Greenhouse Cogeneration Studies

Willis Energy Services has completed a number of studies for greenhouse growers analyzing the economics of high efficiency cogeneration in greenhouses. Greenhouse growers burn natural gas to produce CO2 to stimulate plant growth. Cogeneration projects produce heat and electricity at over 90% efficiency, and the resulting CO2 generation could be used to offset the burning of gas to produce CO2, although this technology has yet to be widely adopted in British Columbia. From his experience with greenhouse growers and other industrial energy users, Paul Willis has gained in-depth knowledge of the regulatory and economic hurdles in the development and implementation of cogeneration projects.

Cogeneration Project Analysis

Paul Willis has analyzed a large number of cogeneration projects involving natural gas, biomass, and process, ranging in size from 25kW to 400,000 kW. These analyses included technical and economic reviews. In 2006 he led an optimization study for Tolko Industries Ltd., with the goal of determining the most cost-effective method of increasing the capacity of an existing cogeneration plant.

Guide for Small Scale Cogeneration

Willis Energy Services Ltd. developed a small scale cogeneration guide for Power Smart Inc. to be used by utilities, government agencies, and industrial/commercial customers. The guide describes various cogeneration plants, the economics of cogeneration, interconnection considerations, and utility/cogenerator contractual arrangements.