Economics Of Power Plants Research Articles

Mapping of Household Photovoltaic Research in Indonesia: A literature review using bibliometric analysis

This research aims to undertake a bibliometric study on household photovoltaics within the Indonesian context. The objectives include mapping the global trends in publications related to household photovoltaics, mapping the trends within the Indonesian context, analyzing the performance of authors, affiliations, sources, and papers, identifying research hot topics, and determining research themes. This study utilized 122 Scopus-indexed articles. The findings reveal an increasing trend in the number of publications on household photovoltaics both globally and within the Indonesian context. In the Indonesian context, Tarigan, E stands out as the most relevant author, the University of Indonesia emerges as the most relevant affiliation, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science leads as the most relevant source, Renewable Energy takes the lead as the most influential source, and article title ’Energy and Economic Losses Caused by Dust on Residential Photovoltaic (PV) Systems Deployed in Different Climate Areas,’ stands out as the most influential. This study identified five themes as hot topics (Photovoltaic Quality and Performance, Economic Analysis of Photovoltaic Systems, Net Metering and Inverter of Rooftop Photovoltaic in Indonesia, Monitoring System of Residential Solar Panels, and Technical and Economics of Solar Power Plants) and four research themes (The Adoption of Household Rooftop Photovoltaics and Influencing Factors, Design and Planning for Rooftop Solar Panel Deployment, Rooftop Photovoltaics Adoption and Renewable Energy Targets, and Economic Analysis of Rooftop Photovoltaic).

Research and application on optimization of sealed water return system of feed pump

The importance of sealed water return system of feed pump to the safety and economy of power plant is analyzed. This paper studies the common sealed water supply way of feed pump, and three main sealed water return system way and working principle, and analyzes their respective advantages and disadvantages. The calculation methods of water seal height of single stage and multistage water seal are studied. A design scheme of water tank and water seal is proposed, which enhances the adaptability of water seal device and optimizes the system.

Economics of new nuclear power plants – assessment of investments into Generation III, small modular reactors and non-light-water reactors

Abstract. Given the need to combat climate change, as recently stressed again within the IPCC (2023) report, and the recent energy price increases for electricity and natural gas through the war in Ukraine (ECB, 2022), investments into new nuclear power plants are a considered option for future energy systems in some countries. In this paper, we discuss economic aspects of such investments, differentiating between three different types of reactor technology, as described in the following: i. At present, the only viable option for an investment would be “Generation III” reactors, i.e., light-water reactors with high capacities (in the range of or above 1000 MW). The most recent projects of that type have been very expensive, though, and there is a controversy about whether future ones will become competitive (Wealer et al., 2021; Duan et al., 2022). Economic questions relate to economies of scale and the differences in costs between western reactors (USA, Europe) and those in Russia and China.ii. In some countries, the development of and subsequent investments in light-water reactors of small power rating (<300 MW) are pursued (e.g., in the US, Canada and the UK). These are sometimes called “small modular reactors” in the recent literature (Chu, 2010; IAEA, 2022). These concepts are surrounded by high uncertainty, and the paper proposes a methodology for economic analysis, based on previous literature (Rothwell, 2016; Roulstone et al., 2020; Boarin et al., 2021).iii. A third option for newly built reactors is represented by non-light-water reactors, amongst which the classical sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor (“fast breeder”) is the most advanced type as well as high-temperature reactors and molten-salt reactors. With the establishment of the GenIV International Forum in 2001, 14 member states, including the USA, China, Russia, the EURATOM states, and the United Kingdom, have joined forces with the shared objective of further developing non-light-water reactor concepts. The paper provides a methodology to assess the competitiveness of fast reactors and extends it to other non-light-water reactors. The paper concludes with an assessment of the economics of new nuclear power plants going forward. Particular consideration is given to the aspects of decommissioning from the very outset, i.e., the planning of the new reactor. In that context, the paper will address the interdependencies between technology choices and storage issues, for example volume composition.

Mapping the economy of coal power plants retrofitted with post-combustion and biomass co-firing carbon capture in China.

