Trigeneration
Trigeneration
The City of Sydney plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent by 2030. Trigeneration is helping us to reach this goal.
Trigeneration is an environmentally sustainable method of generating electricity.
It is more than twice as energy efficient as coal power stations because it uses the waste heat from electricity production in both heating and cooling.
Today 80% of the City of Sydney’s greenhouse gas emissions come from coal-fired power plants.
Trigeneration can reduce greenhouse gas pollution in connected buildings by 40 to 60 per cent compared to coal-fired power.
How trigeneration works
A trigeneration engine runs on natural or renewable gases and produces low-carbon electricity, heating and air-conditioning for connected buildings.
The engine, which is about the size of a shipping container, runs on natural or renewable gas and produces electricity. The heat generated by the machine is captured to make hot water. The hot water is distributed to nearby buildings by a network of underground pipes.
A secondary piece of equipment, an absorption chiller, is positioned in each connected building and it converts the hot water into chilled water for use in air-conditioning.
Trigeneration can save you money
Nearly half of your electricity bill is the cost of transporting the power from one place to another. Electricity travels through power lines all over the state to Sydney. Known as network charges, these fees are set to increase by 80 per cent over the next 2 years.
The City’s trigeneration system could save up to $1.5 billion that has been set aside for new coal power plants and upgrades to the electricity grid. The flow-on effect could mean savings for all NSW homes and businesses. Trigeneration is already in use in other parts of the world, but the City’s trigeneration system is one of the first precinct networks in Australia.
The other Allan Jones
The City recruited former chief executive of the London Climate Change Agency and sustainable energy expert Allan Jones to help meet its greenhouse gas reduction target. His previous work reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent in the English borough of Woking.
Jones’s trigeneration work has garnered interest from major energy companies in Australia and overseas.
He is also supervising the rollout of sustainable energy programs across the City’s 200 properties and has set up a $2 million a year renewable energy installation fund.
Jones is meeting with key government representatives to make sure residents and businesses have access to this local, low-carbon form of energy as soon as possible.
Links
Sydney 2030: Powering SydneyLast updated: Tuesday, 9 April 2013