Scuderi Clean Energy files patent for electricity production system and sales

Scuderi Clean Energy (SCE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Scuderi Group, Inc.,announced that it has filed a United States patent application for a new method of utilizing a combined heat and power (CHP) system to produce electricity for the wholesale market.

CHP, or cogeneration, is the simultaneous production of two or more forms of energy from a single device.  A CHP system is typically an on-site electricity generation system, which captures the heat that would otherwise be wasted to provide useful thermal energy (such as steam or hot water) that can be used for space heating, cooling, domestic hot water and other industrial processes. In this way, a CHP system can achieve overall efficiencies of 80%, compared to 35% efficiencies when power is coming solely from the grid.

Unfortunately, traditional CHP systems are sized to meet the heat load requirements of the site and only partially meet the electricity load requirements. Since the electricity generated is only secondary to the heat produced, the electrical efficiency of the system is not a primary design consideration. With these traditional methods, it has historically been very difficult for CHP systems to sell power competitively into the wholesale electricity markets.

The Scuderi Clean Energy method offers advantages and alternatives over traditional systems by providing a way of utilizing a CHP system to produce electricity for the wholesale market. One key element is that its high efficiency system does not depend on heat load in order to be economically viable.

“Scuderi Clean Energy CHP systems are dual output power generators,” explained Nick Scuderi, president of Scuderi Clean Energy.  “The system does not need a minimum heat load to size its engines, but can instead oversize the design, run at higher full-load efficiencies and provide constant power to the grid while providing all the heat and cooling needed.