The state of Georgia could dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while creating new jobs and a healthier public, if more of its energy-intensive industries and commercial buildings were to utilize combined heat and power (CHP), according to the latest research.
The paper, digitally available now and in print on December 15 in the journal Applied Energy, finds that CHP — or cogeneration — could measurably reduce Georgia’s carbon footprint while creating green jobs. Georgia ranks 8th among all 50 states for total net electricity generation and 11th for total carbon dioxide emissions, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
«There is an enormous opportunity for CHP to save industries money and make them more competitive, while at the same time reducing air pollution, creating jobs and enhancing public health,» said principal investigator Marilyn Brown, Regents and Brook Byers professor of Sustainable Systems at Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy.
Benefiting the Environment, Economy, and Public Health
The research finds that if Georgia added CHP systems to the 9,374 sites that are suitable for cogeneration, it could reduce carbon emissions in Georgia by 13%. Bringing CHP to just 34 of Georgia’s industrial plants, each with 25 megawatts of electricity capacity, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2%. The study authors, using modeling tools they developed, note that this «achievable» level of CHP adoption could add 2,000 jobs to the state; full deployment could support 13,000 new jobs.
According to Brown, CHP systems can be 85 to 90% efficient, compared with 45 to 60% efficiency of traditional heat and power systems. CHP has advantages over renewable electricity from solar and wind, which only offers intermittent power.
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Materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.