PGE/REWE 2015

Sessions Speakers Exhibitors Products Press Releases Show Specials Floor Plan

CCGT Upgrades Focusing on Flexibility Improvements (Room G104, Auditorium Centre, First Floor)

Due to renewable energy penetration, cheap coal and adverse energy policies in some countries, particularly in Europe, CCGT base load operation has fallen significantly during the last decade. The nature of renewable power resources causes large variations in power supply which has to be compensated by the conventional power resources. Hence, peaking or partial load operation became the norm which puts agile and flexible plants into a favorable position. Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) developed several upgrades to enhance the operational flexibility of their worldwide CCGT fleet. Prior to the development phase, MHPS conducted extensive market research and surveyed customers to grasp their needs for operational flexibility. During the development phase, customers were involved from initial technology introduction to implementation and commissioning. The proposed paper explains these upgrades which include reduction of GT minimum load without compromising emission limits, reduction of start-up duration, variable start-up modes, GT load-up rate enhancements and steam turbine improvements. MHPS paid highest attention to these enhancement packages to avoid any compromise on reliability, maintenance cycles and hot part lifetimes.