Cut your energy bills

with cogeneration

A basic guide on the principles and profitability

of small-scale cogeneration

COGENchallenge
Basic guide: small-scale cogeneration
Ta b l e o f c o n t e n ts

Note from the editors………………….......….3

A wide range of possibilities……………....…4

The technical principles………………………6

Fundamental economic considerations...…..8

Basic phases of a cogeneration project…...11

A brief project checklist….......................….12

Make your first assessment with

easyCOGEN.xls..........................................14

About COGENchallenge.............................16

COGENchallenge
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Note from the editors
Cogeneration is the most efficient way of
energy conversion. Its wider use has various
positive impacts on the economy, the
environment, the responsible use of
resources and on security of energy supply.
Cogeneration, also known as CHP
(combined heat and power), produces 10%
of all electricity and around the same share
of heat in the 25 EU countries. There is a
strong political will to increase the share of
cogeneration in the coming years, because
this well-proven technology offers a range of
benefits for society.
Stimulating the economy
Energy consumers can cut drastically their
bills by installing cogeneration plants. They
can reduce the quantity of electricity bought
from the local supplier and sell excess
electricity at an attractive price. Finally, more
cogeneration means more independent
energy producers and helps to liberalise
European energy markets.
Saving the environment
Cogeneration shows higher energy efficiency
than conventional plants (separate
production of heat and electricity). This leads
to primary energy savings and lower
emissions of carbon dioxide, the main
greenhouse gas. The development of
cogeneration will contribute to meet the
targets of the Kyoto Protocol and to combat
climate change. The cleanest energy is
always the energy that is saved.
COGENchallenge
Using resources in a more efficient
manner
Everybody is aware of the fact that fossil fuel
resources will deplete sometime. In order to
find energy solutions of the future,
Governments put much effort in stimulating
renewable fuels like biomass and biogas. In
addition, improving the efficiency of fuel use
will reduce the rate of fuel depletion.
Cogeneration is the most efficient method to
convert fuels into useful electricity and heat.
Therefore, it should be always be the first
choice for energy provision.
Ensuring reliability of energy supply
Cogeneration contributes in many ways to
more reliability. By generating the electricity
themselves, the users of cogeneration are
more independent than consumers who
entirely depend on commercial electricity
suppliers. When electricity is produced very
near to the end-consumer, the entire
electricity network for the whole region is
more stable and needs less upgrading. Also,
bigger energy savings make all of us less
dependent on imported fuel resources.
Cogeneration is not only a possibility for big
industry and district heating. Small
enterprises, public authorities, even the
owners of family houses can use this
principle and realise these benefits. This
brochure is aimed at inspiring the reader to
reflect on the question whether the
installation of a small-scale cogeneration unit
would help to cut the energy bills and to
contribute to a greener future.
The COGENchallenge team
3
A wide range of possibilities

Whether you are a local authority, a small
business, a service company, a home owner,
or in charge of the maintenance of hospitals
or social housing you will always need
heating and electricity. To cover these needs
you generally use a boiler for your heat
needs and you buy electricity from the
network. Another option is to cover partially
these heating and electricity needs through a
small-scale cogeneration unit.
Cogenerated heat is used for domestic hot
water, space heating, laundry facilities,
dryers or swimming pool water heating.
Steam production is also possible in some
cases. Finally, it is also possible to use the
heat in a heat-driven chiller to produce
cooling to replace electric-driven air-
conditioning.

Small-scale cogeneration is an attractive

and practical proposition for a wide range
of applications:

the building sector: the agricultural sector:

houses and apartment buildings, Horticulture and greenhouses,

hospitals, drying crops or wood,
police stations and prisons, animal shelters,
schools and universities, use of agro-wastes such as biogas.
community heating schemes,
office buildings such as Government
buildings or banks. the industrial sector:

food processing,
services: textile production,
brewing, distilling and malting,
hotels, timber processing,
swimming pools and leisure centres, motor industry,
stores and supermarkets, and also industrial zones or parks.
airports,
shopping centres,
restaurants,
laundries, energy from waste using the biogas
car washes. production of:

sewage treatment works,

landfill sites.

