The global market for combined heat and power (CHP) plants is forecast to be worth nearly $813 billion (£616.75bn) by 2024.

The sector will see a growth of 4.38% between 2014 and 2024, according to a new report from Transparency Market Research (TMR).

Rising energy prices, increasingly stringent carbon regulations, abundant natural gas in Europe and increasing awareness about the technology are expected to boost the use in CHP systems worldwide.

TMR estimates the market will be worth $812.80 billion (£616.60bn) by 2024, compared to $524.89 billion (£398.19bn) in 2014.

CHP systems run on a combination of renewable and non-renewable fuels such as natural gas, coal, wood, biomass, oil and waste heat. They can hit 90% efficiency rates, much higher than the 46% efficiency averaged in conventional systems.

The presence of a large number of companies offering diverse products and services is currently fuelling competition in the installation market.

Europe saw the most CHP installations in 2014, with the region accounting for 67.96% of the total market.