Increasing capacity sales with inlet air cooling

Rising electrical demands have created a growing need for low cost peaking capacity in the power utility industry. Cogeneration facilities are supplying an ever increasing portion of this capacity due to the economic benefits of electrical generation combined with steam production. Predominantly these facilities use combustion turbines. The problem with combustion turbine based capacity is that the highest electrical peak demands often occur during times of high ambient temperature. High ambient temperatures result in substantially lower combustion turbine output from ISO rating. Combustion turbine inlet air cooling can reverse this degradation and increase electrical output by 20% to 30$ with a constant or even increased steam production. Cooling combustion turbine inlet air using ice thermal energy storage can increase the peaking capability for between $150/kW and $250/kW. This paper discusses the economic and flexibility advantages of combustion turbine inlet air cooling based on the author`s experience with two major inlet air cooling installations.