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A wide range of possibilities
A spa & fun resort in Ljubljana (Slovenia)
The Laguna Ljubljana resort is a camping
and hotel centre with an open swimming pool
complex and sport centre. The installed
small-scale cogeneration unit with a capacity
of 230 kWe (gas engine) supplies most of
the electricity and a high share of the total
heat demand of the resort during the whole
year. Compared to separate heat and power
production, the installation saves around 110
tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
A landfill site in Thieulloy (France)
In 2004, eight microturbines of 30 kWe each
were installed on a landfill site nearby Paris.
This cogeneration plant uses most of the
biogas produced by the site rather than simply
flaring the gas. The electricity generated is sold
to the French utility EDF at a price of €120,000
per year. A greenhouse under construction
next to the site will be supplied with heat. It is
estimated that each year around 130 tonnes of
carbon dioxide will be saved thanks to the use
of biogas for producing electricity and heat.
COGENchallenge
A school in Frankfurt (Germany)
In Frankfurt, a large number of schools cover
a part of their heating need with small-scale
cogeneration units. Two 50 kWe small-scale
cogeneration units (gas engines) were
installed in the Carl Schurz school in 1993.
They produce 80 % of the annual heat
demand of the school, the gym and the
swimming pool and save around 50 tonnes
of carbon dioxide per year.
A hotel in London (United Kingdom)
The Heathrow Marriott is a large luxury hotel
with 390 guestrooms, a heated indoor
swimming pool and a gym. Installed in 2001,
the 400 kWe cogeneration unit runs on
average 17 hours per day with an average
availability of 97.5%. The hotel management
calculated annual cost savings to have
reached €75,700 for the first year of
operation, while avoiding over 250 tonnes of
carbon dioxide emissions over the same
period.
5
The technical principles
Most people think of large clouds pouring out Cogeneration drastically reduces this waste
of a massive cooling tower when asked for a of energy. By converting the energy close to
picture that illustrates the production of the consumer of heat and power, it is
electricity. All of us have seen many different possible to use most of it. The graph belowe
power stations where water is used to cool illustrates this principle: in the upper half, it is
the process and then condensates into the shown how much electricity and heat a
air. Only a few, however, pose the question typical small-scale cogeneration produces
why we are actually wasting all this energy with a given number of energy input. In this
that has heated up the water and disappears example, the cogeneration unit has an
through the chimney and cooling towers? efficiency of 89%. In the case of separate
production of heat
Cogeneration Plant (in the boiler) and
electricity (in the
power station) the
11 units loss
efficiency is much
lower. Far more fuel
34 units
100 units Power is needed, because
fuel of the high losses in
Engine Generator 55 units
Heat the power station,
and additional
Separate Heat and Power Production losses in the
electricity network
33 units loss and in the boiler.
Total loss: 42 units 3 units loss

Cogeneration is a
34 units
131 units 70 Power principle and not a
fuel units 6 units loss
61 units 55 units
single technology. In
Heat general,
cogeneration can be
applied in all cases
where electricity is produced by thermal
combustion, may it be based on fossil or
renewable fuels. By exactly analysing the
consumption patterns of individual users,
cogeneration schemes can be optimised to
supply their specific needs.
The Cogeneration Principle
Ve
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Engine/Generator Gas Turbine/Generator

tab

Bio
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an Power
O

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Heat
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il
Natural Gas
Fuel Cogeneration Plant

Coal
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ma
B io
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Bio Fuel Cell Steam Turbine/Generator

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© Bundesverband Kraft-Wärme-Kopplung

