18 September 2009

Members of KOGEN Polska and representatives from countries across Eastern Europe met in Warsaw on the 17th of September to discuss progress in the cogeneration sector. The meeting highlighted the significant existing use of cogeneration in the region which at 17% of existing electricity generation from cogeneration, is well ahead of the European average. Considerable untapped potential remains, particularly in district heating schemes not yet equipped with cogeneration. The meeting heard how the existing infrastructure for district heating in several Member States offers a particularly good opportunity for modern cogeneration.

The large infrastructural investment in district heating networks is a valuable asset to optimise the energy efficiency of electricity supply. By incorporating cogeneration in existing heat only district heating schemes, a minimum of 10% of the related primary energy can be saved and the need to build new stand alone power stations can be avoided. In Poland alone the opportunity to reduce the CO2 emissions through the wider use of cogeneration is upwards of 17 million tons in 2020 and depending on the final technology deployed could be as high as 60 million tons. Industry remains a significant area for potential expansion of cogeneration. While industry in Hungary is a substantial user of cogeneration and must be maintained, the use of cogeneration in industry in Poland and Slovenia should be more widely encouraged.

“The eastern region faces real fuel choices and challenges. Cogeneration is a fuel independent efficiency technology which offers energy savings on everything from coal to bio-energy.” said Fiona Riddoch, Managing Director of COGEN Europe “Even in Member States where the penetration of cogeneration is already high, such as in Eastern Europe, it is clear that more opportunity is being found.” The workshop was hosted by KOGEN Poland and chaired by Jožef Stefan Institute.

The meeting is one of three European Regional workshops taking place this month, gathering final input for the first European Cogeneration Potentials Report which will be published by the CODE project in October this year. The CODE project is independently monitoring the implementation of the Cogeneration Directive in Europe and will comment on Member States progress in promoting cogeneration.

The European association for the promotion of cogeneration

Avenue des Arts 3-4-5 .

B-1210 Brussels . Belgium

Tel: +32 2 772 82 90 .

Fax: +32 2 772 50 44 .

Email: info@cogeneurope.eu .

Website: www.cogeneurope.eu

For more information please contact:

Dr Fiona Riddoch, Managing Director Stane Merše,

Head of Energy Efficiency Centre

Tel: +32 2 772 8290

Tel: +386 1 5885 250

Fax: + 32 2 772 5044 Fax: +386 1 5885 377

Email: fiona.riddoch@cogeneurope.eu

Email: stane.merse@ijs.si

About cogeneration:

Cogeneration (also known as CHP or Combined Heatand Power) is the simultaneous production of heat and electricity. 11% of Europe’s electricity and heat requirements today are produced using this proven energy efficiency technology. The estimated growth potential is for a further 150 GWe of cogeneration which will lead to an improved environment and greater economic competitiveness in Europe. Cogeneration units can be found in different sizes and applications: industry, households and tertiary sector and spans applications with capacities ranging from below 1kw to hundreds of Megawatts. It is a highly efficient energy solution that delivers substantial reductions in CO2 emissions and can be a large contributor to delivering the targets of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change for Europe.

In EU Member States where cogeneration has been seriously supported as in Denmark their electricity supply system operates at 65% efficiency overall compared to the current EU average of an unacceptable 33% efficiency overall. Cogeneration substantially contributes to reaching strategic climate and energy goals, such as security of supply, energy efficiency and reduction of emissions. About CODE: The Cogeneration Observatory and Dissemination Europe(CODE) project is a 30 month project to monitor the implementation of the Cogeneration Directive across the European Union. The project is led by COGEN Europe and is partly funded by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy Europe program. More info can be found on www.code-project.eu The European association for the promotion of cogeneration Avenue des Arts 3-4-5 . B-1210 Brussels . Belgium Tel: +32 2 772 82 90 . Fax: +32 2 772 50 44 . Email: info@cogeneurope.eu . Website: www.cogeneurope.eu