Gas Power Research Articles

BKV CEO: If You Have the Skills To Pay the Bills, CCS Is a ‘Tremendous Business’

Shale gas producer BKV Corp. has made the leap into the US carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector, becoming the latest upstream firm to challenge the idea that only industry giants can make significant moves in this emerging arena. Founded in 2015 as a privately held subsidiary of Thailand’s coal and energy conglomerate Banpu, BKV and its fewer than 400 employees have quickly built the company into the 17th largest gas producer in the US. In addition to its upstream operations in the Barnett and Marcellus shales, BKV’s business model borrows from its Thai energy roots and includes ownership of two natural gas power plants in Texas. But the firm is better known within upstream technical circles for its leadership in refracturing horizontal wells in the Barnett where it is the largest operator both in terms of acreage and flowing wells. No stranger to diversification, BKV is now shifting its focus to CCS—a market anticipated to balloon almost fivefold from $3 billion to over $14 billion by the end of the decade. This growth is being propelled in the US by new legislation offering $85 in tax credits for each ton of CO2 sequestered, effectively turning the greenhouse gas into a valuable commodity. The company’s inaugural CCS project, in collaboration with Dallas-based EnLink Midstream, launched this past November in Bridgeport, Texas. Called the Barnett Zero Project, BKV and its partner are targeting the sequestration of approximately 210,000 mtpa of CO2e. Hitting that target means potentially generating over $17.8 million in annual tax credits, a sum that offers a swift return on investment for those who can manage costs. BKV has also established a new business unit called dCarbon Ventures which is leading a separate CCS joint venture in the Barnett play called Cotton Cove. The $17.6-million project, $9 million of which will be put up by BKV, is expected to begin injecting up to 45,000 mtpa by the end of next year. Beyond that, BKV and its subsidiaries have secured rights for a large-scale project spanning 21,000 acres in neighboring Louisiana which would source its emissions from the industrial and petrochemical plants around the New Orleans area. Steering these ambitious projects is BKV’s CEO, Chris Kalnin, alongside Lauren Read, vice president of the gas company’s dCarbon Ventures. Under their leadership, BKV hopes to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by next year—decades ahead of most industry reduction targets. The company is not stopping there and is ambitioning to do what most US-based operators have so far refrained from, which is to offset its Scope 3 emissions sometime next decade. In the following Q&A, Kalnin and Read discuss the motivations behind the Barnett Zero Project, its significance in the context of independent producers, and what it signals about BKV’s broader strategy.

Dynamic price optimization of a solar integrated cogeneration system considering uncertainties of building demands

Introducing renewable and high-efficiency devices into conventional cogeneration systems has the potentials to reduce fossil fuel consumption and mitigate environmental issues. This study aims to incorporate solar power and thermal energy into the power and waste heat generated by the gas turbine, respectively, while utilizing a double-effect absorption heat pump to meet the total heat demands. Following the creation of thermodynamic models, a trading mechanism is introduced involving an operating participant known as the product seller, which is analogous to electricity companies in power trading models. To maximize the interests of the participants with different confidence levels, the master-slave game is employed, using Genetic and Quadratic programming algorithms. The hourly outputs of devices and responded demands are evaluated based on the dynamic purchasing and selling price of products. The results indicate that the optimal interest of the cogeneration system is the lowest among all the participants. The power proportions from gas turbine and power grid exceed 60 %, while the contribution of gas turbine decreases by 11.0 % due to the lower heat demands caused by reduced confidence level. Overall, this study offers valuable insights into the market-oriented development of solar assisted cogeneration systems.

LOAD DISPATCH AND REPLACING DIESEL BY GAS POWER PLANT TO REDUCE PRODUCTION COST OF POWER GENERATION IN BALI ISLAND

Bali Island is powered from three power plants and from Jawa Island through marine cables. The power plant in Bali use diesel fuel which result in high production cost. Meanwhile the production cost at Jawa Island is lower because most of power plants use coal fuel. Supply from Jawa Island is limited 200MW but now days use as peaker and supply from diesel power plants in Bali which are mostly old machine run in full power. This condition has caused high production cost. Therefore we proposed to change the load dispatch and replace the old diesel by gas power plant. The simulation has shown a much lower production cost. The lowest cost is found for the transfer Jawa-Bali in optimum capacity.

