CHP Roadmap Background

The National CHP Roadmap - Doubling Combined Heat and Power Capacity in the United States by 2010 (PDF 2.3 MB), was published in 2001. This document, sponsored by the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), presented an extensive discussion of barriers, opportunities, needs, and strategies for meeting the challenge and achieving widespread use of CHP. The Roadmap has served as the primary tool for guiding CHP activity across the United States, in the industrial, commercial, institutional, and government sectors. Download Acrobat Reader.

In addition to the CHP Roadmap, the Bush administration released a National Energy Policy Report and Climate Change Plan (PDF 3.1 MB) in 2001 that further put CHP on the "policy map." And subsequently, a number of DOE and EPA policy directives have pointed to CHP as a key element of the nation's energy program, one opportunity for improving the use of distributed generation in place of expensive, central station generating facilities. The EPA CHP Partnership has attracted private and public sector organizations and non-profit agencies to commit to utilizing CHP for power supply, further promoting CHP as both an energy-saving and environmentally-positive energy solution.

Since publication of the CHP Roadmap in 2001, the USCHPA, DOE, and EPA, along with other organizations and institutions, have co-sponsored follow-on Roadmap Workshops. The purpose of these workshops has primarily been to gauge the success of the roadmap in moving CHP "down the road" to the CHP Challenge Goal of doubling CHP capacity by 2010 - a total of 46 GW of new CHP compared to 1998 levels. Learn more about the CHP Challenge and a National Agenda for CHP.

We have sought to answer the questions:

  1. Where are we on that road to 46 GW?
  2. What barriers and obstacles still face us?
  3. Who is taking the lead in raising awareness?
  4. Who is taking regulatory or legislative action on behalf of CHP?
  5. Are we eliminating those regulatory and institutional barriers?
  6. What more needs to be done?
  7. What must be accomplished in the next year?

The Annual CHP Roadmap Workshops accomplish the following goals and objectives:

  • Review the status of CHP activities to date in industry, commerce, institutional buildings, government facilities, as well as in district energy applications
  • Determine which of the CHP Roadmap actions have been accomplished to date and hone in on the activities that need to take place in the coming year
  • Re-invigorate the CHP community throughout the nation
  • Provide an opportunity for "cross-fertilization" of regional and state CHP activities, successes, and challenges, and to provide a mentoring environment for organizations and entities that have not yet begun working with CHP
  • Provide an opportunity for workshop participants to visit commercial, institutional, and industrial sites where CHP has been installed

According to Energy and Environmental Analysis (EEA), over 82GW of CHP has been installed as of last year’s Roadmap Workshop in 2005, at 2,960 sites throughout the country. The majority of installations are in the industrial sector, at chemical plants, refining and paper production facilities, and in commercial and institutional settings. But, over 50% of the installations are commercial and institutional, at hospitals, health care facilities, government buildings, and colleges and universities.

To set the stage for this year’s Roadmap Workshop, registrants are encouraged to read the original CHP Roadmap, subsequent Action Plans and documents resulting from the workshops held in the years 2000-2005, and two documents in particular: 

  • CHP Action Agenda: A Status Report, (PDF 324 KB) prepared for the 5th Annual CHP Roadmap Workshop, September 2004, which catalogues all technology development, market, and education/outreach activities up to that date.
  • 2005 Action Agenda: Innovating, Advocating, Raising Awareness, and Delivering Solutions, (PDF 450 KB) prepared for the 6th Annual CHP Roadmap Workshop in October 2005, which provided further updates to our progress along the road to 92 GW and laid out the situational analysis for the CHP Café discussions.

In addition, participants are encouraged to read the 2006 CHP Action Plan posted below to learn the progress of the CHP community towards reaching its goal of achieving 92 GW CHP capacity by 2010.

  • 2006-2007 CHP Action Plan - Positioning CHP Value: Solutions for National, Regional and Local Energy Issues (PDF 384 KB)
  • Presentation on the Action Plan (PDF 537 KB)