Combined cycle power: Delivering new levels of net plant efficiency
After better than 25 years of continued development, today's high-temperature gas turbine combined cycles -- matching advanced heavy frame gas turbines with new steam turbine technologies and heat recovery boilers -- have become the powerplant of choice for worldwide electric utility and independent power generators. The high-efficiency gas-fired combined cycle has become perhaps the major contender to conventional pulverized coal- and gas- and oil-fired steam turbine stations at new power generation projects around the world by combining a higher efficiency at lower installed cost. And, while gasified goal is seen as a future fuel for combined plants, the natural gas-fired stations currently being installed are approaching 55% LHV design thermal efficiency (ISO base load) to overshadow the best oil or gas-fired steam stations currently operating at 38% to 42%. For a utility, IPP or non-utility generator with access to natural gas or LNG fuel, there is no competitive, affordable powerplant option in utility scale plants form 350 MW to over 2,000 MW.
- OSTI ID:
- 5630489
- Journal Information:
- Gas Turbine World; (United States), Journal Name: Gas Turbine World; (United States) Vol. 22:5; ISSN 0361-3518; ISSN GTWODG
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
200102* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Power Cycles
COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANTS
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GAS TURBINES
GASES
MACHINERY
NATURAL GAS
PERFORMANCE
POWER PLANTS
STEAM TURBINES
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY