Flexible peak shaving in coal-fired power plants: A comprehensive review of current challenges, recent advances, and future perspectives

Grid stability amidst the global energy transition and the pursuit of carbon neutrality is critically dependent on enhancing the flexible peak-shaving capability of Coal-Fired Power Plants (CFPPs). This review highlights recent advances in improving CFPP flexibility and identifies key challenges, including equipment limitations, inadequate control adaptability, and escalating environmental and economic pressures. These factors contribute to operational instability, reduced efficiency, and increased emissions during rapid and deep load fluctuations. Hybrid modeling approaches, achieving high prediction accuracy across full operational processes and broad load ranges with an average error of 0.79 %, support precise peak shaving optimization. Technologies such as low-load stable combustion, heat-power decoupling, and energy storage integration have facilitated minimum loads of approximately 15 %, while advanced intelligent control systems, in coordination with energy storage, significantly accelerate response times, enabling rapid responses within seconds to minutes. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in system coordination, equipment dynamics, and investment feasibility. Future efforts should focus on the development of digital twin frameworks, multi-scale optimization techniques, and integrated techno-economic strategies to propel CFPPs toward cleaner, smarter, and more resilient operations.