Climate incentive programme for the installation of mini-CHP plant.

Combined heat and power generation (CHP) saves on fuel and eases the burden on the environment. Cogeneration produces both electricity and heat and can thus achieve energy efficiency of up to 90%. Due to its highly efficient use of primary energy, CHP also produces around 34% less CO₂ (carbon dioxide) than conventional systems that generate heat and power separately.
Mini-CHP plants can be used wherever heat is needed for many hours of the year, especially in residential buildings (hot water provision), industry, schools, hotels, elderly care homes, sports centres etc.
CHP is one of the most effective ways of reducing CO₂ emissions. The Climate Initiative is therefore supporting more intensive use of mini-CHP systems through the provision of grants for investment in new plants with a maximum output of 50 kWel. A bonus is paid to CHP plants which produce particularly low levels of harmful emissions.
Criteria:

Plants must:
1. have an output not exceeding 50 kWel
2. exceed the provisions of the EU directive applicable to small-scale CHP:
* achieve primary energy savings of at least 10%
* achieve annual overall efficiency of at least 80%
3. have a full maintenance contract from the manufacturer
4. have an integrated electricity meter
5. comply with the relevant Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control
6. may not be used in areas with district heating supplied mainly by CHP systems.

Applications
Applications are processed by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA): www.bafa.de/bafa/de/mini_kwk_anlagen

Grants are only paid for schemes which are not yet operational.

Funding rates
Funding consists of an output share and a factor for full load hours (FLH factor).
Funding = FLH factor * output share
The anticipated full load hours per year represent the amount of CO₂ that the plant receiving funding expects to avoid. The output share is derived from the sum of the basic and bonus funding.

Basic funding
Basic funding is paid to all new mini-CHP plants which comply with the above criteria. Because smaller plants are relatively expensive per kWel, the funding rates are highest here. The amount of funding per kWel decreases with larger plant size.
The basic funding rates per kWel are:


Schlüssel:

Leistung = Power
Von = >
Bis = <
Euro je ... = Subsidy in €/kWel, cumulated on each power range

(NB: In der obigen Tabelle muss bei 1.550 den Punkt geloescht werden).


For example, at 10 kW, the subsidy amounts to € 8750 (4 * 1550 + 2 * 775 + 4 * 250) with a FLH factor (see below) of 1.

Bonus funding
Bonus funding is paid to plants with particularly low harmful emissions and whose values reach only 50% of the values stated in the relevant Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control for NOx and CO.
The rates of bonus funding per kWel are:



Schlüssel:

Leistung = Power
Von = >
Bis = <
Euro je ... = Subsidy in €/kWel, cumulated on each power range


For example, at 20 kW, the bonus amounts to € 1600 (12 * 100 + 8 * 50) with a FLH factor (see below) of 1.

Full load hours per year (FLH factor):
The FLH factor consists of "full load hours as stated in the funding application" divided by the target value of 5000 full load hours. The FLH factor rewards plants which, due to their long hours of operation for heat generation (including summer), also produce substantial amounts of electricity and thus save considerable quantities of CO₂ emissions from power plants.

With less than 5000 full load hours as stated in the funding application, the factor is calculated as follows:
FLH factor = Full load hours / 5000
With more than 5000 full load hours, the FLH factor = 1.