Performance of Generating Plant - World Energy Council

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4Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes Executive Summary World Energy Council 2007Figure 1 Calculator modelling data flowSource: WECinputs. This makes it easier to quickly load plantdata for comparison and is particularly usefulwhen comparing against an unknowntechnology, or to speed up the input process, byeasily pre-populating the model with inputs froma similar technology, before refining data to theexact scenario desired.Figure 1 outlines the flow of information throughthe modelling tool. The first column contains theinputs necessary to feed the models. Thesecond column contains the models thatsimulate the plants and their markets. The thirdcolumn contains all comparisons that aregenerated to easily contrast the plants side-byside.Generating PlantUnavailability Factors andAvailability StatisticsThe evaluation of power plant performance isone of the most important tasks at any powerstation. Without its availability records, the plantstaff can not determine ways to improveperformance of the equipment and make theplant a profit-centre for the company. Thecauses of unavailability must be thoroughlyanalysed to identify the areas for performanceimprovement.The ScopeFor many years, the WEC PGP Committeecollected power plant availability statistics fromthe various countries as average indices forseveral groups of units. The resulting tablesprovided summary data for each groups but didnot allow analysts to examine where exactlytheir generating plants fit in the distributions ofthe unit population.Starting in 1994, PGP opened the datacollecting process to include unit-by unitinformation. In 2007 the new WEC PGPdatabase has been expanded to includeindividual unit design and performance indices.The design section of the database provides anumber of characteristics for filtering thecollected data into various groups based on theuser’s concepts of what constitutes a peer unit.In the old, historical database, there were datafor over 5,000 unit/years. Not all countries haveyet been able to enter their data into the newdatabase format. As the contents of the database grow further, the new unit-by-unit databasewill become a valid reference for an availabilityfactor expectation, particularly useful forcountries in the early stages of deploying gasturbine and combined cycle plant as part of theirpower systems.Historical data surveys focused on base-loadunits, since availability and unavailability factorswere not suitable for peaking plants. Forexample, a fossil-fuel plant operating at peakload for a limited number of hours during theyear, and spending the rest of time in reserve,excluding planned annual maintenance
Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes Executive Summary World Energy Council 20075shutdowns, would show an availability level inthe order of 100%, which would not reflect thereal situation. Therefore, it was agreed,whenever possible, to exclude these types ofinstallation from the statistics, along with theunits whose utilisation factor is less than 40%.The new unit-by-unit database allows alloperating units to report to it. The design andoperation filtering characteristics allow the usersto choose the operating parameters of unitsmost similar to their own. The new performanceindices expand the options to peaking, cycling orbase-loaded units. This new flexibility will allow abroader use of the database for comparingindividual unit performance to peer units.Table 1 Design features in the databaseType of unitsNo of DesignFeaturesFossil Steam Turbine 16Combined cycle/Co-generation10Combustion Turbines 5Hydro and Pumped Storage 6What the Future Holds In StoreThe benefits of the international crosscomparisonsystem henceforth depend - inaddition to the current practices described in thisreport - on the commitment of power plantoperators to enhance them. The underlying goalis to foster international support andparticipation.Key factors influencing plant performanceshould be identified and analysed to allow acost/benefit analysis of anyactivity/programme before itsimplementation.To analyse plant availability performance, theenergy losses/outages should be scrutinised toidentify the causes of unplanned or forcedenergy losses and to reduce the planned energylosses. Reducing planned outages increases thenumber of operating hours, decreases theplanned energy losses and therefore, increasesthe energy availability factor. Reducingunplanned outages leads to a safe and reliableoperation, and also reduces energy losses andincreases energy availability factor.The access to worldwide generating plantstatistics will help power plant operators with theavailability records of their plants to benchmarkthem in the context of global experience. Newsoftware for data collection and new, powerfulsoftware for analysing the results is nowavailable to bring the world electricity producerscloser together in a cooperative manner.The result will be beneficial exchange ofinformation to improve the performance of powergenerating assets around the world and improvethe quality of life for many people.NuclearNuclear reactors have generated electricitysince 1954, and today nuclear energy is an
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