Economic Assessment of Coal-Fired Power Unit Decarbonization Retrofit with High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

Bixiong Luo, Li Zhang, Wei Li (), Yanlin Su (), Yongjian Ye, Chenyu Wang, Yixuan Liu, Yi Zhang and Xinwei Zhu
Additional contact information
Bixiong Luo: China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100029, China
Li Zhang: China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100029, China
Wei Li: China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100029, China
Yanlin Su: China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100029, China
Yongjian Ye: East China Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd. of China Power Engineering Consulting Group, Shanghai 200063, China
Chenyu Wang: College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Yixuan Liu: College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Yi Zhang: East China Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd. of China Power Engineering Consulting Group, Shanghai 200063, China
Xinwei Zhu: China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100029, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-11

Abstract: To mitigate global warming, phasing out coal in the global energy system orderly and rapidly is an important near-term strategy. However, the majority of coal-fired plants in China have operated for less than 15 years. Accelerated coal power plant retirements would lead to substantial asset stranding. Coal-to-nuclear (C2N) technology offers a potential solution by replacing coal boilers in existing coal-fired plants with nuclear reactors. In this study, the G4-ECONS model was used to assess the economics of repowering a 600 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant with two 272 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The timeline for the C2N project and the additional cost of dispatching electricity from the grid during retrofitting were discussed. Results showed that the C2N total capitalized costs are 19.4% (baseline estimate, USD 5297.6/kW) and 11.1% (conservative estimate, USD 5847.2/kW) lower than the greenfield project (USD 6576.5/kW), respectively. And C2N projects need to reduce LUEC by at least 20% to become competitive. This study can inform engineering design decisions leading to more precise and cost-effective C2N projects.

Keywords: coal to nuclear; economic assessment; high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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