Germany tops the charts for European CHP

Germany is out in front of the rest of Europe when it comes to developing cogeneration according to a new report.

The report, entitled European Cogeneration Review-Germany, cites the German government’s strong commitment to energy efficiency, comprehensive policy promotion through the combined heat and power (CHP) support scheme and the decision to phase-out nuclear power as key factors in the growth of the sector.

Accounting for more than 20 per cent of all cogenerated electricity the CHP market in Germany is the EU’s biggest.

The Report indicates that the upgraded CHP support scheme (i.e. guaranteed premiums added to the market price of electricity) positively affects the business environment of CHP installations of different sizes and therefore encourages investment decisions in new CHP plants by reducing the pay-back time.

These premiums were increased in the amended 2012 CHP Law (KWK-G 2012) and will help increase the profitability of CHPs below 2MW while also maintaining good conditions for those above 2MW.

CHP plants generated approximately 90 TWh of power in 2010, representing 15.4 per cent of Germany´s energy production. Gas represented 59.1 percent of this generation according to statistics from the Öko-Institut*. This figure rises to 63 per cent when it comes to power stations larger than 1 MW of which most use natural gas, although other types of gas are also in use.

The German government currently has a 25 per cent target for CHP generation by 2020 as part of its Energy Transition Strategy

Source: COSPP