By Rod Walton, EnergyTech Senior Editor
The adaptability of micro combined heat and power (CHP) plants to burn biomass and reach net-zero or near-zero carbon outputs is driving significant growth for the sector over the next five years, according to multiple industry reports.
A new forecast by ResearchandMarkets predicts that the global micro CHP market will rise an average 18 percent annually from 2021 to 2026. Micro CHP plants are defined as those which can generate electricity and heat in the same process and vary in the range to 50 kW capacity.
These can be utilized for farming operations, small industrial, health care and educational campuses, office buildings and multifamily residential facilities. Companies in this micro CHP space include 2G Energy, Capstone Green Energy (pictured) and TEDOM A.S., among others.
Biogas micro CHP can be utilized when fuel resources are nearby and the site is off the primary natural gas-fired grid. Crop residues, animal manure, municipal solid waste and woody biomass all can be components of biogas CHP fuel mix, according to ResearchandMarkets.
Considering the fuel mix in CHP plants, the share of renewable and waste (including biogas) has grown over the years and was estimated to have a share of around 30% as early as 2018, according to the research firm.
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Asia Pacific is the largest market for micro CHP technologies and deployment. Japan has embraced fuel cell-based micro CHP as forms of heat and electricity in the residential and commercial segments such as hotels, public facilities and hospitals, the report summary said.
The North American micro-CHP market is relatively small by comparison, but was projected to grow to 2 MW (or the equivalent of 80 25-kW systems) by 2026, according to an earlier forecast by Global Market Insights.
Trash-to-energy power plants are classified as carbon reduction resources because methane emitting from landfills is multiple times more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon, according to reports.
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(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can reached at [email protected]).