COGENchallenge
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The technical principles
Engines
Most small-scale cogeneration units are
internal combustion engines operating on the
same familiar principles as their petrol and
diesel automotive counterparts. Engines run
with liquid or gaseous fuels, such as heating
oil, natural gas or biogas, and are available
from 1 kWe to more than 1,000 kWe. Internal
combustion engines have a higher electrical
efficiency than turbines, but the thermal
energy they produce is generally at lower
temperatures and so they are highly suited to
buildings applications. The usable
heat:power ratio is normally in the range 1:1
to 2:1.
For very small-scale applications with a
capacity between 0.2 kWe and 9 kWe,
Stirling engines can be used. These engines
are external combustion devices and
therefore differ substantially from the
conventional models. The Stirling engine has
fewer moving parts than conventional
engines, and no valves, tappets, fuel
injectors or spark ignition systems. It is
therefore quieter than normal engines.
Stirling engines also require little
maintenance and the emission of pollutants
is low.
Gas Turbines
Gas turbines have become the most widely
used prime mover for large-scale
cogeneration in recent years. The waste
gases exhausted from the turbine have a
temperature of 450°C to 550°C, making the
gas turbine particularly suitable steam
supply. Gas turbines are not only used in
large-scale applications. Smaller units,
starting at around 400 kWe are available on
the market.
COGENchallenge
Since the late 1990s microturbines have
become available. They are derived from
automotive turbo-chargers and are available
from 30 kWe to around 250 kWe.
Microturbines use less space than
conventional engines and maintenance costs
are lower. Moreover, the emission of
pollutant gases is reduced, especially those
gases that cause acid rain and ozone layer
depletion. Electrical efficiencies are typically
lower than in internal combustion engines.
Steam Turbines
Steam turbines have been used as prime
movers for large-scale cogeneration systems
for many years. Typically, steam turbines are
associated with larger power stations but
also smaller units starting with 200 kWe are
frequently used. The overall efficiency
generally is very high, achieving up to 84%.
Steam turbines run with solid, liquid or
gaseous fuels, both fossil and renewable.
The typical heat:power ratio of steam
turbines is around 6:1.
Fuel Cells
A new development is the use of fuel cells
for cogeneration. It needs to be said,
however, that fuel cells are not yet
commercially available. Fuel cells convert
the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen
directly into electricity without combustion
and mechanical work such as in turbines or
engines. The hydrogen is usually produced
from natural gas by a process known as
reforming. The total efficiencies of
cogeneration systems reach 85 to 90%,
while the heat to power ratio is in the range
5:4. Fuel cells with a capacity of 1 kWe
provide heat and power to single family
houses, whereas bigger applications of
around 300 kWe can be used in hospitals for
example.
7
 F u n d a m e n ta l e c o n o m i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n
In order to fully meet the needs of the
cogeneration operator, the optimal size of the
cogeneration unit needs to be determined.
The heat load of the site is the most
important factor when defining the right
capacity. Other factors include the type of
cogeneration unit, the consumption pattern,
and the presence (or absence) of specific
public support mechanisms for cogeneration.

Example A

Heat
Demand
kWh (th)

730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h

Example A shows a cogeneration unit that is

sized in a way that allows for many operating
hours. The total amount of 6,800 operating
hours means that the unit is running for more
than nine months during the year. Only when
the heat demand is lowest (usually in the
summer period) is the machine switched off.
The rationale behind this approach is that an
investment in cogeneration amortises the
faster, the more the unit is in operation.
However, in this case only a relatively small
proportion of the heat demand is met by the
cogeneration unit. The rest will be supplied
by boilers.

Example B

Heat
Demand
kWh (th)

730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h 730h

Example B shows another possibility to

determine the right size for a cogeneration
unit. Here, the plant runs only for a certain
period of time. Consequently, the capacity
can be bigger, even if the heat load is
identical with the object of the previous
example. This option is chosen in cases,
when night time operation is uneconomic

COGENchallenge
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F u n d a m e n ta l e c o n o m i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n
Costs
Investment into energy efficiency does not
come for free. The owner of a cogeneration
plant needs to calculate with two types of
cost: the initial costs for installing the
cogeneration plant (purchase of the
cogeneration unit, connection to the power
grid, the fuel system and the heating system,
construction and engineering) and for the
long-term costs for the fuel and for the
maintenance of the system.

