BRINGING NEW EFFICIENCY TO EMERGING MARKETS
Emerging markets need electricity supplies on which consumers can depend, delivered with a clear understanding of potential environmental impacts and with an emphasis on the highest possible generating efficiencies and lowest possible emissions. This is our mission with the central station plants we develop and operate in these regions.
Sometimes our success has depended on seemingly counterintuitive investments, such as the 120 MW combined heat and power plant and district heating business we operate in a joint venture in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. During our $20 million US overhaul in 2006, we replaced Soviet-era steam boilers with high-efficiency gas-proof furnaces – and switched fuel sources, from natural gas to coal. Not only is the coal locally sourced – compared to the expensive, imported natural gas – it also now burns cleaner and more efficiently thanks to our renovations. In fact, boiler efficiency has risen to 86% from 76% and CO2 emissions have dropped by 50,000 tons per year. (Read more about our Kramatorsk plant.)
RETHINKING APPROACHES IN MATURE MARKETS
Improving efficiency offers multiple advantages to manufacturers in mature markets. Using less fuel obviously lowers operating costs. But it also reduces companies’ overall production impact on the larger environment, an increasingly important goal for both shareholders and consumers. We tailor energy solutions that help companies make the most of the energy they use throughout their production processes – even the energy other manufacturers consider waste.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. is a leader in such efforts, and we’ve partnered with them to carry out improvements that have led to carbon-emissions reductions of more than 80,000 metric tons per year. Our “Quad-Gen” approach begins with a simple gas engine generator to produce electricity. The engine’s exhaust heat is captured to provide heating, hot water and steam, with a portion of the hot water used in absorption-chiller operation. Finally, CO2 emissions are captured from the exhaust stack and compressed and purified, and used to carbonate the beverages CC Hellenic sells throughout Western Europe, Russia, Ukraine and Africa. (Read more about our work with CC Hellenic.)