A Thermo-Economic Study of Storage Integration in Hybrid Solar Gas-Turbine Power Plants

2014 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Spelling ◽  
Rafael Guédez ◽  
Björn Laumert

A thermo-economic simulation model of a hybrid solar gas-turbine (HSGT) power plant with an integrated storage unit has been developed, allowing determination of the thermodynamic and economic performance. Designs were based around two representative industrial gas-turbines: a high efficiency machine and a low temperature machine. In order to examine the trade-offs that must be made, multi-objective thermo-economic analysis was performed, with two conflicting objectives: minimum investment costs and minimum specific carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It was shown that with the integration of storage, annual solar shares above 85% can be achieved by HSGT systems. The levelized electricity cost (LEC) for the gas-turbine system as this level of solar integration was similar to that of parabolic trough plants, allowing them to compete directly in the solar power market. At the same time, the water consumption of the gas-turbine system is significantly lower than contemporary steam-cycle based solar thermal power plants.

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (07) ◽  
pp. 38-43
Author(s):  
Lee S. Langston

This article focuses on the use of gas turbines for electrical power, mechanical drive, and marine applications. Marine gas turbines are used to generate electrical power for propulsion and shipboard use. Combined-cycle electric power plants, made possible by the gas turbine, continue to grow in size and unmatched thermal efficiency. These plants combine the use of the gas turbine Brayton cycle with that of the steam turbine Rankine cycle. As future combined cycle plants are introduced, we can expect higher efficiencies to be reached. Since almost all recent and new U.S. electrical power plants are powered by natural gas-burning, high-efficiency gas turbines, one has solid evidence of their contribution to the greenhouse gas reduction. If coal-fired thermal power plants, with a fuel-to-electricity efficiency of around 33%, are swapped out for combined-cycle power plants with efficiencies on the order of 60%, it will lead to a 70% reduction in carbon emissions per unit of electricity produced.


Author(s):  
James Spelling ◽  
Björn Laumert ◽  
Torsten Fransson

A dynamic simulation model of a hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant has been developed, allowing determination of its thermodynamic and economic performance. In order to examine optimum gas-turbine designs for hybrid solar power plants, multi-objective thermoeconomic analysis has been performed, with two conflicting objectives: minimum levelized electricity costs and minimum specific CO2 emissions. Optimum cycle conditions: pressure-ratio, receiver temperature, turbine inlet temperature and flow rate, have been identified for a 15 MWe gas-turbine under different degrees of solarization. At moderate solar shares, the hybrid solar gas-turbine concept was shown to provide significant water and CO2 savings with only a minor increase in the levelized electricity cost.


Author(s):  
Christian Felsmann ◽  
Uwe Gampe ◽  
Manfred Freimark

Solar hybrid gas turbine technology has the potential to increase the efficiency of future solar thermal power plants by utilizing solar heat at a much higher temperature level than state of the art plants based on steam turbine cycles. In a previous paper the authors pointed out, that further development steps are required for example in the field of component development and in the investigation of the system dynamics to realize a mature technology for commercial application [1]. In this paper new findings on system dynamics are presented based on the simulation model of a solar hybrid gas turbine with parallel arrangement of the combustion chamber and solar receivers. The operational behavior of the system is described by means of two different scenarios. The System operation in a stand-alone electrical supply network is investigated in the first scenario. Here it is shown that fast load changes in the network lead to a higher shaft speed deviation of the electric generator compared to pure fossil fired systems. In the second scenario a generator load rejection, as a worst case, is analyzed. The results make clear that additional relief concepts like blow-off valves are necessary as the standard gas turbine protection does not meet the specific requirements of the solar hybrid operation. In general the results show, that the solar hybrid operational modes are much more challenging for the gas turbines control and safety system compared to pure fossil fired plants due to the increased volumetric storage capacity of the system.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Nakakado ◽  
T. Machida ◽  
H. Miyata ◽  
T. Hisamatsu ◽  
N. Mori ◽  
...  

Employing ceramic materials for the critical components of industrial gas turbines is anticipated to improve the thermal efficiency of power plants. We developed a first-stage stator vane for a 1300°C class, 20-MW industrial gas turbine. This stator vane has a hybrid ceramic/metal structure, to increase the strength reliability of brittle ceramic parts, and to reduce the amount of cooling air needed for metal parts as well. The strength design results of a ceramic main part are described. Strength reliability evaluation results are also provided based on a cascade test using combustion gas under actual gas turbine running conditions.


Author(s):  
K. Bammert ◽  
A. Sutsch ◽  
M. Simon ◽  
A. Mobarak

An alternative solution for solar energy conversion to the heliostat-tower and solar farm (parabolic trough) concept is presented in the form of large parabolic dish collectors using small high temperature gas turbines for producing electricity from solar thermal energy. A cost and efficiency comparison for the different solar thermal power plants has shown that the large parabolic dish with gas turbine set is a superior system design especially in the net power range of 50 to 2000 kW. The important advantages of the large parabolic dish concept are discussed. For the important components such as the gas turbo converter, the receiver and the parabolic dish collector, design proposals for economic solutions are presented. An advanced layout for a 250-kW gas turbo converter with recuperator is presented in detail.


