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SGIP Program Impacts

 

Delivered Energy

During 2011, SGIP projects delivered over 760,000 MWh of electricity to California’s grid; enough electricity to meet the demand of over 116,340 homes for a year.

Non-renewable projects supplied nearly 77% of the electricity delivered by the SGIP during 2011.

IC engines (both renewable and non-renewable) provided nearly 42% of the overall delivered electricity in 2011, followed by gas turbines (non-renewable) at 25%, and fuel cells (both renewable and non-renewable) at 23%.

Peak Demand

Total SGIP project capacity coincident with the 2011 CAISO peak was over 105 MW representing an aggregate peak hour impact of 0.44 kWh per kW of rebated capacity.

Gas turbines and fuel cells had the highest CAISO peak hour capacity factors at 0.83 and 0.70 kW of generating capacity for each kW of rebated capacity, respectively. 

Efficiency and Waste Heat Utilization

SGIP projects consumed nearly 7 trillion Btu's of fuel during 2011 and recovered close to 1.4 trillion Btu's (or 20% of the energy consumed as fuel) to help meet on-site energy needs.

Over 300 SGIP projects recovered waste heat to help meet on-site heating needs; another 83 recovered waste heat to help meet on-site heating and cooling needs.

 

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

SGIP technologies can have a significant potential impact on GHG emission reductions by:

  1. Displacement of grid based electricity from natural gas fueled central power plants (i.e., by renewable DG technologies that do not burn natural gas such as PV and wind);
  2. Displacement of natural gas that would have been burned in boilers to provide on-site heating or cooling; and
  3. Capture and use of methane via biogas powered DG facilities.

In 2011 program year, SGIP reduced GHG emissions by over 46,000 metric tons per year (as CO2 equivalent); this is equivalent to taking more than nine thousand cars off the road for an entire year.

Renewable-fueled IC engine projects that otherwise would have emitted methane directly into the atmosphere (venting) represented the single most effective source of GHG reductions, and reduced GHG emissions at a rat of 4.5 tons of CO2 per MWh.