Abstracts - VGB PowerTech Journal 1-2/2004
Political General Conditions for the Liberalised Electricity Market
H. Schmitt von Sydow
The European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council came to a decision that will give impetus to the functioning of a European Single Market for gas and electricity. With this common result, Europe is now on the track to develop a model for an open energy market that will be unique in the world. This model will be based on competition. Supply safety is another important aspect. The energy sector is an important part of the European economy with an annual turnover of 250 billion. It is a vital component of industrial competitiveness.
Replacement Investment in a Liberalized Electricity Market - Opportunities & Risks
R.F. Elsässer
The energy law reform introduced in April 1998 completely liberalized Germany's electricity market overnight. Following a phase of fierce competition, we now see the discussion emerging on how to ensure new investment in secure supplies. The issue now at hand is ensuring investments. To make investments that are intended to last for 30 to 40 years, we need political conditions with a minimum in terms of stability and realistic perspective.
Demands of the Energy-intensive Industries on Government and Utilities
J. Hinz, B. Jürgens, U. Stein
German prices for electricity and gas are among the highest in the EU. Reasons for this include a lack of competition on the energy markets despite liberalization, and significant additional burdens in the form of levies and taxes. As a result, the energy-intensive industries are at a significant economic disadvantage versus their European competitors. A fundamental improvement in this situation is urgently needed. To this end, demands on the government and the utility industry have been formulated from the perspective of Bayer AG.
The Nordic Electricity Market
N. Andersson
Deregulation of the electricity market means that every customer can choose his/her supplier. The four "pillars" are: ease of supplier choice for customers, transparent and reliable prices, rules and regulations, effective supervision.
On the production side of the Nordic Market there are a lot of players. This means that the market is extremely competitive. The heart of the competitive market is the spot market. The total demand for electricity in the Nordic Market in 2013 will raise by 10 percent up to 404 TWh.
Nuclear Power as Part of the Finnish Electricity Supply
A. Toivola
Finland is a country with few domestic energy sources. However, the country is located in the northernmost part of Europe in cold climate and has an energy-intensive industrial structure as a considerable part of the industry is clustered around utilising the country's large forest resources. The high level of energy consumption in everyday life and in the industry means that the economy of the country is highly dependent on imported energy - in fact to 72 per cent of the total consumption. Energy being a valuable imported commodity, a great effort has always been put in Finland towards its efficient use in view of keeping the influence of energy costs at tolerable levels.
Possibilities and limitations within wind power
B.H. Jensen
Wind power is developing as the most efficient source of renewable energy. When the Kyoto pro-tocol has been implemented, more wind power capacity is expected to be found in the countries complying to the protocol. Elsam has 25 years' experience with wind energy and commissioned wind power onshore and offshore. With an extent of approximately 20 % of the total supply, Denmark is among the countries with the most extensive development of wind power. The grid operators are facing significant challenges in terms of regulatory effect and balancing power.
Beneficial effects of the combination of mechanical/thermal dewatering and dry lignite fired power stations
Ch. Bergins, K. Strauss, J. Sigg
Although lignite is one of the most favorable energy sources worldwide, there is still a large potential for an efficiency increase during electric power generation with lignites. Today optimized systems indeed allow power station efficiencies of up to 43 percent. However, economic limits are already reached or exceeded by the implementation of expensive heat transfer systems. By reducing the water content in an energy-efficient drying or dewatering process prior to combustion, the power plant's efficiency can be increased by up to 20 percent. A new process which was developed especially for this reason at the University of Dortmund is the mechanical/thermal dewatering (German abbreviation: MTE). During the process the coal is dewatered after heating by means of mechanical forces (expression).
Efficient Lignite-based Electricity Generation in a Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion System with Partial Gasification
F. Bär, S. Müller, M. Rost, F. Schierack, and H. J. Krautz
A 200 kWth test plant was constructed by BTU Cottbus for the purpose of developing a special variant of coal conversion based on 2nd generation Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC). This concept, primarily to be used for power generation from lignite, deploys a circulating type of fluidized bed and is characterized by a design which combines the two air-operated steps "partial gasification" and "residual char combustion" in a single component.
