Take
Determine the cost-effectiveness of displacing a portion of your cooling load
with a waste steam absorption chiller by taking the following steps:
Conduct
a plant survey to identify sources and availability of waste steam
Determine
cooling load requirements and the cost of meeting those requirements with
existing mechanical chillers or new installations
Obtain
installed cost quotes for a waste steam absorption chiller
Conduct a life cycle cost analysis to determine if the waste steam absorption chiller meets your company's cost-effectiveness criteria.
The basic cooling cycle is the same for the absorption and electric chillers. Both systems use a low-temperature liquid refrigerant that absorbs heat from the water to be cooled and converts to a vapor phase (in the evaporator section). The refrigerant vapors are then compressed to a higher pressure (by a compressor or a generator), converted back into a liquid by rejecting heat to the external surroundings (in the condenser section), and then expanded to a low- pressure mixture of liquid and vapor (in the expander section) that goes back to the evaporator section and the cycle is repeated.
The basic difference between the electric chillers and absorption chillers is that an electric chiller uses an electric motor for operating a compressor used for raising the pressure of refrigerant vapors and absorption chillers use the heat for compressing refrigerant vapors to a high-pressure. The rejected heat from the power-generation equipment (e.g. turbines, microturbines, and engines) may be used with an absorption chiller to provide the cooling in a CHP system.
The basic absorption cycle employs two fluids, the absorbate or refrigerant, and the absorbent. The most commonly fluids are water as the refrigerant and lithium bromide as the absorbent. These fluids are separated and recombined in the absorption cycle. In the absorption cycle the low-pressure refrigerant vapor is absorbed into the absorbent releasing a large amount of heat. The liquid refrigerant/absorbent solution is pumped to a high-operating pressure generator using significantly less electricity than that for compressing the refrigerant for an electric chiller. Heat is added at the high-pressure generator from a gas burner, steam, hot water or hot gases. The added heat causes the refrigerant to desorb from the absorbent and vaporize. The vapors flow to a condenser, where heat is rejected and condense to a high-pressure liquid. The liquid is then throttled though an expansion valve to the lower pressure in the evaporator where it evaporates by absorbing heat and provides useful cooling. The remaining liquid absorbent, in the generator passes through a valve, where its pressure is reduced, and then is recombined with the low-pressure refrigerant vapors returning from the evaporator so the cycle can be repeated.
Absorption chillers are used to generate cold water (44°F) that is circulated to air handlers in the distribution system for air conditioning.
"Indirect-fired" absorption chillers use steam, hot water or hot gases steam from a boiler, turbine or engine generator, or fuel cell as their primary power input. Theses chillers can be well suited for integration into a CHP system for buildings by utilizing the rejected heat from the electric generation process, thereby providing high operating efficiencies through use of otherwise wasted energy.
"Direct-fired" systems contain natural gas burners; rejected heat from these chillers can be used to regenerate desiccant dehumidifiers or provide hot water.
Commercially, absorption chillers can be single-effect or multiple-effect. The above schematic refers to a single-effect absorption chiller. Multiple-effect absorption chillers are more efficient and discussed below.
Multiple-Effect Absorption Chillers
In single-effect absorption chillers, the heat released during the chemical process of absorbing refrigerant vapor into the liquid stream, rich in absorbent, is rejected to the environment. In a multiple-effect absorption chiller, some of this energy is used as the driving force to generate more refrigerant vapor. The more vapor generated per unit of heat or fuel input, the greater the cooling capacity and the higher the overall operating efficiency.
Double-effect absorption chillers uses two generators paired with a single condenser, absorber, and evaporator. It requires a higher temperature heat input to operate and therefore they are limited in the type of electrical generation equipment they can be paired with when used in a CHP System.
Triple-effect absorption chillers can achieve even higher efficiencies than the double-effect chillers. These absorption chillers require still higher elevated operating temperatures that can limit choices in materials and refrigerant/absorbent pairs. Triple-effect chillers are under development by manufacturers working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy.
___________________________________________________
What is Engineering Procurement Construction?
Engineering Procurement Construction, also referred to as; Engineer Procure Construct, "EPC" or Engineering Procurement and Construction, is the terminology used when an owner, for example, is seeking to build a new cogeneration power plant uses when the owner is seeking a "turnkey" project solution. EPC contracts are not only a very common form of contracting within the construction industry, but increasingly becoming the norm, particularly in the electric power generation (power plants) and utility sector.
