Advanced 800+ MW Steam Power Plants and Future CCS Options

More than ever clean and cost-effective power generation is a key to cope with the challenges imposed by the financial crisis and the increasing concerns about global warming. Investment cost and fuel costs have been the main contributors to the cost of electricity for many years. With the climate change package sealed by the European parliament in December 2008, cost associated with CO 2 allowances will become a relevant expense factor for power producers in Europe. Power plant suppliers will have to respond to the changed market needs by offering highly efficient power plant concepts considering future options for CO 2 capture. Ultra supercritical (USC) steam power plants meet notably the requirements for high efficiencies to reduce both fuel costs and emissions as well as for a reliable supply of electric energy at low cost. Siemens has extensive experience with ultra supercritical steam turbines and continues to optimize associated designs and technologies in order to achieve highest efficiency and to fulfill CO 2 requirements. Modularized reference power plants are responsive to the need for cost-effective solutions while providing flexibility to suit specific customer and site requirements. Marketed as SSP5-6000 (50 Hz) and SSP6-6000 (60 Hz) series these reference plants have been successfully built worldwide and now provide an intelligent response to needs of the European coal-fired power plant market. An advanced ultra supercritical 800 MW steam power plant based on the SSP5-6000 (1x800 USC) reference plant is currently under construction in Lünen/Germany. The paper will discuss the major innovations considering plant economics and plant operability evaluations. In addition details of the water/steam cycle optimization process, single-line configurations and the general plant layout will be discussed. Advanced steam parameters (280 bar / 600 °C / 610 °C), a net efficiency of ~46 % (LHV basis, hard coal, inland location), and specific CO 2 emissions well below 800 g/kWh are characteristic features of this plant concept which reflects the state-of-the-art in USC power plant technology. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and capture ready power plant designs (CCR) are becoming increasingly important for the evaluation of investments into new power plants and in addition retrofit solutions for the existing power plants are required. Besides a brief overview of the capture technologies which will be applied in the first mover demonstration projects, the paper will focus on the enhancement potential for the post-combustion capture technology. The major development efforts are directed towards the selection …