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Cogeneration Economics

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2021) | Viewed by 14325

Special Issue Editors

Laboratory of Process Analysis and Plant Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus GR‐15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: process model building and simulation; plant design and economics; energy integration; cogeneration; renewable energy; food engineering
Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission, NL-1755 LE Petten, The Netherlands
Interests: heating and cooling; energy system analysis; energy efficiency
Energy Law, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences,National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, GR‐15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: energy law; cogeneration contractual schemes under the jurisdictions of European Union Member States; EU cross-border cogeneration contracts.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cogeneration (combined heat and power, CHP) and/or trigeneration (combined cooling, heating, and power, CCHP) is a widely recognized solution towards energy efficiency and greenhouse emissions reduction. During the last decade, new policies and financing schemes have been developed to support and promote cogeneration solutions. However, the recognized need for a rapid decarbonization of the energy system is causing developments in policies, regulations, and energy markets, which will affect the economic viability of cogeneration solutions and the conventional valuation methods and tools. This Special Issue aims to provide appropriate state-of-the-art methods, tools, and data towards the changing business case of cogeneration accounting the wider investment environment and legislation impacts. Thus, all topics related to the cogeneration economics are eligible.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • Cogeneration/trigeneration technologies;
  • Equipment cost: data and estimation;
  • Operating and maintenance cost: data and estimation;
  • Energy prices;
  • Existing system evaluation and capacity expansion;
  • Process design and optimal operation;
  • Project valuation methods: levelized cost, discounted cash flow, real options, etc.;
  • Investing and operating viability criteria, performance indicators;
  • Third part financing schemes, energy services companies;
  • Regulatory and legal framework;
  • Incentives policy and supporting schemes;
  • Electricity markets participation strategies;
  • Market diffusion and adoption;
  • Utility scale applications, district systems;
  • Industrial applications: paper, dairy, bakery, brewery, sewage sludge incineration, desalination;
  • Commercial applications: hotels, hospitals, malls, universities, data centres;
  • Agricultural applications: greenhouses, drying.

Prof. Zacharias Maroulis
Dr. Konstantinos Kavvadias
Dr. Eugenia Giannini
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • combined heat and power, CHP
  • combined cooling heating and power, CCHP
  • technologies, equipment, operating, and maintenance cost
  • investment criteria, operating viability, performance indicators
  • third part financing schemes, energy services companies
  • incentives policy, supporting schemes
  • regulatory and legal framework
  • electricity markets, day ahead scheduling
  • modeling, simulating, monitoring, case studies
  • utility scale applications, district systems, greenhouses, drying
  • paper, dairy, bakery, brewery, sewage sludge incineration, desalination
  • hotels, hospitals, malls, universities, data centers
  • fuels, emissions, penetration

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 157 KiB  
Editorial
Cogeneration Economics
by Eugenia Giannini
Energies 2022, 15(14), 5302; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15145302 - 21 Jul 2022
Viewed by 910
Abstract
This editorial provides a synopsis of the contributions published during 2020–2021 in a Special Issue of Energies entitled “Cogeneration Economics” [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cogeneration Economics)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

