POWER October 2013 - 40

TOP PLANTS
Shentou Second Power Plant,
Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province,
China
Owner/operator: Shenhua Guoneng Energy Group Corp. Ltd.
Courtesy: Shentou Second Power Plant
A modern coal-fired power plant may operate with a thermal efficiency of 40% to
45%, which means that 55% to 60% of the fuel energy entering the plant is rejected
as waste heat up the stack or to the condensing system. Economic recovery of that
low-level energy has stymied plant designers for years. Shentou Second Power
Plant presents an excellent solution.
Dr. Robert Peltier, PE
T
he 4 x 500-MW Shentou Second
Power Plant is located in Shuozhou
City in the northern Shanxi Province,
a region notable for its mining of coal and
other minerals. Construction of the plant
began in 1987, with Units 1 and 2 entering
commercial operation in July 1992 and October
1993, respectively. Several years later,
the plant was expanded with two additional
like-sized units that entered service in 2005.
The electricity produced by the plant
is sent to the Shanxi and Beijing-TianjinTangshan
power grids that deliver electricity
to the large eastern populations centers of
China. Shentou Second Power Plant also operates
the grid's 500-kV booster station, one
of the largest booster stations in north China
when constructed, which dramatically increased
the power transmission capability of
Shanxi to Beijing and Tianjin regions. Shentou
Second Power Plant plays an extremely
important role in the Shanxi and North China
power grids.
Reducing Emissions, Increasing
Efficiency
One of the primary goals of China's 12th
Five-Year Plan, issued in 2012, is the expan40
sion
of distributed energy sources, including
efficient production and use of energy (see
" China's 12th Five-Year Plan Pushes Power
Industry in New Directions " in the January
2012 issue). The municipal government of
Shuozhou has vigorously promoted improved
energy efficiency and reduced regional air
emissions, particularly during the winter
heating season. In this region many small, inefficient,
and scattered coal-burning systems
were used to produce space heating, but they
also produced significant uncontrolled emissions.
Also, upgrades to the existing heating
system lagged the pace of new construction
in the city and the many independent heating
systems in the urban areas did not form an integrated
network. In addition, there was little
backup heating capacity, a serious concern
for a region with very cold winters.
The municipal government of Shuozhou
decided to close these disparate small power
plants and district coal-burning heating
boilers. But an alternative and reliable heat
source was required if these old power and
boiler plants were to be closed. The replacement
heating would be sourced from Shentou
Second Power Plant's four steam units.
A cooperative agreement between Shanxi
www.powermag.com
Shuangliang Renewable Energy Industry
Group Co. (SSREIGC), Shentou Second
Power Plant, and the municipal government
of Shuozhou City was reached at the end of
2010. The agreement called for modifications
to each of Shentou's four steam turbines for
extraction steam and the installation of condensing
heat-recycling technology. Development
work on the project was conducted by
SSREIGC, specialists in waste heat recovery
into electricity systems, particularly waste
heat in the range of 20C to 250C using absorption
chillers, waste heat boilers, and heat
exchangers. Recovery of waste heat from the
plant allows Shentou to meet the 12th FiveYear
Plan objectives of reducing water consumption
(from the cooling towers), saving
energy, and reducing emissions. The agreement
also required SSREIGC to update the
central heating systems of Shuozhou City.
SSREIGC soon completed its feasibility
report and preliminary design of the project
in early 2011. Construction proceeded in
two phases. The 675 million yuan (~$110.3
million) phase one started on May 15, 2011,
first began supplying central heat to six million
square meters of downtown area on Oct.
25, 2011, and continued to do so through the
POWER | October 2013
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POWER October 2013

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