Increasing competitiveness of renewable power sources due to tightening restrictions on CO 2 emission from fossil fuel combustion is expected to cause a shift in power generation systems of the future. This investigation considers the impact of the Cryogenic Carbon Capture TM (CCC) process on transitional power generation. The CCC process consumes less energy than chemical and physical absorption processes and has an energy storage capability that shifts the parasitic loss of the CCC process away from peak hours. The CCC process responds rapidly to the variation of electricity demand and has a time constant that is consistent with the intermittent supply from renewable power sources. The hybrid system of conventional and renewable power generation units and the CCC process are optimized in this investigation. The system under consideration consists of load-following coal and gas-fired power units, a CCC process, and wind generation. The objective is to meet the residential and CCC plant electricity demands while maximizing the operating profit. The results demonstrate that an average profit of $35k/hr is obtained from this hybrid system over the selected days. The total electricity demand is best met using a combination of coal, gas, and wind power with grid-scale energy storage.

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Recently promulgated regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aggressively limit CO 2 emissions from the US power industry. Carbon capture and increased utilization of renewable energy sources are viable approaches to reduce CO 2 emissions from the power industry. Cryogenic carbon capture considered in this study is a post-combustion CO 2 removal system that separates CO 2 from the flue gas by desublimation. In this investigation, a hybrid system of cryogenic carbon capture and a baseline fossil-fueled power generation unit are optimized with a framework to mathematically represent this hybrid system. Optimization of this hybrid system results in meeting the electricity demand through a combination of coal, gas, and wind power sources with a priority given to wind power for utilization. A comparison of the cost associated with operating the steam turbine as a baseline or load-following unit is also made. A significant decrease in the cycling cost associated with load-following of the coal-fired power plant is observed when it operates as a baseline unit. The decrease in the cycling costs is 82% and 85%, respectively, for when wind power is utilized in meeting the electricity demand and when it is not. The saving in the cycling costs is attributed to the energy storage of cryogenic carbon capture.

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