As a major carbon-emitting country, China has considerable potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) applications, but economics is critical for CCS deployment. In this study, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) at province level was calculated for operational coal-fired power plants after post-combustion carbon capture (CC) retrofitting. The costs of captured CO2 and avoided CO2 were then compared. The economics of CC-retrofitted coal-fired power plants co-firing with biomass (BECC) were also analyzed. CC retrofitting is economical in North and Northwest China (except Qinghai) where coal prices are low. However, BECC retrofit is more suitable for coal-fired power plants in Central China where biomass prices are low. Therefore, the variation in the resource conditions among provinces should be considered when promoting CC and BECC retrofits. Compared with other power sources, coal-fired power generation becomes much more expensive after retrofits. We calculated the carbon price and capacity subsidy intensity that could support the retrofit of coal units. Effective carbon price should be 142.44-406.06 CNY/t for retrofits, and the capacity subsidy intensity ranges from 175.14-721.52 CNY/kW. The current carbon market and capacity market are not sufficiently developed to support retrofitting. The development of the carbon market with effective carbon price signals and proper power market mechanisms is critical to the rollout of CCS in China.

Economic viability of using thermal energy storage for flexible carbon capture on natural gas power plants

Fossil fuel-based power plants generate 80 % of the electricity in the United States and provide a reliable generation source for both base and peak power demands. These plants are expected to adapt to changes in environmental policies that will require carbon management with carbon capture and storage (CCS) representing a possible solution. Current solvent-based CCS has a detrimental impact on a power plant's performance due to large heat loads required for carbon capture solvent regeneration. This parasitic load restricts the power plant's output and operation flexibility. Therefore, this study evaluates the feasibility of using thermal storage technologies for natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants coupled with CCS to minimize the impact of solvent regeneration and enable the plant to operate at peak power output. Thermal storage can minimize the impact of CCS on the power plant by providing the heat load required for solvent regeneration during times of peak demand which will allow the plant to operate unrestricted and at full power. In total, fifteen unique thermal storage configurations were evaluated from three thermal storage categories: Brayton cycle heat pump, vapor compression heat pump, and heat recovery steam generator steam extraction for storage. The viability of these systems was determined by evaluating each configuration on thousands of real-world Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) profiles from the New York Independent System Operator and California Independent System Operator electricity markets using a techno-economic analysis. Results were compared to the performance of a base power plant (NGCC with CCS and no thermal storage) to determine the impact of thermal storage on power plant economics. Overall, six of the thermal storage configurations performed better than base CCS enabled power plant on between 11.5 % and 38.7 % of the LMP signals evaluated. The best performing configuration was a vapor compression heat pump that used flue gas as the working fluid and had both hot and cold thermal storage units. This configuration performed better than the base CCS power plant on 38.7 % of the LMP profiles. The results of this study show thermal storage can mitigate the economic impact of carbon capture solvent regeneration on NGCC power plants. Discussion focuses on the impact of electricity pricing on the optimal thermal storage system, the advantages and disadvantages of the systems evaluated, and identifies limitations with the study.

Policies toward net-zero: Benchmarking the economic competitiveness of nuclear against wind and solar energy

Policymakers are increasingly discussing the role of nuclear and renewable energy in replacing fossil-fuelled power generation, especially coal. In this debate, one of the key focuses is about the economic competitiveness of nuclear energy when compared to wind and solar. Remarkably, despite the growing interest, there is a lack of studies comparing the economics of nuclear power plants (traditional large reactors and small modular reactors) with wind and solar power plants in different decarbonisation scenarios. Through energy systems modelling analysis, this paper benchmarks the economics of nuclear with wind and solar energy for eleven decarbonisation scenarios simulating the effects of five energy policies in five Member States (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The findings highlight that nuclear energy is an economically competitive pathway towards net-zero if the overnight cost is comparable to recent nuclear power plants built in China and Korea. Contrariwise, if the overnight cost is comparable to recent nuclear power plants built in the UK, US, or France, a mix of wind and solar energy is more economically competitive. Furthermore, the findings provide a background for policy discussions and recommendations for ASEAN countries.

