Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to identify the economic potential of a reheated humid air turbine system for power generation applications. A parametric analysis is performed to correlate the technology level of the system with the required cost of the electricity for economic viability. The effect of fluctuations of the main cost drivers is evaluated via an uncertainty analysis. The performance of the studied reheated humid air turbine is compared against previously studied humid configurations and well established gas-steam combined cycles. The fuel cost is found to be driving the cost of electricity. The uncertainty analysis also shows the dependency of the optimum cycle design parameters upon the market prices. The analysis reveals the capability of the reheated humid air turbine to be an economically viable option for the power generation sector featuring an estimated cost of electricity 2.2% lower than simpler humid cycles, and 28% lower than established combined cycles currently in service. The outcome of the work constitutes a step forward in the understanding of the economic performance of advanced complex cycles and proves the potential of such systems for applications where high efficiency and economic performance is jointly required.
Highlights
Over the past decades, thermal efficiency enhancements in gas turbine systems have been a key driver in the development of advanced power plant configurations
The purpose of this paper is to identify the economic potential of a reheated humid air turbine system for power generation applications
The analysis reveals the capability of the reheated humid air turbine to be an economically viable option for the power generation sector featuring an estimated cost of electricity 2.2% lower than simpler humid cycles, and 28% lower than established combined cycles currently in service
Summary
Thermal efficiency enhancements in gas turbine systems have been a key driver in the development of advanced power plant configurations. Combined gas-steam cycles are currently an established option in terms of thermal efficiency, several studies have postulated that humid air systems could be attractive in the small to medium-size power generation market [5,6,7,8,9,10]. Subsequent cost studies performed by Traverso and Massardo [12], and Kavanagh and Parks [10] showed that HATs are capable to achieve a lower cost of electricity that Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT), demonstrating the techno-economic potential of this advance cycle for the power generation market.
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