FLEXIBLE OPERATION OF THERMAL POWER PLANT FOR INTEGRATION OF RENEWABLE GENERATION

Uniper is a leading international energy company operating 40GWs of power generating capacity. Uniper provides a reliable supply of energy and related services in more than 40 countries.

- Anand Bansal

In current Indian power scenario, a substantial growth of renewable energy has been planned which would significantly alter the energy mix and energy market scenario in India. The fast growth of renewable power leads to a more volatile residual load due to their fluctuating nature. To balance the variable electricity supply from renewable energy sources, Coal fired power plants need to be more flexible in terms of possessing resilience to frequent start-ups, meeting major and rapid load changes, and providing frequency control duties that makes them to be reliable power for safe and stable operation of grid.

European Story

European Power market has changed significantly over the past decade. The Global recession brought down the demand. CO2 prices have dramatically fallen as a result of oversupply. US shale gas has increased US coal exports making coal generation inexpensive than gas. However global gas prices have oil prices putting coal at the margin. Incentive schemes designed to deliver European 2020 targets have prompted a sturdy and regular growth of Renewable. Further, the EU has set itself a long-term goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by way of 80-95 percent, while as compared to 1990 levels, by 2050.

All these factors changed the operating regime of the gas and coal-based power plants from base load to flexible.

Relevance to India

The primary objective of the Government is to provide 24×7 power to all with reliability, affordability and environmental friendly. Integration of large quantities of RE power in the grid has significant challenges that are both technical and economic in nature.