POWER August 2020 - 22

TOP PLANT
Efficiency a Priority at Caofeidian
Coal Power Plant
Courtesy: Shanghai Shenergy Power Technology Co. Ltd.
Coal power may be struggling in some parts of the world, but it's doing just
fine in China. New plants are coming online featuring state-of-the-art technology.
Two ultrasupercritical units added at the Caofeidian power station showcase a
number of innovative efficiency enhancements.
Aaron Larson
W
hile coal power plants are being
closed for environmental or economic
reasons in many parts of
the world, some Asian countries, including
China, India, and Indonesia, are building
large numbers of new coal-fired units. In
fact, as Mary Hutzler, a distinguished Senior
Fellow at the Institute for Energy Research,
points out in her article titled " China's Economic
Recovery Will Be Powered by Coal "
(see page 48 in this issue of POWER), China
has plans to build more than 200 GW of
new coal-fired generating capacity. That's
nearly the same capacity that the U.S.
has in its entire existing coal fleet. Hutzler
wrote, " Between March 1 and March 18,
2020, authorities in China permitted more
coal-fired capacity for construction (7,960
MW) than they did in all of 2019 (6,310
MW). " Add that to the more than 1,000 GW
of existing coal-fired capacity in China and
it's easy to surmise that coal is still king in
the world's most populous country.
But China's new units are not your grandfather's
coal power plant; most are stateof-the-art
ultrasupercritical (USC) units.
And Chinese engineers have been pushing
efficiency limits to new heights through
ongoing research and development. The
Caofeidian project offers a case in point.
" The highlight of this project is that,
as single reheat, with a series of innovations,
it achieves a net efficiency of
higher than 46.2% [lower heating value
22
basis] under 75% THA [turbine heat acceptance],
which is the best level of
existing 1,000-MW double-reheat USC
units under 100% THA in China. While,
the total investment of this project is
only about 85% of that of the doublereheat
projects, " Li Li, an engineer with
Shanghai Shenergy Power Technology
Co. Ltd., told POWER.
Modern Coal Power Systems
The Caofeidian power station is located
in the Caofeidian Industrial Zone, about
70 kilometers south of Tangshan City,
Hebei Province, China. The project was
built under strict adherence with China's
environmental protection policy; notably,
the facility was constructed on land reclaimed
from the sea and it uses desalinated
seawater for plant needs.
Phase I, which included two 300-MW
units, entered commercial operation in
June 2009. Construction on Phase II, a ¥6
billion ($857 million) expansion project that
included two 1,000-MW USC units, began
on April 27, 2016. Unit 3 passed its 168hour
full-load test on April 25, 2019, while
Unit 4 did the same on June 9, 2020.
The Unit 3 and 4 boilers are USC, single-reheat,
balanced-ventilation of single
furnace, solid dry-slag removal,
tightclosed
layout, pi-type boilers with all
steel frame. The manufacturer was Babcock
Wilcox Co. Ltd. The superheated
steam outlet pressure is 29.3 Megapaswww.powermag.com
1.
Caofeidian was the first plant in China to
incorporate three low-pressure casings in the
steam turbine. Courtesy: Shanghai Shenergy
Power Technology Co. Ltd.
POWER | August 2020
cal (MPa, 4,250 psi) and outlet temperature
is 605C (1,121F). Reheat steam
outlet pressure is 5.945 MPa (862 psi)
and outlet temperature is 623C (1,153F).
The steam turbines were manufactured
by Shanghai Steam Turbine Co. Ltd.
They are USC, single-reheat, five turbine
casings with six exhausts, single-shaft,
three backpressures, condensing type
turbines. The generators were manufactured
by Shanghai Electric Generator Co.
Ltd., with excitation system, hydrogenwater
cooling, and sealing oil system.
Hebei Electric Power Survey and Design
Institute performed all investigation
and design work for the project. Shanghai
Shenergy Power Technology Co. Ltd.
was responsible for all of the process
design consultation for the project and
the implementation of relevant energysaving
projects. A number of other contractors
were selected for equipment
procurement and construction based on
http://www.powermag.com
POWER August 2020

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