Emerging Trend in Power Generation and Utilization

Power generation technology has been evolving ever since Edison put up his first generating station. It started with generation near the load center. To capitalize on the economics of scale large power plants were set up near the energy centers like the coal mine heads. This led to development of long distance transmission lines and the grids. Then came the restructuring of the rules and regulations governing the power system. With the issues of pollution and Global warming coming to the fore a paradigm shift is noticed in the generation of electrical power. Large number of renewable energy sources (RES) based small generators started getting connected to the distribution system. The concept of microgrid evolved to control and regulate the RES based generations. In order to effectively use these RES based generation and to capitalize from the electrical energy trading the concept of Virtual Power Plant and Community microgrid have started taking shape.

Optimization research on the off-design characteristics of partial heating supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle in the landfill gas exhaust heat utilization system

• Off-design characteristics of partial heating supercritical CO 2 cycle are studied. • A novel calculation flow chart for the system off-design performance is proposed. • Separation control and inventory control are adopted for the thermal system. • A best control scheme relied on the net power maximization can be determined. Landfill gas waste heat power generation is an effective way to promote the efficiency and economics of power plants. However, the operating performance of the power generation system needs to be improved further. In this paper, a systematic optimization research on the off-design characteristics of the partial heating supercritical carbon dioxide power system for exhaust heat utilization from gas turbine cycle are conducted. Optimal operating conditions in thermodynamics and economics obtained by genetic algorithm are determined as design conditions. Gradient descent method is used to obtain the best operating point under a certain off-design working condition. With the goal of maximizing net power output, separation control and inventory control are applied to the system. The results exhibit that the best thermoeconomic performance can be gained when the pressure ratio is 2.28 with separation ratio of 0.35 at design stage. In the off-design stage, the maximum net power shows an approximately linear growth trend from 1581 kW to 2924 kW with increasing heat source temperature and mass flow rate under the inventory control, while growth rate of net power output gradually decreases under the separation control. Finally, the best control scheme mixed with inventory control and separation control is proposed and determined quantitatively.

Comparison on Economics and Performance of Large Scale PV Power Plants: a Case Study

This paper compares the energy generation of two large-scale PV power plants at a rate of 6 MW. Economics and performances are the two main analysis viewpoints for the comparison of the system efficiency and profit of two types PV panel for a service period of twenty-five years. Thin-film and polycrystalline PV power plants have been studied. In the simulation results, three years of actual collected data have been analysed and compared. The PVsyst program has been used to simulate the performance ratio (PR) and the energy production. In addition, the net present value (NPV) has been also used to analyse the economic efficiency. The simulation results have showed that in the case of thin-film PV panels, the energy production in the beginning of the year has been higher than the actual collected data. On the other hand, in the case of polycrystalline PV panels, the energy production has been lower than the actual collected data. By the long term economic efficiency, the results have showed that the efficiency of polycrystalline PV panels has been better than the one of thin-film PV panels. Therefore, the obtained results from this work may be used as a guideline for deciding to invest in the PV power plant in the future.

Investing into third generation nuclear power plants - Review of recent trends and analysis of future investments using Monte Carlo Simulation

This paper provides a review of trends in third generation nuclear power plants, and analyzes current and future nuclear power plant investments using Monte Carlo simulations of economic indicators. We first review global trends of nuclear power plant investments, including technical as well as economic trends. The review suggests that cost escalations in the sector observed in previous research continue until today, including the most recent investment projects in the U.S. and in Europe. In order to extend this analysis, we carry out our own investment analysis of a representative third generation nuclear power plant, focusing on the net present value and the levelized cost of electricity. We base our analysis on a stochastic Monte Carlo simulation to nuclear power plant investments. We define and estimate the main drivers of our model: Overnight construction costs, wholesale electricity prices, and weighted average cost of capital, and discuss reasonable ranges and distributions of those parameters. Model runs suggest that investing in nuclear power plants is not profitable, i.e. expected net present values are highly negative, mainly driven by high construction costs, including capital costs, and uncertain and low revenues. Even extending reactor lifetimes does not improve the results significantly. We conclude that our numerical exercise confirms the literature review, i.e. the economics of nuclear power plants are not favorable to future investments, even though additional costs (decommissioning, long-term storage) and the social costs of accidents are not even considered.

