EPRI assessment of power plant retrofits for district heating and cooling

Cogeneration plants are widely used in Europe, notably in Finland, Denmark, and the Russian Republic and in other regions of what was the USSR, to supply electricity and district heating for residential, community, or industrial use. District heating in the Europe was originally established to conserve fuel but is now also viewed as a means of minimizing emissions. The benefits of district heating and cogeneration are also being realized in the United States, typically by independent power producers, although electric utilities are considering cogeneration as well. By retrofitting existing power plants to provide thermal energy in the form of steam, how water, or chilled water, electric utility companies can nearly double total plant energy utilization efficiency. Furthermore, air and noise pollution is substantially reduced by eliminating the original multiple energy sources and replacing the thermal energy with that supplied by the existing central plant.