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all of the university’s core buildings and
reducing fossil fuel consumption by around
85 percent. The system was one of the rea-
sons that UNBC was selected in October by
the Association for the Advancement of
Sustainability in Higher Education as having
the top campus sustainability project in
North America, an award shared with
Harvard University.
USCHPA-WADE Study:
Expanded CHP Tax Credits
Could Add 1,600 MW by 2017
WADE USA and the U.S. Clean Heat &
Power Association (USCHPA) have released
a study examining the effect of an expanded
investment tax credit (ITC) on the deployment of combined heat and power in the
United States. The study highlights the current obstacles the CHP industry faces due to
economic uncertainties, volatile energy prices, regulatory barriers and lack of financing.
The study analyzes the projected
impact on CHP development of both an
expansion to the 10 percent ITC (applied to
the first 25 MW of capacity for systems of
any size) as well as the introduction of a
30 percent ITC for high-efficiency CHP
(projects with overall efficiencies of 70 percent lower heating value or greater). The
analysis was limited to traditional topping-cycle CHP systems utilizing reciprocating
engines, gas turbines or microturbines. The
projected impacts include the following:
• The expanded 10 percent ITC increases
CHP deployment by about 20 percent
over a no-ITC baseline (550 additional
MW between now and 2017).
• The expanded 10 percent ITC results in an
annual energy savings of 107 trillion Btus
and an annual reduction in carbon dioxide
emissions of more than 13 million metric
tons, equivalent to removing 2. 4 million
cars from the road. Investment in the
projects represented by the expanded
10 percent ITC creates more than 17,000
highly skilled, well-paying jobs.
• The 30 percent ITC for highly efficient
CHP increases CHP deployment by more
than 60 percent over a no-ITC baseline