21 pages, 6576 KiB  
Article
Techno-Economic Performance Assessment of a Trigeneration System Operating in a Hospital
by Aikaterini Papadimitriou, Anastasios Tosios and Eugenia Giannini
Energies 2021, 14(16), 5105; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14165105 - 19 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2034
Abstract
The techno-economic performance evaluation of a combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) system installed in a hospital building in Greece is presented. The aim was to verify performance standards and evaluate real behavior, while highlighting the economic gains. In this research, system performance [...] Read more.
The techno-economic performance evaluation of a combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) system installed in a hospital building in Greece is presented. The aim was to verify performance standards and evaluate real behavior, while highlighting the economic gains. In this research, system performance was evaluated using actual and year-round field measurements. The data were used to calculate the recovered heat and the generated electric energy. Furthermore, the performance was modeled and compared to the manufacturer specifications. Financial assessment was conducted through energy cost analysis to verify the operating viability of the system, both for its heating and cooling functions. The results showed that, overall, after eight years of operation, the energy efficiency was still within design standards. Electrical efficiency was constantly above 30%, while thermal efficiency was around 40–45%. Total efficiency was usually above the 75% threshold, characterizing the system as fully CHP operating. The analysis also pointed out the economic effectiveness of the system in the Greek energy market. The results verified the potential of a CCHP system for improving the energy and economic performance of a building. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cogeneration Economics)
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27 pages, 6139 KiB  
Article
Cogeneration Economics for Greenhouses in Europe
by Kalliopi Tataraki, Eugenia Giannini, Konstantinos Kavvadias and Zacharias Maroulis
Energies 2020, 13(13), 3373; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13133373 - 01 Jul 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3544
Abstract
Cogeneration is a cost-effective technology, and modern greenhouses are considered one of the best applications for it due to their energy intensity. Taking into account that in such cases the production cost is significantly affected by the cost of energy, the potential of [...] Read more.
Cogeneration is a cost-effective technology, and modern greenhouses are considered one of the best applications for it due to their energy intensity. Taking into account that in such cases the production cost is significantly affected by the cost of energy, the potential of combined heat and power (CHP) has already been examined and proved in practice in some European countries, with the Netherlands being the most representative example. In this study, a comparative investigation of the greenhouse energy cost in all European countries is presented through the use of a combined cooling heat and power (CCHP) system. Using actual historical data spanning a decade, a total overview of the European level is given regarding greenhouse thermal requirements and CCHP energy costs for the cultivation of products with an accepted temperature cultivation range 20 ± 5 °C. By consulting (a) the available daily historical meteorological data for the 2008–2018 period, (b) the recorded actual electricity and natural gas prices for the 2008–2018 period, and (c) the technical characteristics of the CCHP system, the annual heating and cooling requirements of greenhouses are determined for all EU countries. Assuming a cogeneration unit with an internal combustion engine (ICE) as a prime mover, as well as a single-effect absorption chiller for the production of useful cooling, the unitary cost of energy is estimated along with the annual cost for heating and cooling per unit cultivation area. Using this methodology, the economic efficiency of cogeneration in greenhouses is assessed for the selected 10-year period, allowing the identification of the countries that benefit the most from this technology. The results indicate that the spark ratio (e.g., the electricity to natural gas price ratio) is the most crucial parameter for greenhouse costs. For countries where the ratio is larger than 3, greenhouses can even result in an extra cashflow instead of energy expenditures. The most favorable conditions for cogeneration use were found in Italy and the United Kingdom with an average spark ratio more than 4, resulting in an annual total cost of heating energy close to −7 €/m2 per year. On the other hand, cogeneration proved not to be a cost-efficient system in Sweden and Finland as a result of significantly high greenhouse energy requirements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cogeneration Economics)
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29 pages, 5166 KiB  
Article
Recovery and Utilization of Low-Grade Waste Heat in the Oil-Refining Industry Using Heat Engines and Heat Pumps: An International Technoeconomic Comparison
by Nikunj Gangar, Sandro Macchietto and Christos N. Markides
Energies 2020, 13(10), 2560; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13102560 - 18 May 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4384
Abstract
We assess the technoeconomic feasibility of onsite electricity and steam generation from recovered low-grade thermal energy in oil refineries using organic Rankine cycle (ORC) engines and mechanical vapour compression (MVC) heat pumps in various countries. The efficiencies of 34 ORC and 20 MVC [...] Read more.
We assess the technoeconomic feasibility of onsite electricity and steam generation from recovered low-grade thermal energy in oil refineries using organic Rankine cycle (ORC) engines and mechanical vapour compression (MVC) heat pumps in various countries. The efficiencies of 34 ORC and 20 MVC current commercial systems are regressed against modified theoretical models. The resulting theoretical relations predict the thermal efficiency of commercial ORC engines within 4–5% and the coefficient of performance (COP) of commercial MVC heat pumps within 10–15%, on average. Using these models, the economic viability of ORC engines and MVC heat pumps is then assessed for 19 refinery streams as a function of heat source and sink temperatures, and the available stream thermal energy, for gas and electricity prices in selected countries. Results show that: (i) conversion to electrical power with ORC engines is, in general, economically feasible for heat-source temperatures >70 °C, however with high sensitivity to energy prices; and (ii) steam generation in MVC heat pumps, even more sensitive to energy prices, is in some cases not economical under any conditions—it is only viable with high gas/low electricity prices, for large heat sources (>2 MW) and higher temperatures (>140 °C). In countries and conditions with positive economics, payback periods down to two years are found for both technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cogeneration Economics)
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15 pages, 3343 KiB  
Article
Economic Assessment of Cogeneration Systems in Operation
by Aikaterini Papadimitriou, Vassilios Vassiliou, Kalliopi Tataraki, Eugenia Giannini and Zacharias Maroulis
Energies 2020, 13(9), 2206; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13092206 - 02 May 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2585
Abstract
A systematic method to evaluate the economic operating performance of existing combined heat and power (CHP) or combined cooling heat and power (CCHP) generation systems is applied. Two key performance indicators are selected to evaluate both the technical and the economic performance, based [...] Read more.
A systematic method to evaluate the economic operating performance of existing combined heat and power (CHP) or combined cooling heat and power (CCHP) generation systems is applied. Two key performance indicators are selected to evaluate both the technical and the economic performance, based on operating recording data; the capacity factor and the capital recovery. The case study for eight projects in Athens is presented with the purpose to reveal the current situation of CHP in Greece and identify reasons that are hindering its penetration. Interesting conclusions were reached from the analysis. Only two out of the eight projects managed to achieve the break-even point in less than four years since the beginning of their operation, while oversizing phenomena were noticed in many cases leading in extremely low capacity factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cogeneration Economics)
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