Exergy evaluation of a typical 330 MW solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant in China

This study discusses the thermodynamic performance of a solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant that uses solar heat with temperature lower than 300 °C to replace the extracted steam from a steam turbine to heat the feed water. Through this process, the steam that was to be extracted can efficiently expand in the steam turbine to generate electricity. The flow rate of steam returning to the turbine retains only a small part of the main stream, allowing the steam turbine to run close to design conditions for all DNI. A solar-only thermal power plant without storage is also discussed to illustrate the advantages of a solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant. The off-design performances of both plants are compared based on the energy-utilization diagram method. The exergy destruction of the solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant is found to be lower than that of the solar-only thermal power plant. The comparison of two plants, which may provide detailed information on internal phenomena, highlights several advantages of the solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant in terms of off-design operation: lower exergy destruction in the solar feed water heater and steam turbine and higher exergy and solar-to-electricity efficiency. Preliminary technological economic performances of both plants are compared. The results obtained in this study indicate that a solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant could achieve better off-design performance and economic performance than a solar-only thermal power plant.