Cogen in Europe: VOLATILE! Is It “Green”? Is It “Brown?

Abstract

Low electricity prices, high gas prices, and unfavorable trading
conditions, notably in England and Wales, have made life difficult for
the cogeneration industry in Europe. The experience in England and
Wales with green energy and cogen under the New Electricity Trading
Arrangements (NETA) has been highly unfavorable to both, and literally
devastated the cogeneration industry. The UK’s Department of Trade
and Industry is supposed to fix this problem.
The output of cogeneration was down some 61% in the UK and
25% in Spain, for example. The situation was particularly dire in the UK,
forcing the industry into a crisis state, according to Mr. David Green, the
Director of the UK’s CHP Association.
But the beleaguered industry is about to get a shot in the arm,
courtesy of a new directive to be issued by the European Commission
(EC). According to Power in Europe Dec. 2001, the latest directive will
formally establish a goal of doubling cogeneration capacity in Europe to
16% from its current level of 8%, within ten years. The penetration of
cogeneration, like everything else, varies significantly from one country
to another, with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland in the lead.