The construction company, via the EPC contract with the owner, provides for the design, engineering, procurement of all related supplies, components, materials, labor, services, etc. The contractor, with approval/permit by EPC contract with the owner, may sub-contract part of the work.
What
is Front End Engineering
Design?
Front-end
Engineering Design, also known as Front End
Engineering or
"FEED," is the preliminary engineering and conceptual design completed
in advance of the start of EPC (Engineering, Procurement and
Construction). Front End Engineering usually concludes with the
engineering firm's presentation of an Engineering
Feasibility Study or Analysis.
Front-end
Engineering Design includes a design team that includes and integrates
all or most engineering fields such as mechanical engineering, electrical
engineering, environmental engineering, civil engineering, power engineering,
chemical engineering, etc. The FEED design team includes the project
visualization and conceptualization stages, including "what-if"
decision making analyses, integrating the client company's goals, objectives
into an efficient and economic engineering solution.
What is Balance of
Plant?
Balance of plant
or "BOP," consists of the remaining systems, components, and structures that comprise a complete power plant or energy system
- not included in the prime mover and waste heat recovery (ex.
gas turbines,
steam turbines,
heat
recovery steam generators (HRSG), waste heat
boilers, etc.) systems. In solar
power parks, BOP is referred to as BOS or balance
of system.
Engineering Procurement and Construction
EPC Contracts and Performance Guarantees
Engineering Procurement and Construction or "EPC" contracts with long-term performance guarantees are becoming increasingly popular for some renewable energy technologies, such as commercial-scale photovoltaic systems.
Engineering Procurement and Construction contracts give the owner unprecedented assurance that the system will provide the long-term energy benefits advertised without wasting time and money with the Architectural and Engineering ("A&E") firm or expensive change orders that take additional time and resources to process and integrate. These performance guarantees cover the entire installation and go way beyond manufacturer warranties that only cover specific parts and not the system as a whole.
EPC and performance guarantee contracts can be a wise choice for many reasons. Oftentimes, the Architectural and Engineering firms do not have the in-house expertise to understand fully how to specify renewable energy systems. Due to the newer nature of these technologies and the rapidly developing nature of many technologies, this is a specialized field of its own for each renewable technology type. If the Architectural and Engineering company specifies particular equipment, while it may be feasible, it may not be the optimal design or the most likely to be available at construction.
EPC contracts also provide more flexibility in equipment choices that can reduce change orders and construction delays. For example, many photovoltaic modules change specifications and dimensions on almost a monthly basis. Even the oldest and most reputable manufacturers are working to keep pace with fierce competition in the field today. Given that the modules are the heart of the photovoltaic system, it reasons that specifying a particular module in the construction documents might result in a change order and result in cost over runs and delays by actual construction.
In an EPC contract with a performance guarantee, the contractor has a strong financial incentive to use the most reliable and highest performing equipment and to ensure the highest standards are maintained throughout installation and that any details that could influence long-term performance are addressed. Practices ranging from cherry picking the highest output modules to over-sizing wiring and conduit to improved operations and maintenance (O&M) plans might not be necessary for inspection or commissioning but can contribute to meeting the contractor's long-term performance liability. These same practices in turn enhance the long-term energy performance to the greater benefit of the facility and those that operate it.
Performance guarantee contracts attract top renewable energy contractors with long-term success in their fields. Less capable or experienced contractors will not savor the extra liability involved, nor will they have the expertise or even access to the top quality equipment necessary to fulfill a performance guarantee.
Certain provisions should be included with any EPC contract to ensure coordination and consistency with the remainder of the project. All contracts and subcontracts related to the project should include provisions requiring participation in the integrated design process including coordination of design with other related aspects of the project.
The EPC contractor needs to work with the Architectural and Engineering firm to understand the building elements that are necessary to the integration of the renewable energy system. In addition, an EPC contract needs provisions to ensure coordination with the larger project construction team. While coordination is important, this type of design and construction contract allows the contractors to do what they do best and frees more of the agency's critical planning resources for other aspects of the project.
Additional provisions standard with other construction contract terms should also be included in the EPC contract. These include requiring the team to perform enhanced commissioning over the first year and developing an O&M manual and training for the system.
Through a combination of EPC contracts combined with long-term performance guarantees, the construction relationship is transformed from being sometimes adversarial to being a win/win situation for everyone involved.
