Can industry`s `fourth` fossil fuel establish presence in US?
After five years of commercial experience burning Orimulsion overseas, US utilities are now evaluating the new fuel as a serious alternative to oil. In their relentless drive to remain competitive, electric utilities with oil-fired generating units are searching for lower cost fuel alternatives. Because of high fuel prices, oil-fired units have low capacity factors. Only 23 out of 142 oil-capable units in the US had capacity factors greater than 50% in 1993; the average was a mere 24%. Utility consumption of fuel oil slid from over 600,000 barrels (bbl)/day in 1989 to less than 200,000 bbl/day last year. Orimulsion now fuels nearly 3,000 MW/yr worldwide. The UK`s PowerGen Ltd, currently the world`s largest consumer of Orimulsion, fires some 10-million bbl/yr at two 500-MW units at its Ince plant and three 120-MW units at its Richborough plant. Both plants formerly burned fuel oil, and have been using Orimulsion since 1991. Canada`s New Brunswick Power Corp has fired Orimulsion in two units at its Dalhousie plant since 1994 (Power, April 1995, p 27); one 105-MW unit was originally designed for fuel oil, the other 212-MW unit was designed for coal. Last year, Denmark`s SK Power converted its coal-fired, 700-MW Asnaes Unit 5 to Orimulsion firing. And in the US, Florida Power and Light Co. (FP and L) has signed a 20-yr fuel supply contract with Bitor America Corp (Boca Raton, Fla.), for two 800-MW units at the oil-fired Manatee plant, contingent on securing necessary permits. The Manatee installation (Power, September 1994, p 57) would be the first in the US to burn the fuel. Today, five years after Orimulsion begun to be used commercially, many of the lingering questions involving the new fuel`s handling, transportation, combustion, emissions control, spill control, and waste utilization have been settled. Several US utilities have expressed serious interest in the fuel as an alternative to oil.
- OSTI ID:
- 418011
- Journal Information:
- Power (New York), Vol. 140, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Sep-Oct 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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