Waste Heat to Power
ABOUT WASTE HEAT
If not recovered for reuse as Heat or to produce emission-free power, Waste Heat will dissipate into the atmosphere—a wasted opportunity.
Waste Heat to Power Video
NOTE: WHP potential has been updated by DOE to 15 GW, replacing EPA’s 10 GW estimate referenced in the video
Renewable Portfolio Standard Spread
In state legislation and policies, HiP has promoted recognition of WHP as a renewable energy resources as well as an energy efficiency resource. WHP is considered a renewable energy resource in seventeen state renewable portfolio standards and an efficiency resource in four energy efficiency resource standards.
HiP advises federal agencies on the technical and economic aspects of WHP and urges WHP’s recognition in federal regulations and programs. Although now stayed by the Courts, EPA’s former Clean Power Plan (CPP) regulations recognized WHP as a zero-emitting resource. DOE’s most recent evaluation of WHP in the US shows 15 GW potential.
Many WHP systems use well-established technologies to capture heat and generate electricity. But WHP innovators are constantly optimizing these systems and driving costs down. Research and development is leading to exciting new WHP technologies. Heat is Power Members are at the forefront of companies developing the next generation of WHP technologies.
Anywhere there is an industrial process that involves transforming raw materials into useful products – steel mills, paper plants, refineries, chemical plants, oil and gas pipelines, and general manufacturing —heat is wasted as a byproduct. Waste heat is produced whenever the operation is running, often 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Thus WHP can be a baseload power source for these industries. If not recovered for reuse as heat or to produce emission-free power, the heat will dissipate into the atmosphere, a wasted opportunity.
WHP helps reduce energy costs for industrial processes. By using the waste heat to generate emission-free electricity, industrial users can put wasted energy back into the process that created it, route the power somewhere else in the facility, or sell it to the grid to support clean energy production, distribution and use.
Opportunities with WHP
According to the US Department of Energy, significant quantities of industrial waste heat from essential American industries like cement, iron/steel, aluminum, glass, paper, chemicals, petroleum refining, and gas pipelines, are lost every day. Capturing this waste heat potential could generate 160,000 jobs. This is a significant opportunity to get Americans back to work through the development and application of Made in the USA technology.
Expansion of a US Waste Heat to Power market would:
- Act as a driver in the transition to a clean energy economy;
- Increase domestic production of clean energy;
- Provide reliable, base load, clean, emission-free, cost effective power;
- Help our manufacturing sector produce zero-emission electricity;
- Generate 160 000 American jobs while displacing carbon emissions; and
- Add a new product for the US in the global clean energy race.
American Competitiveness
The US is well positioned to lead in the manufacturing and project development of WHP systems and components.
Many modular WHP units are manufactured on the American shop floor, in most instances with greater than 90% American components. By creating a vibrant Waste Heat to Power market in the US, WHP can provide base load zero-emission electricity, while creating new profit streams, reducing energy costs of US industrials, and leading the world in the development of this innovative technology.
What Spurs WHP Developement?
The US has enormous WHP potential in its industrial sector. The US Congress now recognizes Waste Heat as an emission free resource via the 2021 Investment Tax Credit (ITC) granted to Waste Heat Recovery technology, which . provides enormous opportunity for WHP project development in the US This critical tax incentive for WHP should be extended to pave the way for more projects to meet the net-zero carbon emission goal by 2050 envisioned by the Biden-Harris administration, and to facilitate the creation of American jobs, and ensure American leadership in the global clean energy race. Similarly, state governments should continue to level the playing field for WHP, by including WHP in their renewable, clean, and alternative energy resource portfolios and other local incentive programs for energy efficient generation and emission free power.
Dollars and Sense
American industrial processes are an increasingly expensive proposition. While operating continuously – for major manufacturers this can be as much as 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – is necessary to compete in a global marketplace, it requires the consumption of a massive amount of energy. This is most often purchased from local utilities and a significant line item in any operational budget. Installing Waste Heat to Power technology allows companies to generate their own emission-free power from a resource they already own, reducing their operating costs – and pollutant and carbon footprint. Alternatively, this energy can also be sold back to the grid generating a new stream of revenue.
