Abstract
The increased penetration of the intermittent renewable energy has increased the demand for flexible electricity supply. In this work, we evaluate four distinct strategies for flexible operation of CCS power plants: load following, solvent storage, exhaust gas by-pass and variable solvent regeneration (VSR) for coal- and gas-CCS power stations. With the aim to decoupling the power and capture plants in order to maximize profits, a multi-period dynamic optimisation problem was formulated and solved in the context of UK- and US-type markets. It was found that whilst the flexible operation strategies are strongly affected by the different markets, in all cases the variable solvent regeneration strategy was found to be the most profitable.
Conclusions
In this work we have formulated a multi-period optimisation problem in order to examine the various flexible operational strategies for coal- and gas- CCS power stations in the UK and USA markets. Four distinct strategies have been evaluated: load following, solvent storage, exhaust gas by-pass and variable solvent regeneration (VSR). Sensitivity analyses showed that, for all strategies, the flexibility benefit declined with reduced carbon and fuel prices, while a “peakier” electricity market, characteristic of one with significant quantities of intermittent renewables deployment, more significantly rewarded flexible operation. Comparing the SCPC and CCGT plants for the UK and USA markets, the CCGT plant becomes more competitive for the USA market.
