Focus on load flexibility

The fluctuations in power generated from renewable energy sources are placing increasingly challenging demands on the load flexibility of thermal power plants. Load flexibility, load cycle management and the partial-load characteristics of power plants were thus the guiding topics of the meeting of the COORETEC Advisory Board on 7 July 2010. The Advisory Board also approved a strategy paper on these issues.

The increased use of fluctuating electricity generation from wind turbines and photovoltaic systems will result in more frequent load changes for fossil-fuelled power plants in the coming years. According to the COORETEC Advisory Board, these requirements will also have to be met by power plants equipped with CO₂ capture systems in the future. This will result in major challenges for the developers of turbines and steam generators. The ability to deal with load changes and the selection of the right materials of construction must both be taken into account when designing components.

The members of the Advisory Board stated that the ability of future power plants with CO₂ capture systems to react flexibly to load changes and operate in partial-load mode is an important prerequisite for the industrial-scale implementation and commercial operation of these plants. This is usual for fossil-fuelled power plants not fitted with CCS. It is also conceivable that certain CO₂ capture technologies could increase the load flexibility of power plants. On this basis, the COORETEC Advisory Board recommended that more detailed research be carried out on the issues of "Improving the load flexibility of plants and their components", "Start-up and shut-down procedures" and "Performance of power plants subject to load changes". 

In addition, the integration of power plants into tomorrow's energy infrastructure is to be taken into account, alongside the increasing of the efficiency of steam and combined power plants in partial-load operation. The issues involved here include energy storage – e.g. using compressed air energy storage power plants, heat storage, battery systems such as electric vehicles, or the production of hydrogen, methane or synthesis gases – and other aspects of grid stability and innovative grid structures such as smart grids or demand-side management.