CogenPlan - Cogeneration Planners, LLC

Fuel savings through energy planning.

Introduction

Cogeneration Planners, LLC (CogenPlan) has been created to take advantage of significant business opportunities in cogeneration and waste-to-energy systems, serving industrial, commercial, agricultural, and dairy clients

Farhad Ghahremani, a professional engineer with over 40 years of experience in research, development, and design of energy systems, has developed a unique approach to determine the best available system for the application.

He has designed a proprietary software model to evaluate each client's specific needs. This evaluation includes system design, cost determination, and calculation of economic parameters. It also includes identification of project team members for system design, installation, operation, and maintenance.

1. What Is Cogeneration?

An engine generator produces two sources of energy: electricity and heat. While the electricity is used, the heat is typically unused and treated as waste (exhaust). Cogeneration technology allows this waste heat to be re-used in boilers and dryers, saving a substantial amount of fuel.

By producing both electrical and thermal energy at the same time, cogeneration technology produces more energy from a single fuel source. This process is the best technology for energy conservation.

Cogeneration:

is also called "total energy" or "combined heat and power" (CHP).

It is the use of a single fuel, such as gas, to simultaneously produce useful heat and electricity from the same source.

See F.G. Ghahremani's article in Plant Services magazine:
Cogeneration uses a single fuel source to produce heat and power simultaneously

Cogeneration:
also means "on-site power production".
This is the opportunity to develop an independent utility, generating electrical and thermal energy at the same time from the same engine.
Some of the benefits of cogeneration:

Ensures reliability of operations:
since the plant is located on-site, there are no transmission and major distribution problems
Reduces electricity outages:
a typical plant is guaranteed to function for 95% of the year, with scheduled outages only for maintenance purposes

Assures high quality of electricity for industrial operations:
with cogeneration, a typical plant can operate at over 80% efficiency, saving a substantial amount of fuel

Makes truly independent electricity available:
the only tie with the utility is to parallel their grids, supplying standby power during scheduled outages

Serves single or multiple users located in the neighborhood.

2. Waste-to-Energy (WTE)

A significant potential exists for generating electricity from animal, agricultural, municipal solid wastes as well as sewage solids. CogenPlan evaluates and designs systems for electricity generation from all types of wastes. For some wastes we design systems to generate biogas via anaerobic digestion; the gas is then used for generating electricity. In other cases our systems prepare the solid for combustion producing steam for use in a steam turbine to generate electricity.

a. Biogas Systems

All types of animal wastes, sewage solids, and vegetation are good candidates for anaerobic digestion and biogas generation. Biogas will be used directly in a gas engine-generator to produce electricity

b. Waste-To-Energy by Incineration

Waste-to-energy processes are well established for converting agricultural and municipal solid wastes to electricity by combustion.

The best solution for disposal of solid waste is a combination of an organized recycling and environmentally controlled waste-to-energy (WTE) system. The combustion system will convert all allocated combustible solids to essential energy, such as electricity and heat or steam.

CogenPlan has organized a team of experts for design, supply of equipment, installation, operation and management of waste-to-energy systems.

Take advantage of the State of California Incentive and Utility-Interconnection Program (CPUC Rule 21) for cogeneration and waste-to-energy systems:

For systems up to 5000 kilowatts, the State of California will pay for 30% of the system cost for 1000 kW, including the feasibility study, engineering, installation & the first three years of maintenance. The program expires in 2007.
Systems up to 5000 KW are exempt from payment of demand charges on standby electricity supplied by the utility.
Systems are interconnected with the utilities. Waste-to-energy systems are metered on a “net-exchange” basis - all generated electricity is banked with the utility and used as needed.

Contact CogenPlan to see if COGENERATION or WASTE-TO-ENERGY are solutions for your operation:

Follow the list of topics at the left to learn more about Cogeneration Planners, LLC and how we may serve your needs.