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Combined cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT)
Hamm-Uentrop power plant, Tim Reckmann, via Wikimedia Commons
Contents
- Impact
- Definition
- Constraints
- Assumptions
- Value range
- References
IMPACT – What are the impacts of CCGT plants?
Energy system
Increase primary energy demand as it would replace hydro or nuclear that have lower primary energy inputs.
Increase total fossil fuel consumption.
Likely to decrease the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix.
Likely to decrease energy independence by increasing fossil imports.
Likely to improve grid stability and security by providing responsive, dispatchable generating capacity.
Environment & Climate
Likely to increase global CO2 emissions. (Note that this conclusion is specific to Switzerland; in other countries CCGT plants could reduce CO2 emissions)
Society & Economy
Likely reduce the cost of the energy transition.
May reduce total cost of ownership of vehicles.
May worsen balance of payments by increasing fossil imports.
May increase Confederation income from the tax on mineral oil under the current taxation system.
DEFINITION / CONSTRAINTS
DEFINITION - What is a CCGT plant?
A Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant uses two thermodynamic cycles successively to generate electricity with a high overall efficiency. A gas turbine first burns natural gas or heating oil and drives a generator(gas cycle9. Waste heat from the gas turbine is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine and generates thus additional electricity (steam cycle).
State of the art CCGT plants can reach an overall electrical efficiency of about 50–60%.
CONSTRAINTS - What are the key barriers facing CCGT plants deployment?
• CCGTs are mature, commercial technology that can be deployed comparatively easily.
• A significant shift towards CCGTs would likely, however, necessitate the development of additional natural gas supply transport capacities with neighbour countries.