Co-combustion of Secondary Fuels - Prevention or Reduction of Operating Problems
P. Struckmann, H.-J. Dieckmann, J. Brandenstein und M. Ochlast
Due to the liberalization of the energy market and the rising costs, the utilization of secondary fuels in fossil-fired power plants is continually increasing. This development is enforced by the changing of the determining factors prescribed by the authorities such as the feeding ban on meat and bone meal, the amendment to the Technical Instruction on Municipal Waste, as well as the discussion about the introduction of the CO2-emission trade. Co-combusting secondary fuels in fossil-fired power plants affects the chemical processes regarding all major plant components. This is illustrated using the example of secondary fuels with the highest market share, i.e. sewage sludge, meat and bone meal, animal fat and production residues from the petrochemical industry.
Shell boilers with a steam output of up to 54 t/h
W. Sobbe
The European Standard EN 12953 lays down furnace tube thermal ratings which clearly exceed the limits set by the German Technical Rules for Steam Boilers (TRD). Users and manufacturers in Germany and other European countries have accepted these new design rules and in the meantime equipped a lot of plants with shell boilers which as twin-furnace tube design now reach 35 MW or 54 t/h, respectively under the new conditions. The possibility of using boilers with increased thermal ratings are shown with the example of a boiler plant for the generation of 200 t/h superheated steam.
The Replacement of a 78 MW Gas Turbine in the Combined Cycle Plant Korneuburg of EVN
F. Hala, F. Weisgram, and M. Dreier
In Korneuburg Power Station, EVN AG operates a combined cycle plant, consisting of a type GT13D gas turbine, a steam turbine and a heat recovery steam generator without auxiliary firing. This plant is mainly used for demand in the electric grid in the idle and in the peak load phases. On November 15, 2001 a fracture of a blade in the third turbine row happened during full load operation. This caused serious damage in the following blade rows, the blade carrier, and the turbine casing. This article reports on the accident and the damages in the gas turbine. A further section deals with both the possibility of a refurbishment and a replacement of the damaged gas turbine.
Necessity and Contents of Maintenance Contracts for Gas Turbine Systems from the Viewpoint of an Insurance Company
A. Knaak and H.G. Busch
The paper deals with the special situation of gas turbine systems in comparison to other power plant components when having to take the principle decision whether to place a maintenance contract. Here the different technical complexity of the individual components and the "familiarness" of the single operators with the technology of a gas turbine play an important role. Additionally, more and more power plants are financed by third-party funds. Such operator consortiums are aiming at the maximisation of the return rates and are thus trying to minimise personnel expenditure related to maintenance.
Availability analysis for disclosure of saving possibilities in the maintenance described on the example of the power plant Schwarze Pumpe
Th. Dahlitz, M. Herold, D. Mutze, and H. Neumann
By the liberalization of the electricity market power plant operators are forced to optimize production processes in view of costs. On the one hand power plant equipments have to be available in a large extent. The reduction of maintenance activities is postulated on the other hand. In order to solve this conflict new methods have to be developed which enable an impartial valuation of the power plant equipments. An efficient tool which is helpful in finding potentials of optimisation is the system simulation aiming at RAM-analysis (reliability, availability, maintenance). A production system will be imaged as a block diagram in a computer model. With the help of this RAM-analysis the coal-handling plant of the power plant Schwarze Pumpe was investigated.
Pressure Testing of Boiler Installations Examinations with increased pressure: significance, effects, feasibility
E. Uhlig, B. Kempkes, W. Oppermann, and F.-J. Adamsky
Periodic tests are defined by the new Betriebs-Sicherheits-Verordnung (BetrSichV-Industrial Safety Regulations) as external tests, internal tests and, instead of the former pressure tests, now so called strength tests. From discussions held in the past between the associations VdTÜV, FDBR and VGB it is known that under the strength test of a boiler installation, which consists of several assembly groups with different pressure ranges, a pressure test in accordance with the former regulations of TRD 507 is to be understood. Further clarifications are to be established in the future Technical Regulations for the BetrSichV, under consideration of the consequences of higher test pressures which are dealt with in the following.