CHP is most economic when there is a continuous heat demand, such as on industrial sites in continual operation or in mixed-use community developments consisting of offices, retail space and homes. Currently most CHP is gas-fuelled but there is potential to convert existing facilities to biomass or SRF CHP, particularly in industrial or commercial applications where there is existing heat infrastructure and where conversion from gas or oil to solid fuel firing is practicable.
Initial analysis undertaken to support RES indicates that there is potential to achieve up to 23 TWh of electricity from CHP fuelled by renewable sources. Since 2001 the Government has introduced a range of measures to support the growth of Good Quality CHP ("GQCHP") in the UK7. The measures relevant to EfW include:
• Banding of the Renewables Obligation ("RO") whose principal waste-related
provisions include:-
• declared biomass content of waste;
• measures to enable determination of higher biomass fractions;
• making the RO neutral to SRF; and
• revised efficiency levels for renewable CHP.
• Exemption from the Climate Change Levy for GQCHP fuel inputs and electricity outputs
• ECAs for all GQCHP eligible expenditure including certain equipment needed for the combustion of SRF.
• Business Rates exemption for certain GQCHP plant and machinery.
• The introduction of a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in 2011 to reward the generation of useful renewable heat.
Some of the above points are explained in further detail below.
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7 The UK has a domestic target of 10 GW of installed GQCHP capacity by 2010, where GQCHP refers to the outputs of schemes that meet the energy efficiency criteria laid down in the UK's CHPQA programme.