Update of Techno-Economic Benchmarks for Fossil Fuel Power Plants with CO2 Capture

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has long been recognized as a key component of an effective mitigation strategy to decarbonize the power and industrial sectors. For many reasons, however, the commercial deployment of CCS technologies has been slow and must accelerate to contribute effectively to mitigating climate change. This paper presents the outcome of a study that Amec Foster Wheeler Italiana, a Wood Company, performed on behalf of IEAGHG, aimed at updating the technical and economical assessment of coal and natural gas fired power plants with and without CO2 capture, considering the benefits of recent technology improvements. The work has focused on ultra-supercritical pulverized coal (USC PC) boiler and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants, with and without CO2 capture. Post combustion capture based on solvent scrubbing only has been considered; this is currently the commercially leading option for capture on both pulverized coal and natural gas-fired power plants. Two different capture unit designs are studied: a 90% CO2 recovery scenario, and a high capture rate scenario (around 99%). Starting from the benchmark NGCC cases described above, the work has also addressed: • The impacts of Flue Gas Recirculation (FGR) on power plant performances and economics. The recirculation of part of the flue gas back to the GT compressor has the beneficial effects of enriching the exhaust gas in CO2 and significantly reducing the gas throughput of the absorption section in the CO2 capture unit, but also shows some drawbacks, such as the cost of the recirculation system and a slight efficiency drop. • Improvements to the operational flexibility of both natural gas and coal fired power plants with carbon capture from a simplified techno-economic optimization standpoint, updating the main outcomes of the work presented in “Operating flexibility of power plants with CCS” (2011, Foster Wheeler) with state-of-the-art technologies. The trade-off between flexibility and efficiency is also analyzed for the coal cases, including a literature review of the possible impacts on operating flexibility of adopting Advanced-Ultra Super Critical (A-USC) technologies (700°C). • Consideration of mid-term future advancements on power generation technologies for the NGCC plant, including the use of novel improved materials in the hot gas path of the for the gas turbine and integration with Molten Carbon Fuel Cells (MCFCs), in which hydrogen is provided via natural gas steam reforming (using MCFC waste heat). The MCFC, besides contributing to power generation, allows separation of CO2 from the NGCC flue gas and its release into a syngas stream that needs a relatively simple purification method to remove the CO2 (like cryogenic technology) and can then be re-covered as auxiliary fuel to the power island.

Analysis of the performance of concentrated solar power facilities using different thermal fluids

A systematic comparison of the performance and economics of concentrated solar power plants using various heat transfer fluids including molten salts and synthetic fluids (Dowtherm A, Syltherm, HELISOL, Malotherm and Therminol VP1) is carried out. First, a process systems approach is used to determine the yield of the thermodynamic cycle using different thermal fluids, their operating conditions and the water consumption. Next, an economic evaluation is performed. For reference Almería, to the South of Spain, is the location selected because of the high solar irradiance. The efficiency of the regenerative Rankine cycle increases with the maximum operating temperature. The average power production increases from 16 MW using Malotherm to 25 MW using the molten salts, while the water consumption decreases from 3.6 L/kWh to 2.1 L/kWh. A higher efficiency results in more competitive electricity prices that decrease from 0.21 €/kWh (Malotherm) to 0.12 €/kWh (molten salts) with the maximum operating temperature. Furthermore, the effect of the maximum temperature on power and water consumption are computed towards a pre-evaluation of novel fluids under development.

