Volume 40: Energy Transitions toward Carbon Neutrality: Part III

Thermodynamic Performance and CO2 Emission Characteristics of Solar-Aided Coal-Fired Power Plant under Off-design Conditions Hui Yan, Zhu Wang, Meihong Wang, Ming Liu, Daotong Chong

Abstract

Solar-aided coal-fired power plant (SACFPP) is cost-effective to ensure energy security with less CO2 emission than coal-fired power plant. Its efficient and low-carbon operation is important but difficult because of the time-varying solar energy. This paper evaluates the thermodynamic performance and CO2 emission characteristics of SACFPP under off-design conditions. Three SACFPP configurations (marked as HP123, HP23 and HP3) were analyzed and the optimized operation strategy is proposed to achieve highest solar-to-power efficiency and lowest CO2 emission rate through adjusting feedwater ratio to trough collector system. The best achievable solar-to-power efficiency and CO2 emission rate depend on the power load, DNI, system safety limitation and system configuration. The annual CO2 emission reductions of the 600 MW SACFPP are about 61352.2, 54009.9 and 51769.8 tonnes under configurations of HP123, HP23 and HP3, respectively. The results can guide the SACFPP operation optimization.

Keywords Solar-aided Coal-fired Power Plant, Off-design condition, CO2 emission, Solar-to-power efficiency, Process modellingsimulation