New opportunities for repowering in changing power markets

Conference · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1998

OSTI ID:20050973

Walters, A B

The pace of changing power plant technology is combining with the more competitive, emerging electric power market to create novel opportunities for power plant repowering. Traditionally, power plant repowering is defined as the replacement of a worn-out steam generator with a new steam generator meeting the original steam requirements so that the remaining life in the steam turbine and balance-of-plant equipment can be used. Because it is now possible to competitively upgrade older power plants with a variety of technology improvements that have become available since the original plants were built, a large variety of power plant upgrade technologies can now be included in the definition of power plant repowering. Another change, beside equipment wear-and-tear and technology advancements, that is overtaking older power plants are more restrictive environmental regulations. Repowering technologies are available for economically meeting more stringent emission standards while concomitantly improving power plant performance to meet the needs of the new competitive market. It is even possible that repowering will usher in a number of renewable technology hybrids that will allow for a faster competitive use of renewable energy than will be possible with renewable-only technologies. Technology upgrades can be used to achieve a variety of improvements over the original power plant that will allow the repowered units to be fully competitive with the best of the existing generation fleet and with new, grassroots plants. These repowering upgrades will result in low-cost capacity increases, lower heat rates, improved fuel flexibility, greater plant operating flexibility, reduced O and M costs, increased availability and reliability, along with achieving and maintaining environmental compliance and other environmental goals.

• Research Organization: Advanced Energy Research, Austin, TX (US)
• OSTI ID: 20050973
• Report Number(s): CONF-971214--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
AUGMENTATION
DECISION MAKING
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
PERFORMANCE
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT