Technical Due Diligence on Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Demonstrations using Natural Gas

Because of the high interest in medium scale (100- 500 kWe) CHP technologies in Canada, an opportunity exists to identify and draw lessons from the technical challenges experienced within demonstration projects that received MDIP funding support.

The results of this study should provide the following information, in four (4) main themes:

1) Develop a sound chronology/timeline of project events, through:

• review of project reporting and approved correspondence
• on-site interviews, telephone conversations and email correspondence with key project personnel

1. Source and assemble a binder of approved Technical Data Sheets (TDS) including a summary of any performance guarantees and-or maintenance planning provided, in relation to the:
   • cogeneration unit proper
   • mechanical equipment and subsystems
   • electrical equipment and subsystems
   • thermal equipment and subsystems
   • control and data acquisition systems
2. Identify the key technical challenges faced during installation, start-up, commissioning and initial operation, including:
   • Installation of equipment and subsystems
   • Tie-in of heat recovery equipment and subsystems
   • Tie-in of electrical equipment and subsystems
   • Start-up and commissioning of overall system
   • Control system tuning and optimization of set-points
   • Instrumentation and data acquisition of energy related values
   • Calculation and reporting of energy balance to assess project impacts

     4) Development of constructive/actionable advice that can be shared with others planning medium scale (100 – 500 kWe) CHP projects, including:

   • Clear description of technical challenges faced within the projects
   • Summary of technical solutions tried and relative success achieved
   • Insights and lessons learned both within and across projects
   • Residual Opportunities-for-Improvement (OFI) identified and prioritized
   • Recommendations that can be made to improve project outcomes
   • Early indication of best practices for calculating and reporting of energy balance to assess project impacts