Krebs, how do natural gas combined heat and power plants actually work?
“Essentially, combined heat and power plants are small power plants that are driven by a natural gas motor and linked up to an electric generator. They are based around the principle of cogeneration. What this means is that heat is generated as a by-product of power generation. This heat is then stored and used at the site of its creation. The same principle is applied at larger power plants too, but it is much less effective in that scenario: We are able to achieve efficiency in excess of 90% with our systems, while the figure for a large power plant following the conventional model is likely to be just 50%. This much is clear from the water vapour that can be seen rising from cooling towers and escaping into the atmosphere.” What do you consider to be the greatest benefits of combined heat and power plants? “We are actually utilising our waste heat, whereas in other power plants this heat is generally lost via the cooling water. The result is that we are able to save energy, operate
