Novel Recuperated Power Cycles for Cost-Effective Integration of Variable Renewable Energy

Carlos Arnaiz del Pozo, Schalk Cloete (), Paolo Chiesa and Ángel Jiménez Álvaro
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Carlos Arnaiz del Pozo: Departamento de Ingeniería Energética, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Schalk Cloete: Department of Process Technology, SINTEF Industry, 4760 Trondheim, Norway
Paolo Chiesa: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy
Ángel Jiménez Álvaro: Departamento de Ingeniería Energética, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: The ongoing transition to energy systems with high shares of variable renewables motivates the development of novel thermal power cycles that operate economically at low capacity factors to accommodate wind and solar intermittency. This study presents two recuperated power cycles with low capital costs for this market segment: (1) the near-isothermal hydrogen turbine (NIHT) concept, capable of achieving combined cycle efficiencies without a bottoming cycle through fuel combustion in the expansion path, and (2) the intercooled recuperated water-injected (IRWI) power cycle that employs conventional combustion technology at an efficiency cost of only 4% points. The economic assessment carried out in this work reveals that the proposed cycles increasingly outperform combined cycle benchmarks with and without CO 2 capture as the plant capacity factor reduces below 50%. When the cost of fuel storage and delivery by pipelines is included in the evaluation, however, plants fired by hydrogen lose competitiveness relative to natural gas-fired plants due to the high fuel delivery costs caused by the low volumetric energy density of hydrogen. This important but uncertain cost component could erode the business case for future hydrogen-fired power plants, in which case the IRWI concept powered by natural gas emerges as a promising solution.

Keywords: gas turbine; techno-economic assessment; flexible power production; renewable energy integration; hydrogen; natural gas (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
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