### Beneficial electrification

From the [National Resources Defense Council](https://www.nrdc.org/experts/vignesh-gowrishankar/beneficial-electrification-plug-greener-grid)

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> “Beneficial electrification,” a new catchphrase in the energy world, refers to the growing recognition that using clean electricity to keep our homes and businesses running is cheaper, greener, and a smarter way to meet our energy needs.
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Essentially, using electricity to power end-uses that used to require fossil fuels is a straight-forward way to reduce pollution and GHG emissions, if the electricity is generated by wind, solar, or hydro plants. With the [2C deadline approaching in less than 20 years](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180830084818.htm), it seems obvious that beneficial electrification will be one important strategy to reduce emissions and avoid climate catastrophe. 

### Combined heat and power (CHP)

However, another emissions-reducing strategy is [CHP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogeneration), which uses a single system to generate both heat and electricity. Generally this involves a natural gas- or diesel-burning electric generator which uses the otherwise "waste heat" for things like water heating, space heating, or process heat -- things which would normally have their own separate heat source.

By combining the systems, total efficiency can be boosted from 45% to as high as 80% ([source](https://aceee.org/topics/combined-heat-and-power-chp)), representing a huge opportunity to reduce emissions.

### The question

These two seperate strategies for reducing emisisons would seem to be at odds -- one aims to stop burning any fuel, the other improves efficiency by changing where the fuel is burned. **But is there a role for CHP in an all-electric (or even more-electric) future?** Or should research and incentive funding for CHP systems instead be channeled to electrification?