PRESS RELEASE

30 May 2012

CHP industry warns of a 25Mtoe missed opportunity and calls for a system-wide approach

With a few weeks left to come to a conclusion on the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), the opportunities in the transformation sector are still poorly addressed in the Council’s text. While the European Parliament and European Commission are both pushing for action, several heavy weight Member States are still reluctant to take action on transforming the supply side sector, with a text unable to capture the 25 Mtoe1 savings economically at hand.

The CHP industry, in an open letter sent today to the Danish Energy and Climate Change Minister Lidegaard, highlights the significant opportunity for energy efficiency which exists in the transformation sector, and that the Member States themselves endorsed this potential through their national reports carried out between 2007 and 2009 under the CHP Directive. However, COGEN Europe deems that only a fraction of the originally envisaged primary energy savings would be captured if the Council’s currently proposed text were implemented and asks the Danish Presidency to insist on a) an accurate assessment of the benefits accruing when applying the CHP principle at society level, and b) the need for robust policy measures at the Member State level.

In becoming more energy efficient in the transformations sector, 20% of Europe’s electricity would be generated in cogeneration mode with the associated 20% plus quantity of heat for industry, commerce and domestic heating and hot water. Because there is a large indigenous CHP engineering base in Europe, growth in CHP use would also be a big boost to Europe’s economy and industry.

Dr Fiona Riddoch, Managing Director of COGEN Europe said “faced with a resource constrained future, energy efficiency along the whole energy supply chain, particularly in the heat and power sector, is an opportunity Europe cannot afford to ignore. The Member States themselves have identified over 25 Mtoe potential savings. Despite their initial concerns about the Commission text, the Council must now act constructively with the other parties, to achieve the measures necessary for success and not squander this opportunity for action.”

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1 in installations above 20 MW alone.

For more information please contact:

Dr Fiona Riddoch, Managing Director

Tel: +32 2 772 8290

Fax: + 32 2 772 5044

Email: fiona.riddoch@cogeneurope.eu

Stefan Craenen, Communications Manager

Tel: +32 2 772 8290

Fax: + 32 2 772 5044

Email: stefan.craenen@cogeneurope.eu

About cogeneration:

Cogeneration (also known as CHP or Combined Heat and Power) is the simultaneous production of heat and electricity. 11% of Europe’s electricity and associated heat requirements today are produced using this proven energy efficiency principle. The estimated growth potential for cogeneration is a further 110-120 GWe 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 energy savings and substantial reductions in CO2 emissions. When seriously supported, as in Denmark, CHP has the potential to increase the energy production and transformation system overall efficiency from a bare 33% (EU average) up to 65%. Realising the potential of cogeneration in Europe will contribute significantly to reaching the strategic climate and energy goals, such as security of supply, energy efficiency and reduction of emissions.

About COGEN Europe:

COGEN Europe is the European association for the promotion of cogeneration. We represent 70 organisations which are National COGEN Associations, manufacturers, users, utilities and service companies. Currently around 100,000 Europeans are employed in the cogeneration sector. More info on www.cogeneurope.eu