Cement industry could cut carbon and costs with on-site power

energy

02-MAR-2007
Major cost savings and globally significant carbon dioxide reductions are possible if more cement plants generate their own electricity on-site, according to a new study examining the potential of on-site power in the cement sector from the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE).
Cement manufacturing is a significant contributor to climate change, responsible for around 5% of total global carbon dioxide emissions, says WADE. The report estimates that on-site power in cement plants has the potential to meet more than 0.4% of total global electricity demand. It is estimated that if the full potential of bottom-cycle cogeneration alone were realized, global annual emissions could be reduced by some 68.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Potential exists for both waste heat recovery and top-cycle cogeneration. Over 2900 MW of installed electric generating capacity in cement plants worldwide is documented in the report.
The report is available at no charge from WADE's website: www.localpower.org/documents_pub/report_cement.pdf-- 1 March 07