Hydrogen technologies for energy storage: A perspective

Abstract

Photovoltaic String Sizing Using Site-Specific Modeling

One key design decision for photovoltaic (PV) power plants is to select the number of PV modules connected in series, also called the string size. Longer strings typically lower total system costs, but the string size must still meet relevant electrical standards to ensure that the maximum system voltage remains less than the design voltage. Traditional methods calculate string size using the temperature coefficient of open-circuit voltage assuming that the coldest expected temperature occurs simultaneously with a full-sun irradiance of ${\text{1000}}\,{\text{W/m}}^{\text{2}}$ . Here, we demonstrate that this traditional method is unnecessarily conservative, resulting in a string size $\sim$ 10% shorter than necessary to maintain system voltage within limits. Instead, engineers may determine string size by modeling open-circuit voltage over time using historical weather data, a method consistent with the 2017 National Electric Code. For bifacial systems, we derive a simple additive term that predicts the additional voltage rise. We demonstrate that this site-specific modeling procedure predicts open-circuit voltages in close agreement with data from field measurements. We further perform a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to identify an appropriate safety factor. By using site-specific modeling instead of traditional methods, we estimate a $\sim$ 1.2% reduction in levelized cost of electricity, a significant improvement to PV power plant economics. The method is provided as an easy-to-use web tool and as an open-source Python package.

Improving the efficiency of heat recovery circuits of cogeneration plants with combustion of water-fuel emulsions

When using modern highly efficient internal combustion engines with lowered potential of exhaust heat the heat recovery systems receive increasing attention. The efficiency of combustion exhaust heat recovery at the low potential level can be enhanced by deep cooling the combustion products below a dew point temperature, which is practically the only possibility for reducing the temperature of boiler exhaust gas, while ensuring the reliability, environmental friendliness and economy of power plant. The aim of research is to investigate the influence of multiplicity of circulation and temperature difference at the exit of exhaust gas boiler heating surfaces, which values are varying as 20?C, 15?C, and 10?C on exhaust gas boiler characteristics. The calculations were performed to compare the constructive and thermal characteristics of the various waste heat recovery circuits and exhaust gas boiler of ship power plant. Their results showed that due to application of condensing heating surfaces in exhaust gas boiler the total heat capacity and steam capacity of exhaust gas boiler increases. The increase of exhaust gas boiler heat capacity is proportional to the growth of its overall dimensions. A direct-flow design of the boiler provides a significant increase in heat efficiency and decrease in dimensions. In addition, a direct-flow boiler circuit does not need steam separator, circulation pump, the capital cost of which is about half (or even more) of heating surface cost.

РАЗВИТИЕ АТОМНОЙ ЭНЕРГЕТИКИ В РОССИИ И МИРЕ С РЕАКТОРАМИ ПОКОЛЕНИЙ 3+ И 4

In the development of nuclear power in the world, there are three stages separated by major accidents at nuclear power plants: "Three Mile Island" (USA, 1979), the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (USSR - Ukraine, 1986) and the "Kama-1" nuclear power plant (Japan, 2011). At the first and second stages, until 1990, there was a rapid development of nuclear power, when 20-30 units were introduced per year and their number increased to 391 with a total capacity of 321 GW, followed by a sharp decline, the withdrawal of many units from operation, which reached the deadline of 40 years. So for after Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster from 2011 to 2016, taking into account the withdrawn (17 blocks), only 7 blocks and 13 GW of energy were added. As a result, as of 01.12.2016, the total installed capacity of 450 units was 392 GW. At the same time, prices for uranium and gas have decreased, and the latter has led to an increase in the competitiveness of gas thermal power plants (CCGT with an efficiency of up to 55-65 %). The share of world electricity production at nuclear power plants fell from 17.6 % (1995) to 10.7 % (2015). To improve the nuclear power plant's economy, it was necessary to significantly increase the level of safety while simplifying and reducing the cost of the actual projects, first of all, the reactor compartment (nuclear island-Yao), the cost of power unit equipment, construction and installation on site, and reducing operating costs. As a result, "Generation -3+" reactors were developed and are already being built: Westinghouse (USA) AR-1000, ARR-1400 (Korea), boiling-GeneralElectric (USA) ESBWR- 1650, Areva (France) EPR (1600 mw), in Russia Rosatom - NPP-2006 (1200 mw) and VVER-TOI (1250 MW). The paper presents the results of comparing the economic efficiency of these projects. In January 2000, at the initiative of the US Department of energy, the "generation IV international forum" (MFP-4) program was launched, the goal of the program was to identify the main areas of R & d for the development of promising 4th-generation nuclear power plants. As a result of the evaluation carried out by a group of leading experts in nuclear energy, six basic concepts of nuclear power plants were selected. In this paper, only three of them are considered: these are reactors cooled with sodium (SFR-BN), lead (LFR-BR), and supercritical pressure water (SCWR-VVER-SKD). SCWR reactors have been most developed abroad. In a number of countries, conceptual projects have been implemented showing the economic efficiency of these reactors by 20-40 % compared to the "P. 3+" reactors. In Russia, in order not to depend on fluctuations in uranium prices, to reduce problems with the storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and the implementation of a closed fuel cycle in the nuclear power industry, BN and BR reactors are being actively developed.

