An overview concerning combined heat and power production: a smart way to improve energy efficiency

Cogeneration power plants simultaneously generate power and usable heat in a single, integrated system, which achieves a degree of overall efficiency that is much greater compared to electricity production alone. This makes better use of energy conversion and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Combined heat and power production is already relatively common in Europe while it is less common, for example, in the USA. There is great potential for further implementation throughout Europe and worldwide, including in the industrial sector. Major challenges are the short potential distances for the transport of heat and the fact that consumers’ heat demands vary in quantity, mainly due to seasonal effects, and in quality as different applications require different temperature levels. Cleaner production schemes offer suitable frameworks to foster uptake of combined heat and power production by industry, in particular by small and medium sized enterprises.