Composition of typical initial costs per

unit capacity

800.000
Looking at the initial costs, the investment
Engineering
into cogeneration is more capital-intensive 700.000 Connection to grid
Exhaust
than the investment into a boiler, which only 600.000 Connection to heating system
Total investment in Euro

Construction
produces heat and no electricity. The graph 500.000 CHP-Unit

above shows that the cogeneration unit

400.000
constitutes the biggest share of overall
investment. Generally, smaller cogeneration 300.000

units have a higher price per kWe, so that 200.000

the total initial costs vary from €700 to 100.000

€3,000 per kWe. 0

5 15 30 50 65 100 150 250 300 350 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
kWe of chp-plant

Initial costs of cogeneration investment

Source: ASUE 2005

Maintenance costs per unit capacity

Next to the fuel costs, long-term costs occur 4,00

due to maintenance and service needs. Most

Cost for Full-Service-Contract in [ct/kWh el]

3,50

suppliers of cogeneration units offer a full- 3,00

service contract: essentially a life-time

2,50 Price-function:
guarantee for the cogeneration unit. Full- Full-Service = 5.73 x pel-0,26 [Ct/kWhe]
2,00
service contracts have a duration of ten
years or more and should cover the costs for 1,50

lubrication, filters, spark-plugs (for engines), 1,00

etc. Cogeneration users should not shy away 0,50

from paying these additional costs, if they do
0,00
not have the knowledge for operating, 0 200 400 600 800 1.000

maintaining and overhauling these machines. electrical power of chp unit in kWe

Full-service contract costs

COGENchallenge
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F u n d a m e n ta l e c o n o m i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n
Benefits The European Directive on Cogeneration
has been transposed into national law in
Investing into cogeneration is profitable when 2006 and obliges all European Governments
the income from the investment is higher to promote cogeneration in general and
than the initial and long-term costs. The small-scale cogeneration of up to 1,000 kWe
cogeneration owners earn money by in particular. In order to increase their share
producing electricity that they can either of cogeneration, many European
consume themselves or sell to the local Governments offer financial support for
electricity supplier. In many countries, they cogeneration users. These support
receive additional financial support from the mechanisms can be very different and are
governments, as cogeneration offers many designed according to the needs of the
benefits for the society, such as saving specific countries. Typical mechanisms are
primary energy, avoiding network losses and investment subsidies, favourable feed-in
reducing greenhouse gases. tariffs for excess electricity, white or green
certificates, reduction of energy taxes or VAT,
The cogeneration operators no longer only or specific loan programmes. In order to
buy from the local electricity supplier, they calculate the profitability of your cogeneration
produce their power themselves. However, in project, you will need to know about any
order to cover peak demand and in times, support mechanism put in place by your
when the cogeneration units are switched off, Government. A regional "cogeneration
they will rely on the electricity from the grid. facilitator" can help you, as well as national
As they can produce a considerable part of cogeneration associations or governmental
the electricity and heat needs of the site, bodies. In order to get some first indication,
substantial energy and cost savings are please consult the www.cogen-challenge.org
achieved. website and download the country fact sheet
for your home country.
Austria 13.6
Belgium 7.5
Cyprus 0.0
Czech Republic 17.1
Denmark 49.1
Estonia 11.0
Finland 38.0
France 4.0
Germany 9.8
Greece 7.8
Hungary 21.5
Ireland 2.5
Italy 7.4
Latvia 37.5
Lithuania 9.7
Luxembourg 7.9
Malta 0.0
Netherlands 29.9
Poland 16.0
Portugal 10.0
Slovakia 17.5
Slovenia 5.9
Spain 7.8
Sweden 6.8
United Kingdom 5.4

Share of cogeneration in the

10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 %
EU-25 countries in the year 2002 (in %)
Source: Eurostat 2006

