Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Awarded POET an ENERGY STAR Combined Heat and Power Award for the efficient use of energy at its production facility in Ashton, Iowa. Click here for the press release issued from POET. For the EPA release, click here.
POET Biorefining – Ashton generates electricity onsite with a natural gas-fired turbine. Heat recovered from the turbine’s exhaust produces 56,000 pounds of steam per hour to support ethanol production. This CHP system, also known as cogeneration, requires approximately 16 percent less fuel than typical onsite thermal generation and purchased electricity. The EPA estimates that the 18,900 tons of CO2 savings from this system is equivalent to removing the annual emissions from 3,100 cars or planting 3,900 acres of forest.
In this picture, (L to R) Beverly Houston Banister of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presents the award to James Moe, COO of POET, and Dean Van Riesen, General Manager of POET Biorefining - Ashton.
The award was handed out during the general session of the 2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Nashville, Tenn. POET is one of two ethanol producers to earn the award. The other is East Kansas Agri-Energy in Garnett, Kan.
Great news! Love hearing about recognition given to those who use CHP. I'm associated with Recycled Energy Development, a CHP company based outside of Chicago. (RED's founder Tom Casten actually coined the phrase CHP, is my understanding.) What doesn't get enough attention is that CHP and waste heat recovery (similar technology, used to capture the heat that manufacturers are already emitting) can cut US greenhouse emissions by 20%, according to EPA and DoE estimates. All white CUTTING energy costs. We need to hear much more about this in the press.
Posted by: miggs | June 18, 2008 at 09:22 AM