Integrated Solutions

Plant|Environmental
Solar Boost

In many regions of the world sustainability is becoming a more stringent condition, making power generators address the demands by increasing the renewable energy sources in their portfolio. The sun provides an unlimited and free available energy source and the fossil fired power plants offer a highly efficient and stable water steam cycle. Based on more than 20 years of experiences in solar thermal applications Alstom believes that solar is part of the overall solution to reduce CO2 emissions and to benefit from a balanced portfolio of fuels. Alstom can provide several hybrid solutions to combine the environmental advantages of a solar-thermal power plant with the economic and technical advantages of a fossil fired power plant, thus allowing power generators to benefit from the best of both worlds.
Customer Benefits Increase power generation or reduce coal consumption Reduction of Green House Gas Emissions Improved reputation of coal fired power plant due to generation of renewable electricity No cost risk for solar energy Usage of local resources

Background
With the increasing global environmental awareness and efforts to increase renewable energy in many countries, generation from renewable sources is often further subsidised and supported to improve the economics. One economic option is to reduce the specific coal consumption and with this the specific CO2 emissions by combining fossil energy with an input from a CO2 neutral renewable energy source

Figure 1: Solar Boost Technologies

Source: David Baker, Pictolia.com

resulting in a so-called hybrid power plant. For the effective combination a high level of understanding and design capability for power plant optimised integration is necessary. The integration of an additional heat source in an existing water

steam cycle is a proven technology. In the case of Solar Boost the additional heat comes from a solar field. Solar Boost offers the possibility to choose the solution that fits to the operators goals and the specific local conditions.

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ALSTOM 2010. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is indicative only. No representation or warranty is given or should be relied on that it is complete or correct or will apply to any particular project. This will depend on the technical and commercial circumstances. It is provided without liability and is subject to change without notice. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.

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The Idea of Solar Boost

The solar integration working principle is a feed water partial bypass system: depending on the chosen solution, the feed water is heated up directly by the solar field or indirect through an additional heat exchanger by the solar energy (Figure 2). Depending on the available amount of solar heat a fraction of the feed water bypasses a part of the pre-heating train and is heated by the solar energy. With this the consumption of extraction steam of the turbine for the pre-heating is reduced. The reduction of extraction steam can be used Either to reduce the live steam mass flow at a constant power output allowing a strong fuel consumption reduction and with this an important CO2 emission reduction (Figure 3) Or alternatively the generation of electricity can be increased at a constant coal input allowing the operator to produce green MWs (Figure 3, additional power output with same fuel consumption).

Figure 2: Solar Boost Integration Potential Locations

The existing solar technologies (Figure 1), the linear focused collectors such as Fresnel and Parabolic Trough technologies and the two-axis collectors such as the Tower technology fit perfectly to Solar Boost and its integration temperature.

Benchmark with other technologies

Compared with a stand-alone solar thermal power plant a hybrid power plant offers several advantages: At times with low solar

radiation (cloudy sky) or no radiation (at night) the plant continues to work as a conventional power plant. Operation is not depending on solar radiation. No need for thermal storage. Solar-only plants especially with linear focused collectors, have lower cycle efficiencies compared to coal-fired plants due to their limited live steam parameters. In a hybrid plant solar collectors can be operated at their optimal temperature level and coal is used to produce optimised live steam parameters.

Additional Power Output

Load Curve Load Curve Solar

Reduced Coal Consumption

Solar

Coal Time of day

Coal Time of day

Figure 3: Hybrid electricity generation

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ALSTOM 2010. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is indicative only. No representation or warranty is given or should be relied on that it is complete or correct or will apply to any particular project. This will depend on the technical and commercial circumstances. It is provided without liability and is subject to change without notice. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.

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Integrated Solutions

General Data Location Coal Unit Solar Technology Integration Location Field Surface Collector Surface Radiation Values Max. DNI 1) Annual DNI 1) Efficiency (based on DNI 1)) Max. solar to electr. Ann. mean sol-electr. Electrical Generation Ann. generation Max. Capacity MWel m2 m
2

South Africa 600 Fresnel Collector Top HP bypass 200 000 100 000

and the solar-electrical efficiency of Solar Boost with solar-only or photovoltaic plants with simplified assumptions, it can be seen that Solar Boost offers a better compromise between efficiency and Investment costs (Figure 4).

Solar Boost in Numbers

W/m kWh/(m2*a) % % MWhel/a MWel 1 090 2 300 20,6 13,1 33 900 25,4

Table 1 shows a simplified example calculation of Solar Boost implemented in a typical exemplary 600 MWel power plant in South Africa. In Figure 5 the Solar Boost collector size is compared to the typical surface of a coal plant.
Solar Field ca. 0,2 km

Table 1: Example, 600 MWel Coal Unit

1) DNI: Direct Normal Irradiation

The existing infrastructure of the coal plant can be adapted for the solar part. With this the investment costs are reduced. The industrial usage of the

power plant site is already accepted which leads to a simplified permitting process. The solar field can be upgraded stepwise. Comparing the investment costs

Coal Plant approx. 1 km

Figure 5: Surface of power plant and solar field for example calculation

Figure 4: Benchmark with other technologies

Reference: Solar Only Linear (linear corresponds to an average between Fresnel and Parabolic Trough technologies), Estimation depends on meteorological data, integration location, collector technology

As the final solar generation and the economics of the solar applications depend strongly on the specific site conditions this example gives only an overview of the technical parameter range.

www.service.power.alstom.com
ALSTOM 2010. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is indicative only. No representation or warranty is given or should be relied on that it is complete or correct or will apply to any particular project. This will depend on the technical and commercial circumstances. It is provided without liability and is subject to change without notice. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.

THERMAL POWER

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Integrated Solutions

Customer Benefits
Environment-friendly solution: o To increase power generation at constant coal input o Or to decrease fuel consumption at a constant electrical power generation level. Maximum solar energy at times of usual maximum energy requirements: middle of the day Reduction of CO2-Emissions Increased acceptance in public opinion due to production of renewable energy No energy cost risk for solar Usage of a local energy resource .

water-steam-cycle capability for additional steam flow Selection of the most appropriate configuration Determination of approximate solar electricity output Layout recommendation Cost estimate Implementation schedule

Experience with the integration of additional heat sources in a water steam cycle (e.g. topping gas turbine) 20 years experience servicing and maintaining solar plants and their associated equipments.

2. Implementation The implementation of Solar Boost is based on the results of the Feasibility Check-Up.

Integrated Expertise
To evaluate the Solar Boost impact on all major components (turbine, boiler, condenser, preheating train) and to help the customers to make appropriate decision Alstom offers a broad experience for the integration of solar energy in a conventional power plant in providing Full service supplier Capability for integrated solutions and plant-wide optimisations (including I&C and civil work) Experience with all main components of the water steam cycle
Your local service partner:

Solution Approach
1. Feasibility Check-Up Depending on different plant characteristics Alstom will determine the most suitable option for the customers plant depending on: Customers targets Meteorological data o Solar radiation o Ambient temperature Available space near the power plant Presence of incentives in the country Technical data of existing power plant The Feasibility Check-Up includes: Check of impact on affected components: e.g. turbine and

www.service.power.alstom.com
ALSTOM 2010. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is indicative only. No representation or warranty is given or should be relied on that it is complete or correct or will apply to any particular project. This will depend on the technical and commercial circumstances. It is provided without liability and is subject to change without notice. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.

THERMAL POWER

9DESER00021