by Shane Henson — June 7, 2013—The Texas Legislature’s recent passage of House Bill (HB) 2049 is great news for cogeneration facilities in Texas, according to the Texas Combined Heat & Power Initiative (TXCHPI), a champion of the combined heat and power (CHP) industry’s pursuit of providing robust, efficient, economical, reliable, and environmentally sensible on-site power generation in Texas.
TXCHPI predicts that the bill, sponsored by Texas Representative Dan Huberty (District 127, Houston), will be successful in removing regulatory barriers and improving the business climate for the state’s cogeneration facilities.
CHP is the simultaneous production, and use, of electricity and heat energy. HB 2049 clarifies language in the Texas Utility Code to allow cogeneration facilities to sell electricity and heat energy to the same customer within the proximity of the facility, thereby maximizing the efficiency and minimizing financial risk. Prior to this change, cogeneration facilities could sell electricity to only one customer, explains TXCHPI.
Texas’ leading industries, such as chemical processors and refineries, need heat (typically in the form of steam) for their manufacturing or processing operations. Cogeneration facilities will now be able to more directly serve the heat and power needs of Texas’ leading industries, and the measure is likely to spur economic development in other situations where cogeneration can be effectively implemented.
CHP technology is advantageous since it increases the economic benefits of using natural gas while preserving water for Texas communities. Natural gas used in CHP produces up to 65 percent fewer emissions than coal per kilowatt hour (kWh), making it a much cleaner base load fuel, says TXCHPI. CHP does not use water resources like traditional power generation, and the energy is produced and consumed where it is needed without the loss of energy that typically occurs during transmission and distribution.
