variavel0=<b>FLÁVIO NEVES TEIXEIRA</b> - flavio@iem.efei.br UNIFEI
<b>OSVALDO JOSÉ VENTURINI</b> - osvaldo@iem.efei.br UNIFEI
<b>FELIPE RAUL PONCE ARIETA</b> - aponce@iem.efei.br UNIFEI
<b>ELECTO EDUARDO SILVA LORA</b> - electo@iem.efei.br UNIFEI
<b>MARCO ANTONIO ROSA DO NASCIMENTO</b> - marco@iem.efei.br UNIFEI
<b>Abstract.</b> In Brazil, the socioeconomic scenario of the last years, for several reasons, has presented a continuous growth of the electric energy demand, so an expansion of the installed electric capacities in the short and medium term is needed. The traditional solutions for the increase in the generation capacity, transmission and distribution, local or regional, can be expensive and generally they request a planning of medium to long term. In this way, innovative solutions can offer good business for the sector, resulting in public benefits. In this market, technological progresses have been positioned the distributed generation (DG) as a great potential solution. New developments in technologies of electric power generation in small scale, considering reciprocating engines, Stirling engines and mainly gas microturbines, have been providing credibility for the DG as premise of power generation either onsite or close to final consumer. Considering the scenario above, it is the aim of this work to describe and to compare, taking in consideration technical and economic aspects, the technologies mentioned previously, adapted to the Brazilian conditions. It is also made an evaluation of the employment of different fuels for each one of these technologies, for example diesel, alcohol, natural gas and biomass. The considered variants are: conventional separated heat and power (SHP) and combined heat and power (CHP), and the analysis is made of the a consumer`s point of view that is for opting among these alternatives. The results allow comparing the generation costs of each one of the technologies, having been verified a great potential for CHP using biomass, mainly when the prime mover is the microturbine.
<b>Keywords.</b> distributed generation, cogeneration, microturbine, Stirling engine, reciprocating engine.