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CHP in Virginia
D.C.
| Delaware
| Maryland
| New
Jersey | Pennsylvania
| Virginia
| West
Virginia
Summary
of Activity
A significant percentage of the electrical generation
in VA takes advantage of its waste heat, at 11% of total
generating capacity this is above the 8% national average
in 2003. 9.7% of this capacity is in the industrial
sector, .04% is in the commercial with the remainder
in residential. Electrical prices are below the national
average and have fallen steadily for the last 10 years.
Natural gas has experienced price fluctuations along
with the all other states in the region and seen prices
climb 42% over the last 12 years. There has been a fair
amount of CHP and distributed energy activity in the
state to this point. There remains 18,767MW of CHP potential
within the state, the bulk of it within the industrial
sector.
Installed
CHP Capacity
Currently, Virginia 's CHP
market generates 11.4% of its total energy market,
amounting to a capacity of 18767MW. This energy is
primarily generated through 44 major CHP facilities.
Commercial attributions account for 78.7MW of the
total market through the use of 10 different facilities.
The remainder is attributed to industrial and other
uncategorized sectors, having 33 facilities producing
1828.1MW and one facility producing 240.0MW, respectively.
Descriptions of successfully-implemented CHP projects can be used to get ideas for the planning, financing, approval and installation processes involved. The lessons learned in these projects are a valuable resource for those considering CHP, whether in commercial, institutional, or industrial applications. Selected Mid-Atlantic CHP projects are available here, having been obtained from a variety of sources, including other RACs or through DOE.
Washington Gas Co. CHP Plant - 3.6 MW of CHP in Springfield, VA
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Potential
Market for CHP
According to the US Department
of Energy, installations of CHP systems in Virginia's
commercial and industrial sector have the potential
to generate 1320 to 2410 MW, representing 3-5% of
DOE's 47GW long-term goal. A high majority of this
figure can be attributed to systems installed in office
buildings (23%), schools (20%) and hospitals (12%).
Due to increased feasibility and technological developments
in small engines, smaller systems, ranging from 100-500MW,
account for over 60% of the total market potential.
The range of commercial and institutional system sizes
Virginia 's 1860MW potential can be seen below.
Potential Commercial/
Institutional CHP System Capacities in Virginia
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Source:
"Role of Combined Heat and Power in Virginia's
Energy Future", report prepared by The Alexandria
Research Council |
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State Restructuring Activities
In the words of its State Corporation Commission, " Virginia is on its way to a competitive energy supply market". Legislation targeted at both the electric and natural gas industries established a path for diminishing regulation and advancing competition in what have been historically monopoly enterprises. The Virginia State Corporation Commission is charged with initiating the transition -- over a period of time -- from a wholly regulated environment to a fully competitive, market-driven system. They maintain a very comprehensive website that provides access to a number of reports as well as a timeline of activities with regard to restructuring. What this means is that as of the end of 2003, the majority of VA customers can freely choose their utility supplier and by early 2004 only a tiny fraction will be left in regulated environment.
Summary of Restructuring by Mid-Atlantic Energy Coalition
Status of State Electric Industry Restructuring from DOE EIA (pdf)
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Electricity
Pricing
Since 1990, Virginia 's commercial electrical costs
have followed a steady decline. Commercial consumers
costs have receded from paying 5.85 cents per kWh in
1990 to 5.49 cents per kWh in 2000. This figure is significantly
below the 2000 national average of 7.36 cents per kWh
Natural
Gas Pricing
When evaluating CHP, a considerable amount of attention
needs to be placed on the price of natural gas. Natural
gas prices in the state of Virginia have steadily increased
over the past few years, unlike the price of electricity.
Compared to the national average of $6.57/kft 3 in 2002,
Virginia 's prices are far above average having a price
of $7.00/kft 3 that year.
The combination of falling electric
prices and climbing prices for natural gas make the
"spark spread" between the cost of electrical
and fuel energy smaller which tightens the profitability
of CHP technology but there are still going to be successful
applications for the appropriate use of CHP. Issues
with the reliability of power in light of both the tropical
storm and grid power disruptions to the north will motivate
users to explore DG options. In the case where DG is
already being installed, waste heat recovery is likely
to decrease the operating cost of the installation.
DG remains distinct from emergency backup generators,
which are typically not permitted to operate continuously
due to the emissions permit that they are issued with.
DOE
EIA - Natural Gas Prices by State
(select residential/commercial/industrial in the
“Data Series” box at top of this page)
DOE
EIA - Electricity Prices (a variety of monthly
and annual data is available at this site)
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Electric
Utility Websites:
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Dominion
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CHP
Requirements & State Support Programs Links
VA
Division of Energy
VA
Dept of Mines, Minerals and Energy
VA
Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services
VA
Dept of Environmental Quality
VA DEQ - CHP & Distributed Energy
Resources (Page
1 | Page
2)
VA
Dept of Business Assistance
VA
State Corporation Commission (Utility Regulation)
VA
Economic Development Partnership
Financial
incentives, outreach programs, and rules/regulations/policies
for renewable energy and distributed generation
Regulatory
Requirements for Small Electric Generators - VA
State Agency Contacts:
Virginia State Corporate Commission
VA State Corporation Commission Restructuring Website
DEQ CHP/DER Information Resources Site
Virginia Air Emissions Regulations
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