Cogeneration as an answer to rising industrial energy costs

Private investment in congeneration equipment has been encouraged by incentives which include an accelerated depreciation schedule and a 50 percent increase in the available investment tax credits allowable. This favorable situation postpones income taxes in the early years in the process industries and results in increased positive cash flow and improved return on investment. With such incentives in place, cogeneration can be an economical, low-risk energy conversion process with the potential of adding 40,000 MW of decentralized electrical power generation in the US by the mid-1990's. The acceptance of on-site cogeneration in the process industry is dependent on the availability of competitively-priced, reliable equipment with as few risks assumed by the user as possible. Gas turbine cogeneration systems are concluded to be the best currently available technology for many applications in the 2-MW-and-up range because of their higher ratio of electrical to thermal production.