POWER August 2020 - 24

TOP PLANT
Digitization
Drives
Efficiency at
Turkish Coal
Plant
Darrell Proctor
reduced impact on the environment. "
C
oal continues to be the primary
source of power generation in
Turkey, even as renewable power
increases its market share. The country
considers coal a critical source of reliable
baseload power, and officials recognize
the need to ensure the nation's coal plants
operate with high efficiency,
flexibility,
and with limited environmental impact.
CENAL TES, also known as Karabiga
Steam Power Plant (SPP), is the country's
first ultrasupercritical (USC) coal-fired
generation facility. Karabiga also is Turkey's
first digital steam plant, thanks to a
multi-year service agreement signed with
General Electric (GE) in 2019. The plant is
owned by CENAL Elektrik Üretim A.Ş., a
joint venture between Cengiz Holding and
Alarko Holding, and located on the Marmara
Sea, in Çanakkale province.
The two-unit, 1,320-MW plant entered
commercial operation in 2017, with Unit 1
coming online in November, and Unit 2 in December.
Construction began in March 2013.
Karabiga is notable for several reasons,
including its state-of-the-art technology,
reduced emissions profile, and status
as one of the world's most-efficient coal
plants. It's also the recipient of a POWER
Top Plant award for coal-fired generation.
" Today in Turkey, around 33% of electricity
is generated from coal, " Ihsan Acar,
the plant manager, told POWER. " With
the country's push to increase renewable
energy use, coal serves as a source
of reliable baseload power to stabilize
the grid. Operating with high efficiency
and flexibility, Karabiga SPP offers the
country a way to diversify its energy mix
at a competitive cost of electricity with
24
International Effort
Karabiga's design and construction was
an international effort. CENAL Elektrik
Üretim A.Ş. served as the EPC (engineering,
procurement, and construction)
contractor, with China Nuclear Energy Industry
Corp. (CNEIC) the equipment and
service exporter. GE Steam Power was
the main subcontractor and equipment
supplier for the integrated power package
(Figure 1), including boilers, steam turbine
generators, and the air quality control systems,
and is in charge of digitally enabled
long-term maintenance services. GE Grid
supplied the step-up transformers. The
plant was designed by Central Southern
China Electric Power Design Institute.
" As the first and most efficient ultrasupercritical
coal-fired power plant in Turkey and
one of the best all over the world, Karabiga
is equipped with state-of-the art technology, "
Acar told POWER. He said that technology
includes " 2 x 660-MW USC boilers,
steam turbines, generators, and air quality
control systems meeting high-performance
guarantees from GE. This high-performance
integrated power package combined with
GE's digitally enabled services enables us
to operate Karabiga with high efficiency,
reliability, and also increased flexibility to
support the integration of more renewable
energy to the grid. "
The plant's notable technology also includes
the Magaldi Ash Cooler (MAC), a
system for dry extraction, air cooling, and
mechanical handling of bottom ash from
pulverized coal-fired boilers. According to
Magaldi, " In the MAC system, ash cooling
is carried out by ambient air, naturally
www.powermag.com
Courtesy: CENAL Elektrik Üretim A.Ş.
The CENAL TES, or Karabiga, power plant in Turkey is a model for the use of
high-performance technology and digital software to power an ultrasupercritical
coal-fired facility.
1. Workers in the control room at the Karabiga
plant monitor several systems. Digitally
enabled services from GE help the plant operate
at high efficiency. Courtesy: GE Steam
Power
drawn into the system by the negative
pressure of the furnace. That air recovers
a significant amount of energy in the
form of ash sensible heat, ash chemical
energy from unburnt particles, and boiler
radiation flux through the throat. "
Meeting Emissions Standards
Karabiga was designed to accommodate
a diverse range of imported coal from
various sources, specifically high-qualitycalorific,
low-ash, and low-sulfur coal. The
plant has to meet not only local Turkish and
international pollution rules, but also stringent
European Union emission standards.
The ultrasupercritical steam generation
process operates above supercritical
pressures and at advanced steam temperatures
to improve plant efficiency compared
to conventional coal-fired power
stations, helping reduce feedstock costs
and carbon emissions. The plant utilizes
its coastal location for seawater cooling.
Hatch, a global company that works with
the energy industry on environmental solutions,
and served as the plant owner's
engineer at Karabiga, said the efficiency of
POWER | August 2020
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POWER August 2020

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