Author(s):  
Yavuz Yılmaz ◽  
Rainer Kurz ◽  
Ayşe Özmen ◽  
Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber

In developed electricity markets, the deregulation boosted competition among companies participating in the electricity market. Therefore, the enhanced reliability and availability of gas turbine systems is an industry obligation. Not only providing the available power with minimum operation and maintenance costs, but also guaranteeing high efficiency are additional requisites and efficiency loss of the power plants leads to a loss of money for the electricity generation companies. Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline (MARS) is a modern methodology of statistical learning, data mining and estimation theory that is significant in both regression and classification is a form of flexible non-parametric regression analysis capable of modeling complex data. In this study, single shaft, 6MW class industrial gas turbines located at various sites have been monitored. The performance monitoring of a gas turbine consisted of hourly measurements of various input variables over an extended period of time. Using such measurements, predictive models for gas turbine heat rate and the gas turbine axial compressor discharge pressure values have been generated. The measured values have been compared with the values obtained as a result of the MARS models. The MARS-based models are obtained with the combination of gas turbine performance input and target variables and the complementary meteorological data. The results are presented, discussed, and conclusions are drawn for modern energy and cost efficient gas turbine and power plant maintenance management as the outcomes of this study.


Author(s):  
Raphaël Sandoz ◽  
James Spelling ◽  
Björn Laumert ◽  
Torsten Fransson

A thermoeconomic model of a novel hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant with an air-based bottoming cycle has been developed, allowing its thermodynamic, economic, and environmental performance to be analyzed. Multi-objective optimization has been performed to identify the trade-offs between two conflicting objectives: minimum capital cost and minimum specific CO2 emissions. In-depth thermoeconomic analysis reveals that the additional bottoming cycle significantly reduces both the levelized cost of electricity and the environmental impact of the power plant (in terms of CO2 emissions and water consumption) when compared to a simple gas-turbine power plant without bottoming cycle. Overall, the novel concept appears to be a promising solution for sustainable power generation, especially in water-scarce areas.


Author(s):  
Richard Curtis ◽  
Warren Miglietti ◽  
Michael Pelle

In recent years, orders for new land-based gas turbines have skyrocketed, as the planning, construction and commissioning of new power plants based on combined-cycle technology advances at an unprecedented pace. It is estimated that 65–70% of these new equipment orders is for high-efficiency, advanced “F”, “G” or “H” class machines. The W501F/FC/FD gas turbine, an “F” class machine currently rated at 186.5 MW (simple cycle basis), has entered service in significant numbers. It is therefore of prime interest to owners/operators of this gas turbine to have sound component refurbishment capabilities available to support maintenance requirements. Processes to refurbish the Row 1 turbine blade, arguably the highest “frequency of replacement” component in the combustion and hot sections of the turbine, were recently developed. Procedures developed include removal of brazed tip plates, coating removal, rejuvenation heat treatment, full tip replacement utilizing electron beam (EB) and automated micro-plasma transferred arc (PTA), joining methods, proprietary platform crack repair and re-coating. This paper describes repair procedure development and implementation for each stage of the process, and documents the metallurgical and mechanical characteristics of the repaired regions of the component.


Author(s):  
James Spelling ◽  
Björn Laumert ◽  
Torsten Fransson

The construction of the first generation of commercial hybrid solar gas-turbine power plants will present the designer with a large number of choices. To assist decision making, a thermoeconomic study has been performed for three different power plant configurations, namely simple- and combined-cycles as well as simple-cycle with the addition of thermal energy storage. Multi-objective optimization has been used to identify Pareto-optimal designs and highlight the trade-offs between minimizing investment costs and minimizing specific CO2 emissions. The solar hybrid combined-cycle plant provides a 60% reduction in electricity cost compared to parabolic trough power plants at annual solar shares up to 20%. The storage integrated designs can achieve much higher solar shares and provide a 7–13% reduction in electricity costs at annual solar shares up to 90%. At the same time, the water consumption of the solar gas-turbine systems is significantly lower than conventional steam-cycle based solar power plants.


Author(s):  
I. G. Wright ◽  
J. Stringer

Considerable interest has been developed over the past few years in the application of gas turbines to expand the hot, dirty flue gases from pressurized fluidized-bed combustors (PFBCs) burning coal. Although no full-size gas turbine has yet operated on a PFBC, firm commitments have been made to build commercial PFBC-GT power plants. In addition, there are a number of projects at various stages of development aimed at operating gas turbines on dirty fuels ranging from the expansion of flue gas from the combustion of pulverized coal, to the direct firing of coal-water mixtures. Common concerns of all these applications include erosion and corrosion of the gas turbine hot gas path components. This paper attempts to provide an overview of results of research and testing so far reported in these areas, and to make an assessment of the engineering trade-offs required for the successful operation of PFBC gas turbine expanders.


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