Decarbonization of Thermal Energy
WES offers a unique mix of experience and expertise in solutions for commercial, institutional, and industrial thermal energy decarbonization (Scope 1 emissions). This experience and expertise allows WES to provide high value engineering consulting for all phases of project and program implementation. WES offers an integrated process to allow organizations to strategically approach decarbonization of thermal energy globally, and is able to tailor services to match with internal resources to maximize value provided.
WES consultants supporting this effort are all engineers with extensive experience in thermal energy (heating and cooling) system modeling for a vast array of industrial processes, institutional facility settings, and commercial building types. On a global strategic basis, WES supports organizations in setting up and executing an iterative process to plan, evaluate, and implement decarbonization of thermal energy. On an individual facility scale, WES’s approach starts with detailed evaluation of the thermal demands for key portions of a plant or facility. This requires focusing on both the quality (temperature) and quantity of heat needed. Once a facility’s thermal demands (quality and quantity) are understood and modeled, WES works with owners to identify solutions for reducing energy use, capturing waste heat, and renewable energy sources to meet thermal needs. Absolutely paramount in the process is ensuring that the function of the facility is either improved through the capital investments made, or at the very least not impacted. Thus, WES’s efforts to drive reduced energy use and decarbonization of thermal energy supply are targeted to ensure it does not impact items such as plant production, facility operations, or occupant comfort.
WES has extensive experience with thermal system energy auditing/metering, efficiency, waste heat capture, and then meeting remaining thermal needs with renewable thermal energy technologies, including the following systems and technologies:
- Metering and system analysis for: steam, thermal oil, air, hot water, chilled water, refrigeration, process exhaust, etc.
- Heat capture and quality improvement, as required, for energy efficiency and to capture other value streams (thermal RECs / carbon offsets)
- Flue gas condensation
- Industrial heat pumps
- Waste heat to power
- Combined heat and power
- Thermal chillers
- Renewable thermal technologies – bioenergy (biomass and biogas), ASHP, GSHP, solar thermal
Thermal Energy Metering / Thermal REC Aggregation & Policy Consulting
WES has extensive and unique experience with the metering and aggregation of thermal RECs and valuing renewable thermal attributes. WES’s expertise in the value and monetization of renewable thermal attributes includes:
- Value/Market
- Policy drivers in various states where thermal RECs exist in a meaningful way, and states where it is being pursued through legislation
- Detailed design of compliant metering for a wide range of states, compliance schemes, and systems (hot water, steam, air, exhaust gas, thermal oil); bioenergy, solar thermal, ASHP, GSHP
- Aggregation of RECs for and qualification of renewable thermal systems in a variety of states and jurisdictions
- Voluntary market for carbon offsets and carbon accounting
- Federal policy around consideration of the value of renewable thermal energy
Useful Links:
- ICEF Industrial Heat Decarbonization Roadmap
- Renewable Thermal Collaborative
- Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC)
- WES Thermal Decarbonization Offering
