Demonstration of EPRI heat-rate improvement guidelines at North Omaha Unit 5. Final report
Omaha Public Power District used EPRI`s Heat-Rate Improvement Guidelines for Existing Fossil Plants to evaluate thermal performance, determine magnitude and causes of heat-rate degradation, and recommend corrective actions at its North Omaha unit 5. The project showed that cost-effective heat-rate improvements ranging between 250 Btu/kWh at full load and 1000 Btu/kWh at part load are possible. Utilities can use the methods in this report to adapt EPRI guidelines to their own needs. The project team developed a plan for using the guidelines, including schedules, communication channels, and responsibilities of key individuals. The team determined the best achievable heat rate for the unit by evaluating design information, acceptance test.data, and plant changes. By comparing these data with current unit performance, investigators were able to determine the potential for heat-rate improvement. They also modified a set of heat-rate logic trees, originally presented in EPRI report CS-4554. These modifications helped them diagnose causes of heat-rate losses at North Omaha unit 5. They then determined the potential performance improvement of the corrective measures identified in the root-cause evaluation. Using economic studies, researchers identified and ranked cost-effective methods for improving heat rate. Plant improvements with recovery periods of five years or less may yield large heat-rate gains. Investigators identified the following plant improvements, resulting in heat-rate gains of 250 Btu/kWh: High-pressure turbine seal replacement; Air heater seal replacement; Improved feedwater heater level monitoring.
- Research Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Omaha Public Power District, NE (United States); Black and Veatch, Kansas City, MO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 10139643
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-TR-102122; ON: UN93010654
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Mar 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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