Estimation of Energy Storage Requirements in an Independent Power System from an Energy Perspective

Taiwan’s power system operates as an isolated grid, preventing the export of surplus energy. Excess electricity is either stored or discarded (curtailed). This study aims to estimate the energy storage requirement for the day with the most extreme electricity consumption behavior in a year without energy curtailment. Based on the installed capacity and actual power generation of renewable energy sources in 2022, this research estimates the power generation per GW of the installed capacity at full load. Integrating the government’s annual installation capacity plans, this study forecasts the annual power generation of renewable sources. Using the electrical load during the 2023 Spring Festival as a baseline and assuming an annual electricity consumption growth rate of 2%, combined with a minimum gas power output of approximately 6 GW, this study calculates the unused power generation, which represents the pumped-storage hydroelectricity and battery energy storage systems requirements for that day under a no-curtailment scenario. Considering the semi-annual adjustments in installation planning, this study’s code is open-sourced and designed to provide updated results with new planning data input, facilitating ongoing adjustments.

Enhancing supply chain resilience: A machine learning approach for predicting product availability dates under disruption

The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing political and regional conflicts have a highly detrimental impact on the global supply chain and cause significant delays in logistics operations and international shipments. One of the most pressing concerns is the uncertainty surrounding the availability dates of products, which is critical information for companies to generate effective logistics and shipment plans. Therefore, accurately predicting availability dates plays a pivotal role in executing successful logistics operations, ultimately minimizing total transportation and inventory costs. We investigate the prediction of product availability dates for General Electric (GE) Gas Power’s inbound shipments for gas and steam turbine service and manufacturing operations, utilizing both numerical and categorical features. We evaluate several regression models, including Simple Regression, Lasso Regression, Ridge Regression, Elastic Net, Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), and Neural Network models. Based on real-world data, our experiments demonstrate that the tree-based algorithms (i.e., RF and GBM) provide the best generalization error and outperforms all other regression models tested. We anticipate that our prediction models will assist companies in managing supply chain disruptions and reducing supply chain risks on a broader scale.

Innovative modification process of a natural gas power plant using self-sufficient waste heat recovery and flue gas utilization for a CCHP-methanol generation application: A comprehensive multi-variable feasibility study

Waste heat recovery holds significant importance in the context of natural gas power plants, as it facilitates the utilization of energy loss, leading to enhanced overall performance and mitigating adverse environmental effects. By harnessing and employing waste heat, power plants possess the capability to modify and optimize their operation, making a substantial contribution toward sustainable power/energy generation. Therefore, this study proposes a novel and eco-friendly approach to utilizing the flue gas emitted by a natural gas power plant. In addition to recovering waste heat, this method involves harnessing the flue gas for methanol production. The proposed system consists of an organic Rankine cycle, and absorption chiller, heating provider units, an electrolyzer for hydrogen generation, and a methanol synthesis unit. The novel method is implemented through computer-aided simulation using the Aspen HYSYS software and is subjected to an extensive analysis encompassing energy, exergy, environmental, and economic viewpoints. The simulation results exhibit producing 2712 kg/h of methanol with a purity of 99.97 mol%, 395.67 kg/s of hot water, 378 kg/s of chilled water, and 12253.57 kW of power. In this process, the energy and exergy efficiencies are 94.35% and 31.74%, respectively. Parametric study results demonstrate that reducing the gas turbine pressure and increasing the working fluid temperature in the evaporator of the absorption chiller cycle leads to improved exergy efficiency. Moreover, the multigeneration scenario shows a carbon dioxide footprint of 0.1564 kg/kWh and a total unit cost of product of 0.0485 $/GJ.

Capacity Credit of Solar PV Projects – Oman’s Main Interconnected System Case Study

Due to high growth in electricity demand, it is important to add more dispatchablegeneration capacity in power systems to maintain demand-supply balance in real time. In many power systems, fossil fuel-based units such as gas or coal power plants are used to maintain high-reliability standards during peak demand hours. Although intermittent renewable energy generation facilities such as solar PV systems are used as a fuel saver, they can offset part of the load during peak hours. Capacity credit measures the contribution of a power plant to reliably meet demand. Estimating capacity credit of solar PV systems is important to ensure the adequacy and security of electricity supply. In this article, the capacity credit of solar PV power plants in the Main Interconnected System (MIS) of Oman is modelled. Oman’s MIS considered in this study has 6,372 MW gas-based generation capacity, a negligible solar PV capacity, and 5,712 MW peak load. The results revealed that the capacity credit of solar PV plants is high at low solar PV penetration levels. However, it decreases drastically as solar PV capacity increases. For example, the first 500MW plant has a capacity credit of about 120 MW. When the cumulative installed solar PV capacity is 2000MW, the next 500MW plant has a capacity credit of only 26MW.