Engineering Procurement
Construction and
Front End Engineering Design (FEED)
and
Project Development Services
______________________________________________________
What is "Decentralized Energy"?
Decentralized Energy is the opposite of "centralized energy." Decentralized Energy energy generates the power and energy that a residential, commercial or industrial customer needs, onsite. Examples of decentralized energy production are solar energy systems and solar trigeneration energy systems.
Today's electric utility industry was "born" in the 1930's, when fossil fuel prices were cheap, and the cost of wheeling the electricity via transmission power lines, was also cheap. "Central" power plants could be located hundreds of miles from the load centers, or cities, where the electricity was needed. These extreme inefficiencies and cheap fossil fuel prices have added a considerable economic and environmental burden to the consumers and the planet.
Centralized energy is found in the form of electric utility companies that generate power from "central" power plants. Central power plants are highly inefficient, averaging only 33% net system efficiency. This means that the power coming to your home or business - including the line losses and transmission inefficiencies of moving the power - has lost 75% to as much as 80% energy it started with at the "central" power plant. These losses and inefficiencies translate into significantly increased energy expenses by the residential and commercial consumers.
Decentralized Energy
is the Best Way to Generate Clean and Green Energy!
How we make and distribute electricity is changing!
The electric power generation, transmission and distribution system (the electric "grid") is changing and evolving from the electric grid of the 19th and 20th centuries, which was inefficient, highly-polluting, very expensive and “dumb.”
The "old" way of generating and distributing energy resembles this slide:
The electric grid of the 21st century (see slide below) will be Decentralized, Smart, Efficient and provide "carbon free energy" and “pollution free power” to customers who remain on the electric grid. The electric grid of the future will be comprised of both Onsite Power Generation plants and "utility scale power plants" that are fueled/powered with Biomass Gasification, Biomethane, Concentrating Solar Power, B100 Biodiesel, Distributed PV, EcoGeneration Systems, Geothermal Power Plants, Synthesis Gas, Rooftop PV, Solar Cogeneration, Solar Energy Systems, Solar Power Parks, Solar Trigeneration and Wind Power Generation - located at Residential, Commercial, Industrial and City/Municipal Locations.
Some customers will choose to dis-connect from the grid entirely. (Electric grid represented by the small light blue circles in the slide below.)
The transmission grid will be upgraded to a "Unified Smart Grid" with green electrons now being wheeled via "High Voltage Direct Current."
Typical "central" power plants and the electric utility companies that own them will either be shut-down, closed or go out of business due to one or more of the following: failed business model, inordinate expenses related to central power plants that are inefficient, excessive pollution/emissions, high costs, continued reliance on the use of fossil fuels to generate energy, and the failure to provide efficient, carbon free energy and pollution free power.
Carbon free energy and pollution free power reduces our dependence on foreign oil and makes us Energy Independent while reducing and eliminating Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
* Some of the above information from the Department of Energy website with permission.
________________________________________________________
America's "Clear and Present Danger"
America
Has INCREASED its' Dependence on Foreign
Sources of Energy by 50% Since 1973.
America
is even more "addicted" to foreign oil today, than we were in 1973 -
1974 when OPEC, Saudi Arabia and other suppliers from the Middle-East
stopped selling us their fossil fuels, and created a significant blow to our
economy.
According
to the CIA Fact Book, Every Day, the U.S.
PRODUCES: 7,460,000 bbls of oil
CONSUMES:
20,800,000 bbls of oil
This
Means that 65% of America's Energy Supplies are Now Imported from Suppliers
from Foreign Countries.
Simply put, about 65% of the gasoline in your car's gas tank, comes from a foreign country.
EVERY day, the U.S. must IMPORT over 13 million bbls of oil from foreign countries and foreign suppliers to meet demand.
At
$80/barrel of oil, this also means that $1,040,000,000.00 American Dollars leave
our country, EVERY DAY, to foreign countries/suppliers of our fossil fuels, to
pay for the energy we need.
That's
$1 Billion EVERY day leaving our economy, and going to support a foreign
country's economy.
Talk
about our foreign trade deficit..... nearly $400 Billion each year, leaves our
country to pay for our oil addiction and the energy we need. To be exact,
that's $379,600,000,000.00 American Dollars.
This is NOT acceptable.
America needs to quickly transition to Energy Independence.
Renewable Energy is the Only Way America Can Achieve Energy Independence.