US Department of Energy hydrogen and fuel cell technologies perspectives

Abstract

Design and performance analysis of a supercritical CO2 radial inflow turbine

Due to the high efficiency and compactness, the supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle recently emerged as a promising power cycle for the power plant economics. The turbine is the key power unit of the cycle, but relevant investigations are still lacking. In this paper, the design study of an S-CO2 radial inflow turbine based on system optimization is conducted. The CFD simulation of the turbine under design and off-design conditions is performed, and tip clearance analysis is conducted to evaluate the turbine performance. The properties of CO2 in the CFD analysis are calculated using the NIST database. Results show that the power output and total-to-static efficiency of the turbine are 1.16 MW and 85.36%, respectively. The largest deviation of design results and simulation results under the nominal condition is 3.73%, indicating that the design model is reliable. Numerical simulations reveal that the turbine maintains great performance at design and off-design conditions. Furthermore, tip clearance analysis shows that a 6% increase of tip clearance results in a 3.84% reduction of turbine efficiency and a 4.16% reduction of turbine power output.

Economics of Nuclear Power Plant Investment: Monte Carlo Simulations of Generation III/III+ Investment Projects

This paper analyzes nuclear power plant investments using Monte Carlo simulations of economic indicators such as net present value (NPV) and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). In times of liberalized electricity markets, largescale decarbonization and climate change considerations, this topic is gaining momentum and requires fundamental analysis of cost drivers. We adopt the private investors’ perspective and ask: What are the investors’ economics of nuclear power, or - stated differently - would a private investor consider nuclear power as an investment option in the context of a competitive power market? By focusing on the perspective of an investor, we leave aside the public policy perspective, such as externalities, cost-benefit analysis, proliferation issues, etc. Instead, we apply a conventional economic perspective, such as proposed by Rothwell (2016) to calculate NPV and LCOE. We base our analysis on a stochastic Monte Carlo simulation to nuclear power plant investments of generation III/III+, i.e. available technologies with some experience and an extensive scrutiny of cost data. We define and estimate the main drivers of our model, i.e. overnight construction costs, wholesale electricity prices, and weighted average cost of capital, and discuss reasonable ranges and distributions of those parameters. We apply the model to recent and ongoing investment projects in the Western world, i.e. Europe and the United States; cases in non-market economies such as China and Russia, and other non-established technologies (Generation IV reactors and small modular reactors) are excluded from the analysis due to data issues. Model runs suggest that investing in nuclear power plants is not profitable, i.e. expected net present values are highly negative, mainly driven by high construction costs, including capital costs, and uncertain and low revenues. Even extending reactor lifetimes from currently 40 years to 60 years does not improve the results significantly. We conclude that the economics of nuclear power plants are not favorable to future investments, even though additional costs (decommissioning, long-term storage) and the social costs of accidents are not even considered.

Optimization and application of coordination control system based on the site fast model

According to the introduction of modern power system competition mechanism, the power grid frequency regulations and peak regulations requirements are getting higher and higher, so more and more units have participated in Automatic Generation Control (AGC) scheduling. The premise to realize AGC is that the control system of unit must have the function of coordinated control between steam turbine and boiler (CCS), and the quality of coordinated control between machine and furnace has a great influence on the use effect of AGC. In order to meet the needs of power grid and the economy of power plant, we propose an optimization method of coordinated control system based on field rapid modeling, which is implemented on distributed control system (DCS). This method reduces the difficulty of engineers’ optimization, improves the control quality of CCS, and achieves the goal of energy saving and consumption reduction.