Analysis of the Multiphase Flow With Condensation in the Two-Phase Ejector Condenser Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling

Abstract The liquid-driven two-phase ejector condenser is the object of the numerical investigation. The spray-ejector condenser is one of the critical components of the developed gas power plant with negative CO2 emission. The task of the ejector is to entrain exhaust gas and condense steam contained in it. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling allows analyzing complex phenomena and predicting the influence of a wide range of operating parameters on the local structure of the multiphase flow with condensation. The geometrical model of the ejector was designed to provide efficient steam condensation and generate sub-pressure region at the gas inlet. The 2D, axisymmetric CFD model was created using simcenter star ccm+ software. The multiphase mixture model was used to take into account two-phase flow. Turbulent flow was computed using k–ω SST model. Direct contact condensation of steam was calculated using two different approaches: the Spalding/evaporation model and the thermally-driven boiling/condensation model. The influence of various gas inlet velocities and the presence of CO2 on the operation of the ejector condenser were investigated based on scalar fields and charts representing changes in the most important variables along the flow path. The condensation is the most intense in the suction chamber. The boiling/condensation model predicts lower suction pressure and higher condensation effectivity than Spalding/evaporation model. The CO2 considerably affects the pressure and temperature distributions and reduces the condensation rate.

Comprehensive Environmental and Economic Assessment of Low-Carbon Energy Sources

The article presents the results of a study of various low-carbon energy sources based on a multi-criteria analysis for the purpose of a comprehensive environmental and economic assessment of the effectiveness of their use. The peculiarity of the study is that it analyzed both renewable energy sources and traditional fossil fuel based ones using innovative technologies for carbon dioxide capture and storage, as well as nuclear energy. The purpose of this work is to conduct a comprehensive assessment based on three criteria: normalized cost of electricity LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy)/LEC (Levelized Energy Cost), specific value of carbon dioxide emissions and material intensity expressed in total MI (Material Input) numbers. The hypothesis of the study is as follows: the introduction of the criterion of material intensity in MI numbers into a comprehensive assessment will allow one to identify low-carbon energy sources with the greatest ecological and economic effect. As a result, it was found that in 2023, the global energy capacity of low-carbon energy sources reached 51.8%, but the share of energy produced by them is significantly lower, amounting to only 39.4%. The multi-criteria analysis made it possible to identify low-carbon energy sources that, at the lowest cost, provide the greatest reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and at the same time reduce the overall environmental impact by reducing the disturbance of biospheric material flows. Wind farms have high ecological and economic efficiency, while solar energy sources and bioelectric power plants – slightly less so. Geothermal and hydroelectric power plants have a low normalized cost of electricity, but they have relatively high values of material intensity. The environmental and economic efficiency of nuclear power is higher than that of gas and coal-fired power plants using carbon dioxide capture technologies; it occupies an intermediate position between renewable and traditional energy sources. An unexpected established fact is that gas and coal-fired power plants with carbon dioxide capture technologies have the same environmental and economic efficiency. The results obtained can be useful in making decisions about the possibility of prioritizing the development of individual low-carbon energy sources.

Ecological and economic assessment of nuclear power as a low-carbon energy source

The research has carried out a multi-criteria assessment of nuclear power as a low-carbon energy source. The peculiarity of the research lies in the comparative analysis of nuclear power with both renewable energy sources and sources using fossil fuels with carbon dioxide capture technologies. The assessment uses three criteria: specific carbon dioxide emission, specific value of material consumption in MInumbers, and electrical power costs value in LCOE/LEC. The criteria make it possible to characterize nuclear power in a holistic way while comparing it with other sources of low-carbon energy in terms of reducing carbon dioxide emissions possibility, capital and operating costs for electrical power production, and minimizing overall negative impact on the transformation and violation of biosphere material and energy flows. The work reveals that the integrated ecological and economic efficiency of nuclear power is higher than that of gas and coal-fired power stations with carbon dioxide capture technologies, but it is lower than that of renewable energy sources. The reasons are the increased cost of nuclear power and its relatively high specific water consumption.

Hierarchical Coordination Control for Interconnected Operation of Electric-thermal-gas Integrated Energy System with Micro-energy Internet Clusters

At present, the natural gas network, thermal network and power grid can be coupled in the integrated energy system(IES) to provide users with different forms of energy such as heat, electricity and gas, but the relevant coordinated control strategies have not been sufficiently investigated. In this paper, a hierarchical distributed coordinated control strategy is proposed. The system is organized into three levels, namely IES-level, Micro-energy Internet(MEI)-level and component-level based on multi-agent system approach. To achieve accurate control of voltage and frequency of distributed devices and accurate distribution of the tie-line power in case of load fluctuations in MEI, a second-level optimization controller based on distributed sparse communication network is designed. In addition, in order to analyze the impact of communication delay on the coordinated control of MEI-level agents, the communication topology is optimized according to the basic graph theory. Finally, taking IES with three MEIs as an example, the validity of the proposed control strategy is verified on the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation platform.

