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Research on operational flexibility of 600 MW subcritical coal-fired power unit by coupling three-tank molten salt thermal energy storage system

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  • Lv, Shengnan
  • Lu, Yuanwei
  • Wei, Haijiao

Abstract

Since the renewable energy generation output is unstable, some measures are needed to maintain the stability of the power grid with the increasing proportion of them. Integrating thermal energy storage (TES) system into coal-fired power unit (CFPU) to increase its flexibility is a simple and promising solution. This work proposed a novel two-stage three-tank molten salt TES system. A 600 MW subcritical CFPU was utilized to analyze the effect of main steam extraction on the thermal performance and peak shaving capacity under different cases. 40 % turbine heat acceptance (THA) was selected as peaking shaving condition of charging process. Results show that with the increase of THA in the discharging process, thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, and output electric load of the flexible CFPU increased, while comprehensive coal consumption rate and peak shaving time decreased. Additionally, due to the increment of output electric load being greater than the decrease in peak shaving time, the highest generation increment is obtained when discharging at 100 %THA (137.43 MWh). Lastly, the efficiency of TES is 38.1–48.04 %, which increases with the electrical load output of the discharging increases. Overall, this work provides an effective and feasible integration method between TES and CFPU.

Suggested Citation

  • Lv, Shengnan & Lu, Yuanwei & Wei, Haijiao, 2025. "Research on operational flexibility of 600 MW subcritical coal-fired power unit by coupling three-tank molten salt thermal energy storage system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:322:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225012228
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135580
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mu, Zhiguo & Lv, You & Fang, Fang & Liu, Jizhen, 2026. "Hierarchical fuzzy RL control strategy and economic evaluation for molten salt energy storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 405(C).
    2. Hou, Guolian & Ye, Lingling & Cao, Huan, 2025. "Data-driven wide-load modeling and electricity-heat coordinated control for the supercritical combined heat and power unit," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    3. Chen, Yunxiao & Liu, Jinfu & Yu, Daren, 2025. "From baseload to flexibility: A cost-driven evolutionary model for thermal power industry at various stages of the China's “dual carbon” policy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 401(PB).
    4. Li, Huaan & Liu, Xiang & Ye, Huan & Zhang, Zhengshun & Wang, Yupeng & Yu, Zezhong & Zhou, Tianxing & Wu, Yajie & Wang, Ziqi & Zhou, Hao, 2025. "Experimental study on the heat-transfer mechanisms and thermophysical characteristics of flue gas–molten salt systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    5. Wu, Chunlei & Wang, Chao & Hou, Zongyu & Wang, Zhe, 2025. "Flexible peak shaving in coal-fired power plants: A comprehensive review of current challenges, recent advances, and future perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).

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