GE releases analysis of global coal and gas plants

• 7 years ago (2016-12-06)
• David Flin

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GE has released a first-of-a-kind analysis of global power plants, which found that CO2 emissions from the world’s fleet of coal- and gas-fired power plants can be reduced by 10 per cent when existing hardware and software solutions are fully applied. The analysis is the first to quantify the emission reductions of using existing technologies to upgrade the global fleet of coal- and gas-based power plants.

GE used a proprietary set of data for each coal- and gas-fired plant in the world to uncover potential opportunities to improve plants’ heat rate and lower carbon emissions. The analysis comes as countries around the world are looking for climate saving solutions that will help them transition to a lower carbon energy future.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), approximately 41 per cent of global electricity generation comes from coal-fired plants, and 22 per cent from gas-fired power plants. For markets with significant energy needs and coal reliance, such as China and India, upgrades to power plants can help provide cleaner energy options.

GE said that coal power plants could be made 4 per cent more efficient, with 2.5 per cent in efficiencies coming from turbine and boiler upgrades, and 1.5 per cent coming from software improvements. GE also estimates that gas-fired power plants could be made approximately 3.3 per cent more efficient, with 1.8 per cent coming from hardware upgrades, and 1.5 per cent coming from software improvements.

Deb Frodl, Global Executive Director of Ecomagination at GE, said: “The technology to make coal and gas more efficient is available now. Countries and companies alike should be taking advantage of this to lower their carbon output. These actions should be taken as a complement to continued investment in renewable energy sources as we all strive to find carbon reductions across the energy mix.”