Millions of new and sustainable American jobs would be created here at home, if we would end our addiction to foreign fossil fuels, and quickly transition to an economy based on renewable energy and renewable fuels, produced here in the U.S.A.
The good news is that today, America already has all of the Renewable Energy Resources and Renewable Energy Technologies needed to make American Energy Independence a reality.
According to Monty Goodell, Founder and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Institute, "our increased dependence and reliance on foreign energy supplies represents a Clear and Present Danger to our national security, our economy, and the lives and livelihood of every American. Energy - including the energy we use from imported fossil fuels, is the very "lifeblood" of the American economy as it is for every industrialized country. An economy dies without it's lifeblood of energy. This Clear and Present Danger we face is far more serious than the problems related to greenhouse gas emissions. And while greenhouse gas emissions are very serious issue, in the long-term, pales in comparison to America's vital national security interests and America's economic stability in the short term. For this reason alone, America needs to transition away from its addiction to foreign energy supplies. And America's abundant renewable energy resources such as the energy we receive from the sun, and renewable energy technologies such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants - can supply 100% of America's power requirements with a concentrating solar power plant measuring 75 miles by 75 miles, located in the Southwest U.S. By generating America's power from concentrating solar power plants, America resolves its' short-term Clear and Present Danger as it relates to importing its energy from foreign countries, and the long-term problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions."
Continuing, Mr. Goodell states that "too many Americans have forgotten what happened to us in 1973, when the Arabs and OPEC brought the United States economy to a screeching halt during the OPEC Oil Embargo. This happened because they (mainly the country of Saudi Arabia) disagreed with our foreign policy and is the reason why they "turned off the tap" of our need for their oil supplies. When Saudi Arabia and OPEC stopped the vital flow of oil to our country in 1973, they caused an "oil shock" that severely and negatively impacted our economy.
Mr. Goodell's question for us to ponder is, "do these countries who sell us 60% of our daily energy requirements, like us and our foreign policy, or might they leverage our addiction to their fossil fuels, and turn off the tap to make us adjust or revise our foreign policy?? Like any addict, America's foreign policy may be held hostage to its addiction, and in this case, our addiction to foreign oil, may over-ride our national interests."
Have
American's forgotten the gas shortages and long lines at
their gas stations to get
gas during the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973?
"Apparently so." Mr. Goodell states that "in 1973, America was 'addicted' and 'over the barrel' of foreign oil to the amount of 40%. Forty percent of our energy 'needs' in 1973 came from countries - many of which didn't like us then, and I'm afraid, many of them still don't. The difference between 1973 and today - is that today we receive 50% MORE foreign oil now than we did in 1973. And now we know about the problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions that we didn't know then. America needs to change course, and change course now, in terms of its' energy supplies and how we keep America's economy strong, without the threat of being held hostage to a middle-east tyrant or regime, that could once again, turn on us, and turn off our supply of foreign oil."
Remember ????

"Sadly,
most Americans have forgotten the long lines of people waiting in their cars
- lined up and waiting
for gasoline at their nearby gas station, with lines that were many blocks
long. And, after waiting 4-5 hours, many even waiting overnight in many places, to
finally take their turn to fill up their car with gasoline, only to find that
the gas station
had run out of gas."
"Let me Repeat.... That was 1973 when we imported 40% of our daily energy requirements in the form of crude oil from overseas, and from foreign countries - and many of these from countries that don't like us.
Today, over 35 years later, America has yet to learn the lesson. We cannot continue our reliance on energy from foreign countries that supply us with 60% of the crude oil that our refineries use as a feedstock for producing gasoline and diesel fuel for our cars and trucks comes from overseas.
America is "over the barrel" and it's not our barrel, but the barrels of oil that we are addicted by and owned by other countries. Why have we not learned the lessons we needed to learn in 1973 when we were cut-off from the vital energy supplies we need?
Countries like China, are growing rapidly, and have an insatiable need for crude oil. China, with their booming economy, is increasingly growing in its clout and control over international supplies of crude oil - whether they do this through their ability to buy as much oil as they need on a daily basis, or whether they simply but American drilling rigs, technology, and explore and produce oil and gas from their own fields. China, is buying large amounts of oil for their country, and causing upward pricing on declining supplies. What happens if Russia, with all of their oil and natural gas, along with China and Venezuela, with or without the help of OPEC, decided to NOT sell oil to us????
