Compatibility of Advanced Power Generation Technologies with Independent Power Production

A S M E TURBO EXPO LAND, SEA & AIR

 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

JUNE 1998

Miro R. Susta

Peter Luby

IMTE AG

Switzerland

ABSTRACT 

Traditional philosophy of power producing state-owned utilities has been effected by their anonymous risk-sharing attitude. They needn’t have bothered too much with brand-new technologies. Technological risk with unproved, although excellent nominal performance machinery was born by the end-users.

On the other hand, independent power producers’ (IPP) philosophy is a little bit different. Their attitude is much more effected by risk evaluation. They have pretty good reasons to be risk-averse with technologies lacking a proven operational record.  Any failure to obey their contractual liabilities could mean dramatic consequences to them. Consequently, old-fashioned players in the power generation industry may seem to have been pushing industry technical progress more effectively ahead than it would be with modern players - IPPs.

But this is only one side of the coin. Quite opposite reasons for IPPs’ affinity to modern technologies are higher performance parameters which offer better revenues to them, more flexible choice of fuel and prompt readiness to react sensitively to market  imbalance and volatilities. Obviously, a hardly-defined, yet sensible equilibrium under which both these trends coexist and inter-act here exists. In this paper we shall analyse factors affecting such equilibrium by presenting real examples of gas turbine-dependent power generation technologies.

AUTHORS

Status 1998