Performance assessment of cogeneration systems in California

Over the past several years, customer-sited cogeneration systems have been viewed as a way to mitigate electrical supply shortages. On the utility side, achieving this goal requires cogeneration systems to operate at a relatively high capacity factor, especially during peak periods. On the customer side, the cogeneration system must be capable of reducing operating costs, which can be accomplished by running the system at high operational efficiency and recovering available waste heat. Our firm has been evaluating customer-sited cogeneration systems installed under the Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). This paper will present the results of an in-depth performance evaluation conducted for the SGIP Working Group to evaluate the effectiveness of useful thermal energy recovery of on-site cogeneration systems that received incentives from the program.