Predictive investigation of the combined heat storage system using at NPPs with VVER

Abstract

The increase in the share of nuclear power plants in the energy systems leads to the need for their participation in covering the irregularities in the electrical load schedules. NPPs unloading is economically unsustainable. Combining NPPs with storage systems can be a solution to this problem, as it will allow the reactors to operate at a constant capacity utilization factor, while excess energy will be stored during load dip hours and converted into electrical energy during peak load hours. The authors have developed a thermal storage system based on the combination of a phase change accumulator with hot and cold water tanks. The system also contains a steam turbine to generate electricity during peak hours using stored energy. Earlier the authors proved that a low-power turbine can be used to supply power to the NPP auxiliary needs with a blackout using only residual heat energy. In this paper, a methodology for determining the necessary operating parameters of the storage system for using under the required conditions is presented. The investigation of economic efficiency was carried out on the example of a range of electricity tariffs for the world’s energy systems. Accumulated net present value ranged from $0 to $85 million.