CHP

A plant designed to produce both heat and electricity from a single heat source. Note: This term is being used in place of the term "cogenerator" that was used by EIA in the past. CHP better describes the facilities because some of the plants included do not produce heat and power in a sequential fashion and, as a result, do not meet the legal definition of cogeneration specified in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA).

Combined Heat and Power

The combination of heat and power generation in the same plant: In circumstances where process heat is not required, the generated steam can be used to generate additional electricity in a steam turbine. This method reduces the overall consumption of fuel by exploiting the otherwise wasted heat from conventional electricity generation. It provides low-grade heating for domestic and industrial uses. This is described as Combined Cycle Power Generation.