Siemens sets new performance and efficiency world record at Düsseldorf power plant
29 January 2016
On 22 January 2016, Siemens handed over the combined cycle power plant equipped with a Siemens H-class gas turbine at the Lausward location in the Düsseldorf (Germany) harbor area to the customer and operator, the utility company Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG. The turnkey plant sets three new records in world-wide comparison.
During the test run before acceptance, unit “Fortuna” achieved a maximum electrical net output of 603.8 megawatts (MW), which is a new record for a combined cycle plant of this type in a single-shaft configuration. A new world record of around 61.5% for net power-generating efficiency was also achieved, enabling Siemens to beat its own efficiency record of 60.75% set in May 2011 at the Ulrich Hartmann power plant located in Irsching in the south of Germany.
Unit “Fortuna” can also deliver up to around 300 MW for the district heating system of Düsseldorf—a further international peak value for a power plant equipped with only one gas and steam turbine.
This boosts the plant’s fuel utilization up to 85%, while reducing CO2 emissions to a mere 230 gram per kilowatt-hour. The increase in the capacity and efficiency levels is the result of consistent ongoing developments, for example in the design of components, in the materials used, in the overall construction of the plant, and in the perfect interworking of all plant components.
The gas turbine can run at full load in less than 25 minutes after a hot start, enabling it to also be used as a backup for renewables-based power production. This flexibility supports the operator in efforts to achieve economical operations in a challenging environment for conventional power plants.
Because of the plant’s close proximity to the downtown area of the city, special importance was attached to minimum emissions, optical integration into the cityscape, and lowest achievable noise levels: On the opposite shore of the Rhine, across from the plant, the noise level is less than 25 decibels—quieter than a whisper.
To date Siemens has 76 H-class gas turbines under contract worldwide. With 17 units in commercial operation, the SGT-8000H fleet has already reached more than 195,000 hours of operation.
In terms of the average emissions of power generation for all coal-fired power plants throughout the European Union, a natural-gas-fired combined cycle power plant such as this one, with an electrical efficiency of 61.5%, theoretically saves approximately 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually. This corresponds to the amount of CO2 emitted by 1.25 million passenger cars, each driving 15,000 kilometers a year.
85% is really respectable in power plant efficiency.
Way to go Siemens!
Posted by: soltesza | 29 January 2016 at 08:59 AM
The increase in efficiency and the reduction in GHG is interesting.
USA, China, India and many others could refurbish their existing dirty CPPs with these and greatly reduce GHG and air pollution.
OTOH, it will not happen unless CPPs operators have to pay for GHG and pollution produced.
Posted by: HarveyD | 29 January 2016 at 09:02 AM
85% only applies if the heat can be used.
We could use the same metric to achieve a similar result from solar pv with hot water or space heating (assuming there was a need) ?
It is very difficult to to export the heat over transmission lines.
The better metric is the 61.5% efficiency - nothing new here.
The same technology would benefit many renewable energy plants not just near gigawatt fossil fuel plants
Again better a poke in the eye.
Posted by: Arnold | 29 January 2016 at 04:03 PM
This is the way to reduce greenhouse gases at lowest cost and with the most rapidity except for turbines in all buildings. Much cooling can be supplied as cooled water to the district surrounding the turbine in addition to the heated water. Foam glass insulation can reduce maintenance and losses in the pipes. Absorption cooling can use the waste heat at times and even store it as ice.
Combined cycle generating stations exceed the efficiency of fuel cells especially when fuel reforming to hydrogen is considered.
District heating is more common in Germany than in the US and it should have been adopted in Chinese cities on a wide scale long ago. My apartment in Berlin had it for its hot water supply. Again foam glass makes it more practical. Toronto has district cooling with cool water from the lake. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 31 January 2016 at 03:57 AM
Heat can be stored as very high temperature water, and steam can be routed to an additional turbine or the same one from this water tank to supply power peaking at much lower costs than from batteries. Many small low cost fire less locomotives operated on this principle to lower the danger of fires and smoke at many factories and also avoid the expenses of standard locomotives. The fireless locomotives were connected to the factory boilers to recharge them. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 31 January 2016 at 04:08 AM
The 230 g/kWh figure is grossly misleading because it counts low-grade heat the same as electricity. If that's the criterion, then a 95%-efficient condensing furnace counts as achieving 198 gCO2/kWh despite generating no electricity at all and requiring another electric supply to run its combustion and circulation fans.
A small modular nuclear reactor like a NuScale could be placed inside a city and generate 0 gCO2/kWh and 0 air emissions while providing 47 MW(e) and ~100 MW(th). A city like Toronto, which uses boiling water for snow disposal, would be able to exploit the heat from something like NuScales very effectively.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 31 January 2016 at 04:55 AM
@Arnold, it is difficult to get the heat from solar PV systems.
However, many northern European cities have networks of hot water pipes for winter heating so the excess heat from thermal generators can actually be used to heat homes and offices.
Also, the speed of ramping up and down can be noted which would make them good for demand-renewables following, especially if you had hydro for load shaping.
Posted by: mahonj | 31 January 2016 at 11:03 AM