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U.S. Department of Energy
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Indirect benefits of cogeneration district heating

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6465744
Previous research is summarized and synthesized to develop a technology assessment which illustrates the substantial indirect environmental (employment and air pollution) benefits obtainable from implementation of a cogeneration-based district-heating technology by use of electric/thermal power plants at existing metropolitan electric plant sites. The benefits are inextricably linked to the economic market for the cogeneration district heating technology. The market is shown to be confined to downtown areas of major northern US cities because of the high heating demand density found there. Since minorities are disproportionately concentrated within these same cities, and since the technology uses more low skill labor than its alternatives, construction employment opportunities for minorities are estimated to be substantially greater than for the coal-based alternatives examined. Because the technology efficiently substitutes relatively remote high level emittors for local low level area source emittors it reduces by substantial amounts the ambient air pollution levels in the heavily used downtown area, generally with little or no total emissions increases.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6465744
Report Number(s):
CONF-8010204-1; ON: DE81023908
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English