Comparative Evaluation of Thermoelectric Decoupling Potential and Economy of Multi-Type Small Capacity Thermal Power Units

ObjectivesNew energy power generation faces significant fluctuations and instability in output power and generation load, posing certain challenges to the stable operation of the power system. After thermoelectric decoupling, small-capacity thermal power units participate in the overall operation of the power system, which can improve power grid dispatch efficiency and system security.To this end, various thermoelectric decoupling technologies were adopted to transform three small-capacity thermal power units.MethodsVarious technical routes were compared and studied. by using EBSILON Professional software for simulation experiments, the potential of various thermoelectric decoupling schemes in peak-load regulation was evaluated and analyzed comparatively, and the economics of the retrofitted units were analyzed.ResultsThe water-cooled back-pressure unit has a larger potential space for thermoelectric decoupling, with obvious advantages over other units, and the maximum daily profit under heating for the heat pump retrofit unit increased by 2.171 8 million yuan. With the change of extraction steam heat load, the thermoelectric decoupling potential of the water-cooled condensing unit shows an overall trend of gentle variation and is the easiest to control, with the maximum daily profit under heating for the heat pump retrofit unit increasing by 2.022 5 million yuan. The maximum daily profit under heating for the air-cooled condensing unit with heat pump retrofit increased by 261 300 yuan.ConclusionsThe thermal power units that have undergone thermoelectric decoupling upgrades can significantly enhance their peak shaving effect. The heat pump retrofit can effectively increase daily profits, thereby improving the stability and efficiency of the entire power generation system.