Mid-Atlantic CHP Application Center

This page is designed to provide background information on CHP activity in West Virginia.

Summary of Activity
Installed CHP Capacity
Potential Market for CHP
Electricity Pricing
Natural Gas Pricing
State Restructuring Activities
State Agency Contacts
Electric Utilities Websites
CHP Requirements & State Support Programs Links

Summary of Activity
A significant percentage of the electrical generation in West Virginia takes advantage of its waste heat, at 2.5% of total generating capacity this is below the 8% national average in 2003. 1.5% of this capacity is in the industrial sector, 1% is in the commercial with the remainder in residential. Electrical prices are below the national average and have gradually fallen over the last 10 years. Natural gas has experienced price fluctuations along with the all other states in the region and seen prices climb 28.3% over the last 12 years. There has been very little CHP and distributed energy activity in the state to this point. There remains 15061MW of CHP potential within the state, most being within the industrial sector.

Installed CHP Capacity
Currently, West Virginia 's CHP market generates 2.5% of its total energy market, amounting to a capacity of 15,061MW. This energy is primarily generated through 8 major CHP facilities. Commercial attributions account for 145.4MW of the total market through the use of 4 different facilities. The remainder is attributed to the industrial market having 4 facilities produce 228.2MW.

Potential Market for CHP
According to the US Department of Energy, installations of CHP systems in West Virginia's commercial and industrial sector have the potential to generate 380 to 850 MW, representing 0.8-1.8% of DOE's 47GW long-term goal.

Electricity Pricing
West Virginia 's commercial electrical costs have changed dramatically over the recent 10-year span. Overall commercial consumers payments have slightly reduced from $0.0541 per kWh in 1990 to $0.0550 per kWh in 2000 ($/MBtu = .3413kWh). This cost is below the 2000 national average of $0.0736 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 West Virginia have steadily increased over the past few years. Compared to the national average of $6.57/kft 3 in 2002, West Virginia 's prices are above average having a price of $7.48/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.

Links to more detailed energy price data:
EIA's Natural Gas Navigator
EIA's State Energy Prices

State Restructuring Activities
Legislatures in West Virginia have spent the past few years assessing the electrical restructuring of it's utilities. During that time, legislatures failed to come up with a complete consensus. According to Public Service Commission on West Virginia, the commission came to the conclusion that "it was premature to move to a deregulated power supply market." The state is currently awaiting the commission's evaluations of deregulation proposals.