About Us
Who We Are
The Northwest CHP Technical Assistance Partnership (Northwest CHP TAP) is one of seven regional centers in partnership with the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/ and also partners with the other regional CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships. The Northwest CHP TAP covers the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Its headquarters is in Olympia, WA, and is part of the Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program. The Northwest CHP Technical Assistance Partnership focuses on the following technology areas: combined heat and power (CHP), waste heat recovery, anaerobic digestion, and district energy.
What We Do
- Market Opportunity Analysis
We support analysis of CHP market opportunities in diverse markets including industrial, institutional, commercial, and governmental sectors. - Technical Assistance
We provide technical assistance to end-users and stakeholders from initial CHP screening to installation. We are a source of independent information for potential clean energy adopters. Our services include project troubleshooting, referrals to local resources, various types of analyses (such as financial, regulatory, spark spread, and policy), and other types of technical support. - Education and Outreach
Providing information on the energy and non-energy benefits and applications of CHP to state and local policy makers, regulators, energy end-users, trade associations and others. We organize presentations, workshops, webinars, and other forms of outreach.
Forest Products
The wood/forest products industry produces construction and building materials. Companies in this industry cut timber and pulpwood (mill raw materials) into lumber and building materials, and manufacture finished articles, such as wood panels. A recent trend has been the increase in lumber mills that use biomass boilers for generating electricity in addition to producing steam for mill operators and on-site lumber kilns.
Pulp and Paper Mills
Pulp and paper mills are classic opportunities for clean heat and power. They are energy-intensive and a highly cost-competitive industry. It is critical that they recover as much energy as possible to save money. Wood waste and chemical recovery boilers produce steam to run the mills. Steam turbine power generation is a natural bonus.
Food processors
Year-round food processors are excellent candidates for CHP and anaerobic digestion. Foods processed in the Northwest include potatoes, sugar beets, onions, fruits and row crops. Food processing requires both steam and power, and has high organic content liquid waste streams suitable for anaerobic digestion.
Farm Energy/Dairies
Dairies, irrigated and dry land agriculture each have distinct energy use profiles and opportunities. For dairies, anaerobic digestion systems replace lagoons, and energy efficiency opportunities are found in the milking parlor and crop production. CHP, co-digestion, and nutrient recovery provide a viable and economically valuable alternative to lagoons, providing heat for the digester with an opportunity to sell excess power and nutrients, as well as receive tipping fees. Dryland and irrigated agriculture also have energy efficiency opportunities.
More general information about the seven U.S. Department of Energy CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships is available here (Download as PDF).