COGENchallenge
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Basic phases of a cogeneration project
Sizing of the cogeneration unit
If a cogeneration project is well designed,
primary energy savings of 10 to 25% can be
achieved. Projects with such a high amount
of energy savings are also known as "high
efficiency cogeneration". In order to reach
these results, it must be ensured that as little
energy as possible is wasted. This can be
only done by using the entire amount of heat
and electricity produced by the cogeneration
unit in an effective and efficient way.
The first big challenge for the realisation of a
high efficiency cogeneration project therefore
is to find the right capacity of the
cogeneration unit. If the unit is too small, the
opportunity to save more energy is missed. If
the unit is too big, energy will be wasted.
Project developers determine the size of a
unit always according to various criteria such
as the heat load, the electricity needs and
the regulatory framework. Another important
aspect is the question, whether it is possible
to sell excess electricity.
The purchase and the installation of a
cogeneration unit is a considerable
investment which needs to pay back. The
more hours of a year the cogeneration unit is
in operation, the more money is saved during
this year. Therefore, project developers
choose a size for the cogeneration unit which
does not cover the highest possible heat
load but only the base load which is stable
during the year.
Do your first assessment for free
Depending on your site's energy needs and
the operational requirements, a range of
energy experts can assist you in carrying out
a proper sizing of your cogeneration project.
These may be the supplier of the
cogeneration unit, an energy consultant or a
so-called energy services company (ESCO).
With a "feasibility study" the experts can
measure your consumption of heating fuel
and of electricity and simulate (with a
complex software tool)
COGENchallenge
different sizes of cogeneration units. They
can calculate for each size the profitability
and then propose the best option giving also
an assessment of the economical benefits,
the energy and environmental balance, and
the technical integration into the building.
The COGENchallenge team recommends to
you to begin by doing the first assessment
yourself. For this reason, we have created a
simplified version of the same software tool
that energy professionals use in their work.
The Excel-based software easyCOGEN.xls
allows also non-experts to carry out a first
rough assessment whether the installation of
a cogeneration plant is a good option or not.
On the pages 14 and 15 of this brochure
there is a manual on how to use
easyCOGEN.xls.
Choose your individual financing option
As with all other investments in life the rate
of return of your investment in cogeneration
depends on the level of risk that you are
willing to take. You have different options
such as managing the entire investment by
yourself, signing a "partnership contract" with
an energy supplier, or agreeing to a so-called
Third Party Financing (TPF) contract. In this
case, a third partner will carry out the
investment and the maintenance of the unit.
You should thoroughly assess, which option
fits best to your financing plan. If you want to
know more about financing cogeneration
projects, please consult the respective
COGENchallenge brochure, which will be
available on the website from June 2006
onwards.
11
A brief project checklist
If the technical and economical analysis is
positive for a cogeneration plant, some legal
and other aspects have to be kept in mind.
Depending on the size of the plant, an
operator needs permissions from different
parties. The following checklist will give some
hints, but cannot cover all national
regulations in the European countries. Again,
it is helpful to ask local facilitators or
engineers or even the suppliers which have
experience with cogeneration installations.
Grid connection
The distribution network operator should be
involved in the project at an early stage. In
the case of bigger units the impact on the
grid needs to be checked and the point of
interconnection needs to be defined.
It is also helpful to know the interconnection
costs. These costs can vary from 5 to 20% of
the total installation costs. More often, the
distribution network operator will facilitate the
interconnection of your cogeneration unit.
For instance, the electricity produced by a
cogeneration unit might receive preferential
treatment when fed into the grid. The
distribution network operator is normally the
right address to find out about the conditions
in your country and region. In some countries
you will be asked to add a "decoupling
connection" system to your cogeneration
plant. The performance of this decoupling
system needs to be tested before you start to
run your cogeneration plant.

G easyCOGEN.xls
G feasibility study
G grid connection
G distribution network operator
G fuel contract
G building authorities
G administrative procedures
G emissions regulations
G maintenance
G public support mechanisms

