Buildings are responsible for more than a third of carbon emissions in the United States, making this sector an important target for decarbonization efforts. While some are focused on electrification as the primary solution to mitigate building emissions, that approach will not work for all building types and will leave critical facilities vulnerable to electric grid outages.
Recent policy proposals from the Department of Energy — including its Building Decarbonization Blueprint, its National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building, and its Federal Building Performance Standard — place electrification at the forefront, but the CHP Alliance believes DOE has an opportunity to broaden its proposals in recognition of CHP’s wide-ranging benefits.
Critical infrastructure facilities, such as hospitals, airports, data centers, and military bases, face significant challenges with electrification due to reliability constraints. These facilities require an uninterrupted power supply, and given the rising frequency and severity of extreme weather events due to climate change, they cannot always depend on the grid. As electricity demand is projected to surge in the coming years, strain on the grid will only increase. To avoid compounding this demand, while maintaining a stable energy supply for essential services, building owners need access to practical onsite energy solutions — like combined heat and power.
CHP systems are known to keep critical facilities operational during major grid outages. In 2017, when Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, CHP systems kept the Texas Medical Center in Houston operational. The hospital was able to perform life-saving services without interruption in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
In New York, the Brevoort — a residential high-rise — installed a 400 kW CHP system, which then kept the lights on throughout Superstorm Sandy while neighboring blocks lost power for multiple days. Thanks to CHP, the Brevoort became a haven for residents’ families and friends who did not have access to secure power during the storm.
Beyond its reliability and resiliency benefits, CHP can drive immediate emissions reductions for the building sector and dramatically reduce energy costs. CHP allows for simultaneous electricity and thermal heat generation from a single fuel source, offering major operational efficiency benefits and reducing emissions faster than other methods.
Since installing its 48 MW CHP system, the Texas Medical Center has cut emissions by more than 300,000 tons per year while saving between $6 million and $12 million annually. In Philadelphia, the University Square Apartments, a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) subsidized complex for adults aged 62+, installed a 150 kW CHP system that generates 16% of the building’s electricity and meets 34% of its space heating and hot water demand. This CHP unit has cut building emissions by 550 tons annually and reduced energy costs by 11%.
If policymakers exclude CHP from their decarbonization strategies, the building sector will be without an important tool to reduce emissions and enhance energy reliability now. Given the diverse needs of the buildings sector, DOE and other policy makers should endorse an equally diverse set of decarbonization solutions to meet each building type’s unique needs.