The Texas CHP Initiative welcomes new Bronze level member Maven Power and individual members Darrell Hayslip (Narrow Gate Energy), Darrell Thornley (Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure), and William Williams (Altresco, Texas Tech University). Expanding the Initiative's membership base ensures the organization's sustainability, improves services to members, and bolsters its legislative influence.

Individual members: Darrell Hayslip (Narrow Gate Energy) Darrell Thornley (Shaw Environmental) William Williams (Altresco, Texas Tech)

 TXCHPI bestowed the annual CHP Awards at the CHP2012 Conference and Trade Show (see next announcement for more). We congratulate the following individuals and organizations for their contributions toward advancing the regional CHP industry:

• CHP Champion - Ed Mardiat, Burns & McDonnell
  
  Ed Mardiat, Principal for OnSite Energy and Power at Burns & McDonnell, was recognized for relentlessly championing CHP in various capacities, such as speaking before countless individuals and organizations on the benefits and value of CHP. In addition to promoting CHP he has assisted organizations such as the Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Labs and the International District Energy Association on promoting the benefits of CHP.
  
  
• CHP Ally - Public Citizen
  
  Public Citizen supported the Texas CHP industry by producing and distributing collateral about CHP's benefits, promoting CHP as an energy efficiency measure to reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants, advocating for improving utilities' energy efficiency programs, and ensuring energy efficiency incentive funds for CHP projects. Public Citizen also supported streamlined permitting for small scale CHP projects.
  
  
• CHP Policy Champion - Henry Heier, Louisiana Mechanical Contractors Association
  
  Henry Heier and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Louisiana spearheaded legislation in the Louisiana House aimed at ensuring that CHP would be evaluated prior to the construction or renovation of any of critical government facilities. Much like an existing law in Texas, the Louisiana effort was aimed at keeping critical facilities running with reliable CHP systems when major storms and disasters strike.
  
  
• Project of the Year - University of Oklahoma - Norman 
  
  The University of Oklahoma’s CHP plant represents a major investment that will provide exceptional operational, financial and environmental benefits. The facility features 15 MW of generation with heat recovery boilers. The project is projected to offer more than $7 million in annual electricity savings and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 25,000 metric tons per year.
  

The CHP2012 Conference and Trade Show, co-hosted by the Texas CHP Initiative and International District Energy Association, drew drawing nearly 300 participants representing over 180 organizations. The Honorable Bill White--former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, three-term Mayor of Houston, and current Chairman of Lazard Houston--provided the keynote address on global CHP opportunities. Amy Myers Jaffe, Executive Director of Energy and Sustainability at the University of California at Davis, delivered the opening address on the future of domestic natural gas production and the global energy market. Numerous other breakout and discussion panels covered a wide range of CHP topics including industrial energy efficiency, Texas' new CHP permit-by-rule, and resource adequacy in Texas.

Presentations and photos from the event are available to download.

 

Left to right: Paul Cauduro, TXCHPI Executive Director;
the Honorable Bill White; Rob Thornton, IDEA President and CEO

 

 

The Texas CHP Initiative welcomes new members NRG Energy and Clean DG Advisors. Expanding the Initiative's membership base ensures the organization's sustainability, improves services to members, and bolsters its legislative influence.


 

On July 25, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved a new permit by rule (PBR) for combined heat and power systems (CHP) up to 15 MW. The PBR is expected to reduce regulatory delays and eliminate some equipment costs associated with CHP systems. The TCEQ action was in response to HB 3268, which was passed by the 82nd Texas Legislature and championed by TXCHPI. Press release | TCEQ executive summary | TCEQ full ruling

Uday Purani, Product Manager with TXCHPI member Kraft Energy Systems, authored an article in the January/February issue of Cogeneration and Onsite Power Production Magazine, entitled "Plug and Play: Units Expand U.S. Market for Small-Scale CHP." The piece addresses the recent uptick in modular and packaged CHP systems in small commercial applications.To access the article, see pages 34-41 of the COSPP issue.

GC CEAC Director Dan Bullock and Texas CHP Initiative Executive Director Paul Cauduro co-authored "Will the Coming Texas Power Crunch Create Another CHP Boom", which appears in the recent issue of COSPP Magazine. The piece projects the benefits of increasing natural gas CHP in Texas from 20 percent to 35 percent of statewide electricity generation by 2025. The authors estimate that this scenario would conserve roughly 161 billion gallons of water and relieve the electric grid of roughly 87 MWh relative to "Business-as-Usual" projections.