Ever decreasing cycles

摘要

High fuel prices and the increasingly complex nature of power markets are forcing combined cycle generators into mid-load operation, which requires high efficiency and availability combined with rapid starting capability to be economically viable. How are such plants meeting this challenge? Flexibility of operation was a property of the earliest combined cycles, many of which are still in service in Europe, and is in contrast to today's much larger plants with high steam pressures. These modern combined cycles were built primarily for base-load duty but are being forced into mid-load duty - primarily by the presence of high natural gas prices -and are having to perform a large number of starts per year.