by Shane Henson — December 28, 2012—Annual installations of commercial combined heat and power (comCHP) systems will reach nearly 39 gigawatts (GW) in 2012, and that number will more than double by 2022 to 79.5 GW, according to a recent report from Pike Research, a division of Navigant Consulting’s global energy practice that provides in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets.
Commercial combined heat and power systems, which are small to medium distributed energy generation systems that produce electricity while also capturing heat that would otherwise be treated as waste, are garnering increased interest from policy makers, utilities, and building owners in a growing number of countries, notes Pike Research.
The company’s report, Combined Heat and Power for Commercial Buildings, analyzes the global market potential for comCHP systems for a range of building applications—including hospitals, universities, hotels, casinos, airports, and others—using technologies that include internal combustion engines, fuel cells, Stirling engines, and Organic Rankine Cycle.
The report includes in-depth assessments of leading countries for the manufacture and adoption of comCHP systems, the technologies utilized in such systems, and the key industry players engaged in this market. Worldwide market forecasts, segmented by region, are provided through 2022 for system shipments, installed capacity, average installation capacity size, and revenue.
CHP represents a new paradigm for commercial building applications, according to the report.
“The use of CHP can reduce a building’s energy demand by up to 40 percent when compared to the separate production of heat and power,” says Pike Research senior research analyst Mackinnon Lawrence. “Although the high upfront cost of CHP systems and the challenge of finding suitable uses for the heat generated are key barriers, relatively short payback periods have allowed many major companies to invest in these energy-saving technologies.”
