The continually rising cost of electricity in many parts of the country, coupled with relatively stable prices for fuels, has encouraged the development of a strong cogeneration equipment market. Although many of the systems installed have been relatively large and designed for industrial applications, a significant market for smaller systems serving the residential and commercial sectors has been identified. In order to supply systems that can be economically competitive in sizes less than 1000 kW in capacity, a new approach based on packaged cogeneration systems was devised. The Gas Research Institute established a program to develop packaged systems for several specific applications, including hospitals, fast food restaurants, and supermarkets, that would provide heating, cooling, and electrical services. The program, augmented by the private development of similar equipment, has resulted in several successful applications. An extension of the concept is to develop a similar approach to serve diverse multiuser communities. There is a strong potential for such systems because it would allow otherwise unsuitable applications to take advantage of economic cogeneration systems.

Units: I-P