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 Repowering Older Plants

As power plants age, the efficiency of steam production equipment declines and/or the equipment becomes technologically obsolete, even with regular maintenance. Rather than replace aging steam production equipment in kind, some utilities have chosen to replace it with new technology. This process is called "repowering" and offers the opportunity to increase the efficiency of the process through the installation of new, improved equipment. Repowering with more efficient equipment can reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants compared to operating the original equipment. Repowering with equipment that uses lower-carbon fuels can further reduce net greenhouse gas emissions.

Repowering can take several forms. It can involve the replacement of the boiler with a new steam-producing facility, or it can involve a totally new steam production process involving a combustion turbine and heat steam generator and additional generating equipment.

Repowering with a natural gas-fired combustion turbine and adding a heat recovery steam generator improves overall efficiency, and often increases the electrical output of the facility. Greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced as natural gas is lower in carbon than the fuel previously used. Repowering with a combustion turbine also has environmental benefits of more effective control of SO2, NOx, and particulate emissions.

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Electric Power Research Institute, “SOAPP-REPO 3.0: SOAPP-REPO Combined-Cycle Repowering Workstation" (Software  product, Version 3.0, May 2005)
http://www.soapp.com/soapp/repo/workstation/system.htm

The State-of-the-Art Power Plant Repowering Products (SOAPP-REPO) WorkStation version 3.0 is a software application that integrates process design, costing, and financial analysis for combined-cycle repowering of existing fossil steam plants, enabling users to quickly assess the viability of a repowering scenario on a site-specific basis. The SOAPP-REPO 3.0 application includes a re-use plan for the steam turbines, feedwater heaters, and balance-of-plant equipment and critical data inputs for the existing steam cycle and re-used equipment.

Electric Power Research Institute, “Repowering Existing Fossil Steam Plants”
http://www.soapp.com/papers/Repowering_Fossil_Plants.pdf

Repowering evaluation methodology typically used in the United States, technology options, and the SOAPP repowering software now available to facilitate evaluations are reviewed in this paper.

Siemens Power Generation, “Repowering”
http://www.powergeneration.siemens.com/products-solutions-services/service
/performance-enhancement-programs/repowering/

The gas turbine (GT) in conjunction with a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and a steam turbine (ST), makes combined cycle power plants (CCPP) to the most efficient power generation facilities. Existing direct fired plants can utilize this advanced cycle concept by adding a GT and a HRSG. This so called repowering scheme makes the existing power generation facility equally efficient as modern combined cycle power plant. There are several alternatives to combine and integrate a gas turbine into an existing steam power plant. A detailed assessment of the existing plant equipment as well as technical and economic boundary conditions of a specific project determines the optimal approach and the selection of the repowering concept.

U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, “Clean Coal Technology Compendium”
http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/cctc/cctc_main.htm

The Clean Coal Technology Compendium is a comprehensive repository of information generated through the Department of Energy's major clean coal demonstration programs. The information is organized by program: Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI), Power Plant Improvement Initiative (PPII), or Clean Coal Technology Demonstration Program (CCTDP).
 

U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, “Combustion - Fluidized-Bed Combustion Repower: FBC Repowering Project Overview”
http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/Combustion/FBC/APFBC/APFBCprojects.html

This is the overview page for discussions of the projects in CHIPPS, PFBC, GFBCC, and APFBC repowering series.  These projects detail how existing power plants can be improved using advanced combustion technologies.  The present PFBC, GFBCC, and APFBC repowering efforts are described in a series of 14 volumes.

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