How does a trigeneration plant change my Scope 1 and Scope 2?

A gas engine making power, heat and chilled water raises Scope 1, because you now burn the gas yourself, and lowers Scope 2, because you buy less grid power. Whether the total falls depends on how much heat and cooling you actually use. Report both scopes, never just the net.

What moves where

• Gas burned in the engine: Scope 1.
• Grid electricity avoided: lower Scope 2.
• Absorption chiller replaces electric chillers, so Scope 2 falls further.

Make the comparison honest

• Use metered power, heat and cooling, not nameplate figures.
• Low heat use in the off-season can make the plant worse than the grid.
• Allocate emissions to power, heat and cooling with one stated method.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills and applies IPCC 2006 factors and the CEA grid factor (0.710 kg CO2 per kWh), so you can compare Scope 1 and 2 before and after a change from the documents themselves.

• CHP emissions allocation
• Vapour absorption chiller
• Chiller plant per TR-hour

Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance, 2006 IPCC Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.