6. Profitability

6.1 Investments

These are the most difficult values to estimate, as they vary enormously from case to case.

• In the case of an entirely new installation, for the same power output, costs will generally be lower than in the case of adding a cogeneration unit to an existing installation.

• On an existing installation, the problem is often to replace an obsolete boiler, increase the heating capacity of the boiler room, add an electrical back-up, etc. A cogeneration unit will then represent a plus over conventional equipment, and only the extra cost needs to be taken into account in the investment. In such cases, cogeneration represents a plus compared with conventional equipment, and only...