Job creation in a low carbon transition to renewables and energy efficiency: a review of international evidence

AbstractIn this paper, we present findings from a systematic review on job creation, quality, and skills, focusing on decarbonisation in the energy sector. We compare a range of gross job employment factors which indicate that overall, investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency can deliver more jobs than gas or coal power generation. In addition, we review a subset of recent studies which estimate the net employment effects of decarbonisation in the energy sector at a national scale, across various international contexts. These national studies largely agree that the most likely outcome over the next few decades is a modest net positive creation of jobs and moderate economic growth. In certain regions within these countries, jobs in fossil fuel industries may be lost faster than the pace at which low carbon energy sectors can offer new employment. There may be mismatches between regions where displaced workers live and where new opportunities become available, which may be a barrier to accepting alternative employment even if former workers have the requisite skills. In these cases national government transition plans are recommended, coordinated with local governments, to manage the impacts of displacement from carbon-intensive sectors and respond to the need to build a new low carbon workforce including through skills development and training. We highlight a lack of metrics and data in the literature on job quality, skills, and the geographic distribution of employment impacts in decarbonising energy systems, and these should be priority areas for further research.

Turning toward a smart region by implementing a hybrid power system

Distributed generation (DG) especially energy acquired from renewable energy sources (RES) plays a significant role in modern power sector due to high carbon emissions around the globe. Its emerging potential is feasible by implementing microgrids as they are beneficial for networks in terms of increasing flexibility and stability, providing frequency and voltage support, power factor compensation etc. This makes the investment into microgrid incorporating RESs attractive, while at the same time reducing overall investment in the grid. Higher cost and stochastic nature of intermittent RES are complications for the implementation and operation of such solutions. This paper will analyse economic feasibility of hybrid power system (HPS) implementation consisting of a wind generator (WG), a photovoltaic system (PVS), gas combined heat and power plant (CHP) and storage batteries. Each of the elements is optimized according to power demand and RES’s potential. Technical analysis of the grid integration, parallel operation of the system and the grid is analysed with an example of a real medium-voltage distribution network operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina by using quasi-dynamic load flow simulation of one-week time-period. Finally, different operating mechanisms and strategies will be proposed, following the minimal power form the grid premise to satisfy maximum usability of RES’s potential. It is shown that implementing such HPS would be beneficial in terms of both economy and, ecology, as well as in reducing energy losses. Besides, it will reduce power supplying costs and energy losses, as well as and secure better exploitation and utilization of natural renewable energy sources. These technologies positively affect power network by decreasing the risk of network-components overloading, better exploiting the power-generation facilities based on renewable resources and positively impacting voltage profiles. Similar places, situated on remote locations, may use this analysis as an example to follow, to reduce their costs of electricity, acquire more reliable and sustainable power supply, and embrace green future.

Business Model Innovation of Off Grid Public Electric Vehicles Battery Swap Station with Solar Powered

Energy transition is Indonesia's national agenda to maintain energy security and realize the use of green energy. The use of electric vehicles (EVs) is one strategy to maintain primary energy security and support the reduction of carbon emissions. To support the growth of the EV ecosystem, Public Electric Vehicle Battery Swap Stations (Stasiun Penukaran Baterai Kendaraan Listrik Umum, SPBKLU) have been developed and installed in several locations. Currently, SPBKLU still uses electricity sources from the PLN (Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Indonesia’s electricity state-owned company) grid, where the majority of the PLN grid itself still relies on gas and coal power plants. Hence, this work proposed a PV-powered battery swap station and presented the Business Model Canvas and financial and SWOT analysis. Two business model schemes are proposed, the BPCOSP (Battery Provider, Cabinet Owner, Solar PV Provider) and BPCOSL (Battery Provider, Cabinet Owner, Solar PV Lease) schemes. From these two business schemes, the results of the financial feasibility analysis for the SPBKLU swap rate were obtained at IDR 18,241 for the BPCOSP scheme and IDR 21,500 for the BPCOSL scheme. From a SWOT analysis perspective, the BPCOSP and BPCOSL business schemes have the opportunity to increase the Solar PV business value chain and support government programs in achieving Net Zero Emissions. However, there are still weaknesses in terms of tariffs which are still not economical compared to the fuel costs of conventional two-wheeled vehicles and the current SPBKLU swap tariff which still uses electricity from the PLN grid.

