CHP REGIONAL APPLICATION CENTERS: A PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF ACTIVITIES AND SELECTED RESULTS
- ORNL
Eight Regional CHP Application Centers (RACs) are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to facilitate the development and deployment of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies in all 50 states. The RACs build end-user awareness by providing CHP-related information to targeted markets through education and outreach; they work with the states and regulators to encourage the creation and adoption of favorable public policies; and they provide CHP users and prospective users with technical assistance and support on specific projects. The RACs were started by DOE as a pilot program in 2001 to support the National CHP Roadmap developed by industry to accelerate deployment of energy efficient CHP technologies (U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association 2001). The intent was to foster a regional presence to build market awareness, address policy issues, and facilitate project development. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has supported DOE with the RAC program since its inception. In 2007, ORNL led a cooperative effort involving DOE and some CHP industry stakeholders to establish quantitative metrics for measuring the RACs accomplishments. This effort incorporated the use of logic models to define and describe key RAC activities, outputs, and outcomes. Based on this detailed examination of RAC operations, potential metrics were identified associated with the various key sectors addressed by the RACs: policy makers; regulatory agencies; investor owned utilities; municipal and cooperative utilities; financiers; developers; and end users. The final product was reviewed by a panel of representatives from DOE, ORNL, RACs, and the private sector. The metrics developed through this effort focus on major RAC activities as well as on CHP installations and related outcomes. All eight RACs were contacted in August 2008 and asked to provide data for every year of Center operations for those metrics on which they kept records. In addition, data on CHP installations and related outcomes were obtained from an existing DOE-supported data base. The information provided on the individual RACs was summed to yield totals for all the Centers combined for each relevant item.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 970910
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2009/225; ED1907042; CEED210; TRN: US201003%%646
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
U.S. DOE Southeast Clean Energy Application Center
Mid Atlantic CHP Technical Assistance Partnership (Final Technical Report)