The Role of CHP in Ensuring Flexibility and Security of the Future Transmission Network

Until today Combined Heat and Power (CHP) installations are designed to produce onsite, supply power and thermal energy directly to users, basing its main value on energy bill savings. An increasingly RES penetration and the global decarbonisation and efficiency targets have introduced many challenges, also in Italian energy system, that must be sustained by the Grid Operators. This paper aims to investigate and present a new role for CHP as flexible resources supporting the power grid providing ancillary services, such as voltage and frequency control and at the same time other possible contribution in term of resilience, higher efficiency, emission reduction and greater RES integration. Moreover, the international political and regulatory framework has been analysed and the current debate regarding the role of the CHP as one of the protagonists for the achievement of the national, EU and International energy, climate and competitiveness targets has been reported. Finally, the current barriers to the development of cogeneration and the possible solutions to overcome them have been treated.