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12
A brief project checklist
Electricity distributor
Running a cogeneration unit may have an
effect on the price you pay for electrical
energy. Even if your electricity bill will
decrease after installing a cogeneration unit,
the unit price of your electricity might
increase, because you purchase fewer units.
This effect must be taken into account in the
feasibility study before you decide whether to
install a cogeneration unit or not.
Fuel contract
With the installation of a cogeneration unit,
your fuel consumption on the site will
increase. Therefore, you should contact your
fuel supplier to amend the contract, if
necessary.
Building authority
Depending on your home country and
region, you might need to ask for a
permission of the building authorities
allowing you to install a small-scale
cogeneration unit. The building regulations
vary substantially across Europe, so that a
generalising statement is difficult to make. In
any case, you should get informed about the
regulations in your region.
Administrative permitting and
licensing procedures
In some countries, you will need a license to
generate electricity. In other countries, the
authorities will require you to fulfill certain
legal regulations if you want to sell your
electricity to a third party. These regulations
vary substantially depending on your country
and region. In order to clarify these rules you
need to ask a cogeneration expert.
COGENchallenge
Emissions regulations
E
In each country there are certain regulations
on air quality that need to be fulfilled.
Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) typically
cause the greatest concern and legislative
attention. Nitrogen oxides are toxic, form
acid rain and contribute to the depletion of
the ozone layer. Emissions can be reduced
by regularly maintaining the cogeneration
plant. Additional emissions regulations may
concern sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon
monoxide (CO) and dust.
Maintenance
In order to calculate the economical benefits
of a cogeneration plant it is necessary to
know the maintenance cost for a "full-
service-contract". You will find more
information on maintenance costs on page 9
of this brochure.
Public support mechanisms
This is an important item for the potential
investor and needs to be thoroughly
checked. All over Europe there are different
public support mechanisms for cogeneration
in place. It is sometimes necessary to
contact a variety of different public authorities
in order to receive all financial support (for
the actual investment but also for the
feasibility study). You will find more
information on the public support
mechanisms in your country on the
COGENchallenge website. In order to have
complete information on possible support,
you should also ask a regional expert in this
field.
13
Make your first assessment with
easyCOGEN.xls
easyCOGEN.xls allows you to make a first
rough assessment whether the installation of
a cogeneration unit is an option for you or
not. You can download this Excel file on the
www.cogen-challenge.org website. By
entering key data of your project (buildings,
enterprise, offices, etc) in the blue boxes you
can assess easily the size and the
profitability of a suitable cogeneration unit
(results are shown in the grey boxes).
Please be aware that this is only a very
rough indicator whether your cogeneration
project is profitable or not. If the
"conclusions" at the end of the programme
appear in green, you should consult an
expert (e.g. a supplier, a developer, a
cogeneration facilitator) for carrying out a
feasibility study.
easyCOGEN.xls cannot assist you for
planning cogeneration projects based on
renewable fuels. These projects are more
complex to calculate as they, on the one
hand, need more technical equipment, and,
on the other hand, benefit from additional
financial support programmes.
This small users' guide explains to you
how to work with easyCOGEN.xls. Should
you have difficulties with this programme,
please contact the COGENchallenge team
1. Step: Location of the project:
Please choose the country (and region)
where you want to realise your cogeneration
project. Due to geographical differences such
as climate conditions and public support
mechanisms, the location has got an
important impact on the calculation of the
profitability.
2. Step: Determine your net heat demand
The net heat demand is the single most
important value that determines the size of
your high efficiency cogeneration unit. In
order to calculate the net heat demand,
COGENchallenge
please first choose whether you are using
gas or heating oil for heating your building.
Type in the annual consumption (in kWh for
gas, in litres for heating oil) of heating fuel.
You will find this information on the bill from
your energy distributor.
3. Step: Choose a specific thermal profile
By selecting one of the six activities of the
drop-down menu you know the optimum
share of your heat demand that could be
covered by a cogeneration unit. You will see
automatically, how many hours of the year
the unit would be in operation, the thermal
capacity (in kW), and a graph with your heat
production (cogeneration and boiler) per
month.
4. Step: Choose the cogeneration
technology
If you use natural gas as fuel for your boiler,
you will automatically choose the natural gas
engine as cogeneration technology for your
project. In the case that you have an oil-fired
boiler, you have the choice to either opt for a
diesel-engine or for a natural gas engine.
5. Step: Determine your profits from
producing electricity
Please type in the amount of your annual
electricity consumption and of your annual
electricity bill. The programme will calculate
the average electricity price that you pay and
multiply it with the amount of electricity
produced by your cogeneration unit. Below,
you will find your annual profits by producing
the power yourself.
6. Step: Determine your profits from
producing heat
Please type in, how much you pay per year
for heating oil / natural gas. The programme
will automatically calculate your average fuel
price and will determine the value of the heat
that you produce with the cogeneration unit.
14
Make your first assessment with
easyCOGEN.xls
7. Step: Determine the long-term costs of
the cogeneration plant
As page 9 of this brochure shows there are
long-term costs for investing into
cogeneration. easyCOGEN.xls calculates
automatically the amount of fuel consumed
by the cogeneration plant per year and the
level of annual maintenance costs. By typing
in the costs (per kWh in the case of natural
gas, per litre in the case of heating oil) you
can assess how large the fuel bill would be,
if you realise the project.
8. Step: Determine the profitability of your
cogeneration project:
easyCOGEN.xls calculates for you the "Total
initial investment" which is the sum of the
cogeneration unit (72%), the installation
costs (7%), buildings adaptation costs (7%),
study costs (5%), grid connection costs (3%),
and other costs (6%).
In the case that you want to realise your
cogeneration project in one of the
COGENchallenge focus countries (Austria,
Belgium, Germany, Slovenia and Spain),
easyCOGEN.xls will automatically calculate
the level of financial public support for your
plant.
For all other countries, you need to enter this
data yourself. Principally, there are two
support instruments: the first is an
investment aid that covers a certain
percentage of your initial investment costs.
Should your government have put such an
instrument in place, please enter the value
(in %) so that you can see the amount of
money that you will have to investment
yourself upfront. The second type of public
support instruments is paid on an annual
basis. Should your cogeneration plant be
eligible for such financial help, please type in
the amount of money (in €) you expect to
receive per year.

