[en] Customer experiences and expectations from competition and cogeneration in the power industry were reviewed by Charles Morton, Director of Energy at CPC International, by describing Casco's decision to get into cogeneration in the early 1990s in three small corn milling plants in Cardinal, London and Port Colborne, Ontario, mainly as result of the threat of a 40 per cent increase in power prices. He stressed that cost competitiveness of cogeneration is entirely site-specific, but it is generally more attractive in larger facilities that operate 24 hours a day, where grid power is expensive or unreliable. Because it is reliable, cogeneration holds out the prospect of increased production-up time, as well as offering a hedge against higher energy costs, reducing the company's variable costs when incoming revenues fall short of costs, and providing an additional tool in head-to-head competition

[en] A panel consisting of John Fox, Vice President of Ontario Hydro, Marie Rounding , Chairperson of the Ontario Energy Board and Andrew Roman, partner in the Toronto law firm of Miller Thomson, had the task to sum up for the conference and to reflect upon the state of the electricity industry and its future prospects at home and abroad. John Fox emphasized the interconnectedness of the industry in North America, Ontario Hydro's firm commitment to unfettered access of all sellers to all buyers, the proliferating experiments with retail access throughout North America, and the need for a neutral, independent and functioning marketplace entity operating at arm's length from any generating facility. He iterated Ontario Hydro's conviction that breaking up Hydro Generation would not serve the best interest of the province, and that should it be undertaken in spite of Ontario Hydro's advice, it would not be too long before it would coalesce under new ownership, probably offshore ownership. Marie Rounding stressed that while market transitions already underway in other jurisdictions will force Ontario to act on the Macdonald Report, the government will need some time to examine an extremely complex decision that will have major impact on the province, therefore it should not be rushed unduly. She also emphasized the need for regulation, Hydro's most recent restructuring proposals notwithstanding. Andrew Roman agreed with the OBE Chairperson about the need for regulation during the transition to open markets, and expressed the opinion that Ontario Hydro's recent actions suggest that despite Hydro's protests to the contrary, 'it wants more not less of the status quo'. He suggested that the urgent problem is to convince the government not to buy into Ontario Hydro's vision of a single dominant generator in Ontario, and to create, without much delay, the legislation and regulations necessary to open up competition, and then decide where the Corporation goes from here

[en] The panel discussing market opportunities for municipal electric companies was moderated by Markham Mayor Don Cousens. He expressed himself in favour of deregulation and was optimistic about the benefits it will bring to municipal electric utilities and their customers. Barry Chuddy, General Manager of Business Development for TransAlta Energy discussed the advantages of recent cogeneration and district energy for municipal utilities in Ontario and Quebec, and expressed his support for incentive-based regulation based on a level playing field, competitive generation, and a reasonable charge for stranded assets. Toronto City Councillor Dan Leckie described cogeneration and district energy as a tremendous opportunity to reduce the cost of doing business in the city core through local job creation and by keeping money in the local economy. Karl Wahl, General Manager of Hydro Mississauga expressed optimism that the government will move expeditiously toward competition, choice and lower-cost supply. David McGarry, President of Elecsar Engineering of Sarnia spoke about the significant job creating potential that deregulation will bring to the electrical industry. He cited several examples from Ontario and British Columbia

[en] In today's business environment, control of energy cost is a major challenge for businesses, institutions, and governmental agencies. New technologies are available to reduce energy costs through cogeneration, cheaper fuels, or other means. Often it is not possible for a Plant Owner to undertake such a project, regardless of how desirable it may be. The authors of this paper show that by applying the principles of Project Structuring and developing a comprehensive project team, the desired reduction in energy costs can be achieved. Various examples are cited, and guidelines are given for an Owner to use

[en] Independent power generation projects are being planned worldwide. But to finance them, the developers are starting to look increasingly for non-bank sources of funds. Key cogeneration finance deals are discussed in this article. (Author)

[en] While retrofitting a large 30-year-old, above-ground petroleum storage tank, Southern California Edison Company (SCE) discovered that soil beneath the fixed-roof, single-bottom tank was contaminated with 40,000 gallons of number-sign 6 fuel oil. The steel tank was left in place during the excavation and remediation of the contaminated soil to retain the operating permit. The resulting 2,000 tons of contaminated aggregate was recycled to make asphalt concrete for paving the tank basin and the remaining 5,600 tons of oily soil was thermally treated on site for use as engineered fill at another location. This successful operation provided an economical cleanup solution for a common leakage problem of single-lined tanks and eliminated the long-term liability of Class 1 landfill disposal. As a pro-active environmental effort, this paper shares SCE's site assessment procedure, reveals the engineering method developed to stabilize the tank, discusses the soil treatment technologies used, describes the problems encountered and lessons learned during the cleanup, discloses the costs of the operation, and offers guidelines and recommendations for similar tank remediation. This paper does not describe the work or costs for removing or replacing the tank bottom

[en] Cogeneration or Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is an advantageous technique based on the simultaneous utilisation of electricity and heat produced. For this purpose existing energetic technologies are used. Cogeneration is based on the thermodynamics principle that producing electricity by combustion process means, at the same time, producing waste heat that can be useful utilised. Three main advantages can be lay out in a cogeneration plant: 1. High efficiency (the global efficiency is often around 80-90%). 2. Economic profit (pay back time is usually not longer than 2-4 years). 3. Low pollutant emissions (as a consequence of the high efficiency less fuel is burned for generating the same quantity of electricity). In this report are analysed various aspects of cogeneration (technical and economical) and the conditions influencing is development. Some figures on the european and national situation are also given. Finally are presented the research and development activities carried out by Italian National Agency for new Technology Energy and the Environment Energy Department to improve the efficiency and the competitiveness of this technology

[en] Europe is poised for more growth in the gas industry that is certain to expand international gas trade into the next century. In the affluent societies of western Europe, gas growth will be fueled by an increasing public perception that it is the least environmentally harmful of fossil fuels. That factor is helping boost natural gas and LNG trade in many parts of the world. Gas will continue to penetrate the European residential market, but the biggest growth will occur in the industrial use, particularly for electrical power generation. The European Community has belatedly lifted restrictions on the use of a gas as a fuel for power generation. That, combined with the greater efficiency of cogeneration systems, is likely to set off a 100% increase in Europe's gas fueled power generation capacity in the first 5 years of 1990s

[en] The Spanish Institute for Energy Saving and Diversification (IDAE), provides technical advisement and economical support to those industries requiring an improvement in the energy efficiency of their production chain. This paper focusses on administrative procedures to get external financing as one way to undertake the construction of cogeneration plants. Relationships among user, promoter and financier should be developed according to the outlined procedures. (Author)

[en] The French Methane Company (CFM) provides about 20% of the French natural gas market with its pipes network. Its sales wined a new record in 1996 with 86 billions of kWh which corresponds to a 20% increase in two years. This growth reached 12% in the domestic sector with respect to 1995 and is explained by colder climatic conditions and to the efficient promotional policy of Gaz de France. In the industrial sector, a 10% growth is recorded due to the start up a new cogeneration installations in which CFM is considerably involved (short note). (J.S.)