TOKYO -- Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. recently completed development of a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) boasting the world’s highest level of electrical efficiency and will now commence marketing activities. The CCPP employs the L30A model, a 30 MW class made-in-Japan high-efficiency gas turbine featuring the highest output of all of Kawasaki gas turbines.
A CCPP consists of 2 stages of power generator facilities. Primary power generation is done by gas turbine generator, and gas turbine exhaust is utilized as a heat source of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). Steam from that HRSG rotates a steam turbine generator as a secondary power. A CCPP has shorter startup time than a conventional steam turbine power plant of the same output and features excellent load response as well as high electrical efficiency. High electrical efficiency means minimal thermal energy discarded.
The newly developed CCPP is composed of two L30A gas turbines, two HRSGs, and one steam turbine, all produced by Kawasaki to make the CCPP a Kawasaki original power plant. Kawasaki brings together product technology and plant engineering capabilities cultivated over many years to achieve high efficiency in the combined cycle as a whole in addition to gas turbines alone. Total Electrical efficiency is 55.2% (reheat type) in the 100 MW class and 54.4% in the 90 MW class, both among the world’s highest levels of electrical efficiency.
According to Kawasaki, the world’s electrical power consumption is expected to increase in the coming years, with much of the increase occurring in Southeast Asia, which is seeing rapid economic growth. In addition to conventional natural gas output, the number of new shale gas supplier countries other than the United States is expected to increase as well. As a result, demand for construction of gas-fired thermal power plants will grow, and the CCPP market is also anticipated to expand in terms of both capacity and regions. In the distributed energy system market, where power producers are introducing new facilities and updating existing ones at an increasing rate due to factors such as expanded use of unstable renewable energy sources, there are marked demands for highly efficient equipment and excellent load responsiveness. Kawasaki’s CCPP should be able to respond to those demands.