A Tough Lesson Lack of Run Time-A Cogeneration Pitfall

Abstract

Numerous pitfalls will cause a cogeneration project to be unsuc-
cessful. If success is measured in a project's ability to meet the proforma
exp ectations in overall utility savings and return on investment , then
any thing less than that renders a project unsuccessful. However, partial
success still ma y be acceptable. For instance, if a project pencils out to
hav e a r eturn on inve stment of 35% and attains onl y a 28% savings
ov erall, that pro ject still gives greater-than-normal returns c ompared to
other inv e stment s and can be deem ed successful.
But the primar y con cern is when a project fails abjectl y. When the
r eturn s ar e considerably less than what can be earned in con s ervat ive
inve stmen ts, then the pro ject would be said to ha ve failed .