Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study
High dependency on fossil fuels, low energy efficiency, poor diversification of energy sources, and a low rate of access to electricity are challenges that need to be solved in many developing countries to make their energy systems more sustainable. Cogeneration has been identified as a key strategy...
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/20/5254 |
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| author | Manuel Raul Pelaez-Samaniego Juan L. Espinoza José Jara-Alvear Pablo Arias-Reyes Fernando Maldonado-Arias Patricia Recalde-Galindo Pablo Rosero Tsai Garcia-Perez |
| author_facet | Manuel Raul Pelaez-Samaniego Juan L. Espinoza José Jara-Alvear Pablo Arias-Reyes Fernando Maldonado-Arias Patricia Recalde-Galindo Pablo Rosero Tsai Garcia-Perez |
| author_sort | Manuel Raul Pelaez-Samaniego |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High dependency on fossil fuels, low energy efficiency, poor diversification of energy sources, and a low rate of access to electricity are challenges that need to be solved in many developing countries to make their energy systems more sustainable. Cogeneration has been identified as a key strategy for increasing energy generation capacity, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improving energy efficiency in industry, one of the most energy-demanding sectors worldwide. However, more studies are necessary to define approaches for implementing cogeneration, particularly in countries with tropical climates (such as Ecuador). In Ecuador, the National Plan of Energy Efficiency includes cogeneration as one of the four routes for making energy use more sustainable in the industrial sector. The objective of this paper is two-fold: (1) to identify the potential of cogeneration in the Ecuadorian industry, and (2) to show the positive impacts of cogeneration on power generation capacity, GHG emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and the economy of the country. The study uses methodologies from works in specific types of industrial processes and puts them together to evaluate the potential and analyze the impacts of cogeneration at national level. The potential of cogeneration in Ecuador is ~600 MW<sub>el</sub>, which is 12% of Ecuador’s electricity generation capacity. This potential could save ~18.6 × 10<sup>6</sup> L/month of oil-derived fuels, avoiding up to 576,800 tCO<sub>2</sub>/year, and creating around 2600 direct jobs. Cogeneration could increase energy efficiency in the Ecuadorian industry by up to 40%. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:45:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37f2399c7f464fbdadefa3362b833c90 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:45:35Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-37f2399c7f464fbdadefa3362b833c902023-11-20T16:30:57ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-10-011320525410.3390/en13205254Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case StudyManuel Raul Pelaez-Samaniego0Juan L. Espinoza1José Jara-Alvear2Pablo Arias-Reyes3Fernando Maldonado-Arias4Patricia Recalde-Galindo5Pablo Rosero6Tsai Garcia-Perez7Department of Applied Chemistry and Systems of Production, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010107, EcuadorFaculty of Engineering, DEET, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010107, EcuadorCorporación Eléctrica del Ecuador CELEC E.P., Cuenca 010109, EcuadorFaculty of Electrical Engineering, Smart Grid Energy Lab., Universidad Católica de Cuenca, Cuenca 010107, EcuadorFaculty of Economic Sciences, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010107, EcuadorMinistry of Energy and Natural Non-Renewable Resources, Quito 170135, EcuadorMinistry of Energy and Natural Non-Renewable Resources, Quito 170135, EcuadorDepartment of Applied Chemistry and Systems of Production, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca 010107, EcuadorHigh dependency on fossil fuels, low energy efficiency, poor diversification of energy sources, and a low rate of access to electricity are challenges that need to be solved in many developing countries to make their energy systems more sustainable. Cogeneration has been identified as a key strategy for increasing energy generation capacity, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improving energy efficiency in industry, one of the most energy-demanding sectors worldwide. However, more studies are necessary to define approaches for implementing cogeneration, particularly in countries with tropical climates (such as Ecuador). In Ecuador, the National Plan of Energy Efficiency includes cogeneration as one of the four routes for making energy use more sustainable in the industrial sector. The objective of this paper is two-fold: (1) to identify the potential of cogeneration in the Ecuadorian industry, and (2) to show the positive impacts of cogeneration on power generation capacity, GHG emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and the economy of the country. The study uses methodologies from works in specific types of industrial processes and puts them together to evaluate the potential and analyze the impacts of cogeneration at national level. The potential of cogeneration in Ecuador is ~600 MW<sub>el</sub>, which is 12% of Ecuador’s electricity generation capacity. This potential could save ~18.6 × 10<sup>6</sup> L/month of oil-derived fuels, avoiding up to 576,800 tCO<sub>2</sub>/year, and creating around 2600 direct jobs. Cogeneration could increase energy efficiency in the Ecuadorian industry by up to 40%.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/20/5254cogenerationtrigenerationsustainabilityindustrial energy efficiencytropical climate countrybiomass |
| spellingShingle | Manuel Raul Pelaez-Samaniego Juan L. Espinoza José Jara-Alvear Pablo Arias-Reyes Fernando Maldonado-Arias Patricia Recalde-Galindo Pablo Rosero Tsai Garcia-Perez Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study Energies cogeneration trigeneration sustainability industrial energy efficiency tropical climate country biomass |
| title | Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study |
| title_full | Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study |
| title_short | Potential and Impacts of Cogeneration in Tropical Climate Countries: Ecuador as a Case Study |
| title_sort | potential and impacts of cogeneration in tropical climate countries ecuador as a case study |
| topic | cogeneration trigeneration sustainability industrial energy efficiency tropical climate country biomass |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/20/5254 |
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