To be sure, greenhouse gas emissions are a problem, and to some, greenhouse gas emissions are also a Clear and Present Danger, but not to the extent that it presents an imminent Clear and Present Danger.
America's reliance for 60% of our energy "needs" coming from foreign suppliers is un-acceptable.
The "driver" to get America to begin reducing and eliminating fossil fuel use should be our nation's national security and the welfare and safety of its citizens. And this can all begin with developing and investing in our own renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies, let's start by putting solar on every rooftop that has a clear and unobstructed view of the Southern sky. See www.RooftopPV.com or www.DistributedPV.com for more information. Let's create incentives begin with adopting a national "Feed In Tariff" as Germany did in 1990.
We simply do NOT have the luxury of time on our hands. We need to end our
dependence and reliance on foreign fossil fuels, especially from countries that
don't like us! We need to rapidly begin expanding renewable energy
resources and renewable
energy technologies from our vast and abundant renewable energy resources,
such as; solar, solar energy
systems, solar cogeneration,
solar trigeneration,
"solar on every roof," along with; Biomass
Gasification, B100 Biodiesel, Biomethane,
E100
Ethanol (from cellulosic, agricultural waste, sugar cane, etc., and NOT from
corn), Geothermal Power Plants,
Natural Wastewater Treatment,
Synthesis Gas, Waste
To Energy, Waste To Fuel and Wind
Power Generation where it makes economic and environmental sense."
For more information, call/email the
Renewable Energy Institute
____________________________________________________
Are you doing your part to prevent Climate Change and End America's Reliance on Foreign Energy?
Our following
EcoGeneration
technologies,
including our
Biomethane,
B100
Biodiesel and
Synthesis Gas Fuels
Generated from our "Waste to Fuel"
technologies are Carbon Free Energy
and Pollution Free Power
solutions that will:
* forever change the way energy is generated and used.
* eliminate or greatly reduce our customer's electric demand charges and electric expenses.
* slow, stop and eventually reverse climate change by reducing and then
eliminating anthropogenic
greenhouse
gas emissions
- of which
carbon
dioxide emissions
makes up 80% of all greenhouse
gas emissions.
* reduce and eventually eliminate the use of coal and other fossil fuels.
*
reduce the need for inefficient and expensive central power plants owned by
utility companies.
* promote energy independence.
* end America's dependence on oil from OPEC and other countries in the Middle-East, Venezuela and end our need for importing natural gas from Russia.
A
merican Energy Plan
Anaerobic Digester
www.AnaerobicDigester.com
Anaerobic Digesters
www.AnaerobicDigesters.com
B100 Biodiesel
www.B100Biodiesel.com
Battery
Energy Storage
www.BatteryEnergyStorage.com
Biomass
Gasification
www.BiomassGasification.com
Biomethane
www.Biomethane.com
Building Automation System
www.BuildingAutomationSystem.com
Carbon
Dioxide Emissions
www.CarbonDioxideEmissions.com
Carbon Emissions
www.CarbonEmissions.com
Carbon Free Energy
www.CarbonFreeEnergy.com
Clean Power Generation
www.CleanPowerGeneration.com
Cogeneration
www.Cogeneration.net
Concentrating
Solar Power
www.ConcentratingSolarPower.com
Demand
Response Programs
www.DemandResponsePrograms.com
Distributed
PV
www.DistributedPV.com
Distributed
Solar Generation
www.DistributedSolarGeneration.com
EcoGeneration
www.EcoGeneration.com
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
www.GreenhouseGasEmissions.com
Net
Zero Energy
www.NetZeroEnergy.com
Net
Zero Energy Building
www.NetZeroEnergyBuilding.com
No Foreign Oil
www.NoForeignOil.com
Plug
In Electric Vehicles
www.PlugInElectricVehicles.com
Pollution
Free Power
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Rooftop
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Solar Energy Systems
www.SolarEnergySystems.net
Solar Power Parks
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Solar Cogeneration
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Solar Trigeneration
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Synthesis Gas
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Trigeneration
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Waste Heat Recovery
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Waste to Energy
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Waste
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Zero Emission Power
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The Renewable Energy Institute is "Changing The Way The World Makes and Uses Energy by Providing Research & Development, Funding and Resources That Creates Sustainable Energy via 'Carbon Free Energy,' 'Clean Power Generation' and 'Pollution Free Power' Through Expanding the use of Renewable Energy Technologies."
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