State Opportunities for Action: Review of States' Combined Heat and Power Activities

Abstract

Combined heat and power (CHP) has been the focus of federal attention since the mid-1990s. However, many of the market barriers to CHP are at the state level. As a sign of the maturing of the CHP market, a number of states are now undertaking activities to address barriers to CHP, and some states have begun to provide incentives to encourage the development of systems in their states. This report outlines current state-level activities regarding CHP in the areas of interconnection, emissions standards, and financial incentives offered for CHP. Moreover, because this report intends to educate the public about the difficulties of installing CHP, specifically not covered in this report are utility-owned CHP facilities and large investor-owned utilities (IOUs).