easy COGEN.xls
Rough calculation tool for small-scale cogeneration projects
www.cogen-challenge.org

= Enter your data in the blues boxes.

= The results are given in the grey boxes. If you want to, you can change the underlying formulas.

Name of the project :

...type in the name of your project...

First sizing of the cogeneration unit

st
1 step : Location of the project Austria
Belgium
France
Germany
Slovenia
Spain
Others

If the "Conclusions" at the end of the programme appear in green,

you should consult an expert for carrying out a feasibility study

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COGENchallenge
The European information campaign on small-scale cogeneration

About this guide Visit our website

The basic guide on the principles and
profitability of small-scale cogeneration is
aimed at everybody who is interested in
reducing energy bills and contributing to a
cleaner environment. It explains in clear
terms what cogeneration is, who can use it,
and how much sense it makes from the
economic point of view. The guide includes
examples of typical small-scale cogeneration
applications and shows how to make a first
rough cost-benefit analysis.
Further information
Under www.cogen-challenge.org you will
find additional information on small-scale
cogeneration, including:
addresses of suppliers of
cogeneration units and of project
developers close to you
fact sheets describing the legal and
economic framework in your country
calculation tools that help you to
carry out feasibility tests

In the case that you find the installation of a a list of showcases of successful
cogeneration unit useful for your situation, small-scale cogeneration projects
you should consult an expert. In six (target: 1,000)
European cities a “facilitator” for small-scale
cogeneration can assist interested parties a calendar showing information and
with his knowledge and experience with this training events on small-scale
technology. In Graz (Austria), Namur cogeneration
(Belgium), Frankfurt am Main (Germany),
Lyon (France), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and
Oviedo (Spain) the facilitators can be
contacted directly as experts for their regions
and countries. In most other European
countries there is a national cogeneration
association that is able to assist you.

Legal disclaimer Contact

The publication of this brochure has been

Frank Knecht
supported by the European Commission under its
Intelligent Energy Europe Programme. The sole
Project Co-ordinator
responsibility for the content of this publication lies T: +32 (2) 772.82.90
with the authors. It does not represent the opinion E: frank.knecht@cogen.org
of the Community. The European Commission is
not responsible for any use that may be made of
the information contained therein.

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