Comparison Study on CCS Development Pathways for Ethanol Plants and Natural Gas Power Plants in the Northeast United States

Comparison Study on CCS Development Pathways for Ethanol Plants and Natural Gas Power Plants in the Northeast United States

Application of Covariance Matrix Adaptation‐Evolutionary Strategy for Modified Constrained Optimal Power Flow Problem Incorporating Valve Point and Emission Effect

A prevailing problem in power and energy subsystems is the smooth operation of electric energy systems. This work presents recent, efficient, and reliable evolutionary algorithm for solving the optimal power flow (OPF) analysis. All various practical complex equality and inequality constraints, namely, bus voltages, real powers of the generator buses, tap settings of the transformers and the reactive power generations, shunt compensation, and emission, are considered for the real‐world scenario. Primary feature in a gas power plant that raises a lot of computational shortcomings with nonlinear structure in fuel cost is valve point effect. The existing research works have not factored the valve point effect and lack the accuracy in the fuel cost minimization and do not reflect the various practical complexities such as valve point and emission effects in the OPF problem formulation. This paper, for the first time, introduces modified OPF problem formulation incorporating valve point effect and applies covariance matrix adaptation‐evolution strategy (CMA‐ES) for solving the modified OPF problem. The algorithm is scrutinised and tested on a modified IEEE‐30‐bus platform for various OPF objectives such as cost minimization, transmission loss, and total voltage deviation, subjected to practical constraints. Load flow analysis has been carried out using the Newton–Raphson method. This work aims to lay the foundation in such a way that it can be applicable in a real‐world scenario for any number of buses.

Design of Cloud Computing System–Based Pollution Distribution Map in Iraq

Air pollution is widespread in the world and is considered one of the most important risk factors in Iraq, especially as a result of the lack of a green belt surrounding cities and the many causes of pollution, including traffic congestion, the spread of gas power plants and other causes of pollution. The most common factors of pollution in the air are the spread of gases that are harmful to human health, including monoxide, carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone and the spread of dust, which directly affects human health. A smart system has been proposed to measure levels of pollutants, of which carbon monoxide (CO), dioxide and dust are at the forefront. Several cities, including Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf and Hilla, were chosen to measure the percentage of disparity between pollutants in these cities, determine the percentage of CO2 on Google maps for these cities and update the data instantly by sending the data via the cloud computing. The implemented system consists of an Arduino Uno, a (MG811) sensor to measure CO2, a (MQ‐2) sensor to CO and a (DSM501A PM2.5) sensor to measure air quality and the percentage of dust in the atmosphere. The data was also sent via the (Time4vps) cloud computing so that the data were updated instantly. The results obtained showed a difference in the percentage of pollutants between cities and different periods during one day and in one city. The proposed system is very successful to ministry of health if it is implemented in all cities and all the regions of cities around the country because it gives the alert to make all health organizations ready to receipt the higher number of patients in the emergency cases.

Natural Gas Power Plants in the System Security Role—The Situation and Solutions in Brazil

Natural Gas Power Plants in the System Security Role—The Situation and Solutions in Brazil

A study on the challenges to quantitative expansion of methane gas power generation using dairy and livestock waste

A study on the challenges to quantitative expansion of methane gas power generation using dairy and livestock waste

Industrial test of post combustion CO2 capture by reactive absorption with two new solvents in natural gas power plant

The post-combustion chemical decarbonization process is one of the key technology selections for the low-carbon development of natural gas power plants. The high energy consumption of amine regeneration is hindering its commercial application. In this paper, two new mixed amines solvent 15%Diethylaminoethanol (DEEA) +9% Piperazine (PZ)+ 6% Monoethanolamine (MEA) named DT01-3 and 22% 1,4-butanediamine (BDA)+ 4% N-Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) + 4% 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) named DT02-2 are verified by the 3000Nm3/h industrial demonstration system. The steady state condition was gradually established by adjusting the main parameters such as flue gas flow rate, absorber inlet flue gas temperature, solvent circulation flow rate, regeneration tower operation pressure, steam flow rate and so on with the goal of maintaining ≥90% of the capture efficiency. The results show that the CO2 capture efficiency of DT01-3 and DT02-2 is 91.23% and 90.81% respectively. The regeneration heat consumption is 3.65 GJ/tCO2 and 3.73 GJ/tCO2. The amines consumption is 0.95kg/tCO2,1.1kg/tCO2. The operating cost of DT01-3 and DT02-2 is 336.37 CNY/t,346.04 CNY/t, which is 20.94%,18.68% lower compared with MEA.