New Approach to Techno-economic Assessment of Power Plants with Carbon Capture and Storage: The Inclusion of Realistic Dispatch Profiles To Calculate Techno-economics of Part Load Operations

Abstract

Techno-economic assessment of fossil-fueled power plants with (and/or without) carbon capture and storage (CCS) is generally carried out at full load conditions assuming a capacity factor of typically around 85%1−3 or even 100%.4 This approach allows for straightforward assessment and easy comparison between costing studies but fails to reflect current operating conditions. Nowadays, fossil power plants hardly operate at 85 or 100% of their availability, and this situation is expected to remain or become worse in the future.5−8 For example, in 2014, all of the countries included in the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) had an average fossil fuel power plant loading as low as 34% (on the basis of ref 9). In the U.S., in 2011, coal- fired power plants operated at capacity factors of 38−71%.2 As a result, the performance indicators reported for power plants with CCS are strongly biased toward optimal dispatch, leading to overestimation of their technical performance10 and underestimation of their costs.11 Moreover, techno-economic comparisons and/or optimization studies of CCS power under the full load assumption may lead to design and/or technology selections that are only theoretically optimal. Therefore, the conventional methodology for technoeconomic assessment is very limited, and a new approach is necessary. This communication presents an approach for the techno-economic assessment of power plants with and without CCS. The proposed approach is both simple as well as capable of capturing the most important techno-economic considerations of real operating conditions. It builds on existing methods for techno-economic assessment (e.g., ref 1), using the same kinds of performance calculations and indicators [e.g., levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and specific emission intensity]. More detailed approaches are conceivable but may be too complex and