Combustion Turbines and Reciprocating Engines for Grid Support SED R I A L LICE N M AT E WARNING: Please read the License Agreement on the back cover before removing the Wrapping Material Technical Report Combustion Turbines and Reciprocating Engines for Grid Support 1003962 Final Report, November 2001 EPRIsolutions Project Manager B Freeman EPRIsolutions • 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304 • PO Box 10414, Palo Alto, California 94303 • USA 800.313.3774 • 650.855.2121 • askepri@epri.com • www.epri.com DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES THIS REPORT WAS PREPARED BY THE ORGANIZATION(S) NAMED BELOW AS AN ACCOUNT OF WORK SPONSORED OR COSPONSORED BY EPRISOLUTIONS, INC NEITHER EPRISOLUTIONS, THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC (EPRI), ANY MEMBER OF EPRI, ANY COSPONSOR, THE ORGANIZATION(S) NAMED BELOW, NOR ANY PERSON ACTING ON BEHALF OF ANY OF THEM: (A) MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, (I) WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, METHOD, PROCESS, OR SIMILAR ITEM DISCLOSED IN THIS REPORT, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR (II) THAT SUCH USE DOES NOT INFRINGE ON OR INTERFERE WITH PRIVATELY OWNED RIGHTS, INCLUDING ANY PARTY’S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR (III) THAT THIS REPORT IS SUITABLE TO ANY PARTICULAR USER’S CIRCUMSTANCE; OR (B) ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING ANY CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF EPRISOLUTIONS OR ANY EPRISOLUTIONS REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) RESULTING FROM YOUR SELECTION OR USE OF THIS REPORT OR ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, METHOD, PROCESS, OR SIMILAR ITEM DISCLOSED IN THIS REPORT ORGANIZATION(S) THAT PREPARED THIS REPORT Power System Engineering Inc EPRIsolutions ORDERING INFORMATION Requests for copies of this report should be directed to the EPRI Distribution Center, 1355 Willow Way, Suite 2478, Concord, CA 94520, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523, (800) 313-3774 Electric Power Research Institute and EPRI are registered service marks of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc EPRI ELECTRIFY THE WORLD is a service mark of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc EPRIsolutions is a registered service mark of EPRIsolutions, Inc Copyright © 2001 EPRIsolutions, Inc All rights reserved CITATIONS This report was prepared by Power System Engineering, Inc 2000 Engel Street Madison, WI 53713 Principal Investigators T Bartel P Daly W Stroess This report describes research sponsored by EPRIsolutions The report is a corporate document that should be cited in the literature in the following manner: Combustion Turbines and Reciprocating Engines for Grid Support, EPRIsolutions, Palo Alto, CA: 2001 1003962 iii REPORT SUMMARY This report critically reviews specific examples of utilities using combustion turbines or reciprocating engines to support the power grid The report describes common challenges in planning, developing, installing, and operating distributed resources in grid support Background Distributed resources can support power delivery systems and defer significant capital transmission and distribution (T&D) projects This potential, however, has yet to be widely realized due to the lack of well-documented case examples Too often, the role of distributed resources in grid support is overly simplified by both advocates and skeptics, without consideration of actual evidence Objectives To describe how utilities currently use combustion turbines and reciprocating engines to support the power delivery system; to improve industry knowledge of distributed resources and advance the debate from generalities to utility engineering and economic analysis that is proven by specific case studies; to reveal the difficulties and successes of applying distributed resources to solve T&D expansion problems; and, to provide case studies of current projects that give utility engineers and their managers examples they need to evaluate distributed resources within the context of power delivery planning Approach The project team started by identifying utilities across the country that might be using distributed resources for grid support, then developed a survey to elicit information about these projects Since distributed resources can provide both utility power-supply requirements and grid support, the team asked questions to help confirm that grid support was a primary objective of these projects They followed up by calling each utility and encouraging them to assign a specific person to complete the survey promptly and conducted phone interviews with utilities that did not provide a written response The utilities’ survey responses were the primary source of information for this report The team analyzed responses for successes, failures, and trends that would help indicate the potential of, and challenges with, distributed resources v Results The case studies strongly suggest that power delivery system planners should routinely consider short-term and long-term distributed resources for grid support Distributed resources are available in a range from 30 kW to 25,000 kW, which is sufficient to meet almost any need for grid support If necessary, units can be combined in parallel for unusually large spot requirements Distributed resources are available on a short-term basis and can be connected to a system to reduce unexpected overloads or temporarily restore service while extensive repairs are completed Distributed resources can support local areas where the cost of traditional grid capacity additions is prohibitive or where the time required to make such additions is too great Distributed resources may be transportable, so they can be moved to new areas after the current need has been satisfied The case studies show that distributed resources are being used to improve service at the regional, local, and individual customer level in a cost-effective manner The case studies identified a few common pitfalls that can hamper project performance if not recognized from the beginning For example, most proposed permanent installations of distributed resources that require some type of air emissions and zoning permits Using standardized system designs will speed procurement, reduce installation costs, and improve operating reliability Investing extra effort during final testing and startup will improve performance after the project is placed in service Units should be tested and checked regularly to ensure their readiness for unexpected needs All readers, especially system planners, are encouraged to fully review the survey responses in Appendix A Each response presents a unique experience and provides insight into how distributed resources can be used as a power delivery tool EPRI Perspective The cases presented in this report and insights gained from these demonstrate that it is possible to use combustion turbines (CTs) and internal combustion engines (ICEs) for grid support There are still significant barriers in place that will inhibit broad proliferation, but the distributed resource technologies are mature Keywords Combustion turbine Distributed generation Distributed resources Grid support Internal combustion engine Power delivery Reciprocating engine vi EPRIsolutions Licensed Material ABSTRACT Distributed resources can support power delivery systems and defer capital transmission and distribution (T&D) projects This potential, however, has yet to be widely understood due to the lack of well-documented examples Too often, the role of distributed resources in grid support is overly simplified by both advocates and skeptics, without consideration of actual evidence This report reviews specific examples of utilities using combustion turbines and reciprocating engines to support the power grid The report describes common challenges in planning, developing, installing, and operating distributed resources in grid support The project team started by identifying utilities across the country that were known to be using distributed resources for grid support, then developed a survey to elicit information about these projects Since distributed resources can provide both utility power-supply requirements and grid support, the survey questions help confirm the primary objectives of these projects The cases presented in this report and insights gained from these demonstrate that it is possible to use combustion turbines (CTs) and internal combustion engines (ICEs) for grid support There are still significant barriers in place that will inhibit broad proliferation, but the technologies are proven vii EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-34 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-35 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-36 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-37 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-38 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-39 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-40 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-41 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-42 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-43 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-44 EPRIsolutions Licensed Material Case Survey Responses A-45 Targets: Advanced Engine Products and DR Applications Small Gas Turbines (1 - 10 MW) for Distributed Power Markets SINGLE USER LICENSE AGREEMENT THIS IS A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC (EPRI) PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY BEFORE REMOVINGTHE WRAPPING MATERIAL BY OPENINGTHIS SEALED PACKAGEYOU ARE AGREEINGTOTHETERMS OFTHIS AGREEMENT IFYOU DO NOT AGREETO THETERMS OFTHISAGREEMENT,PROMPTLY RETURNTHE UNOPENED PACKAGETO EPRIANDTHE PURCHASE PRICEWILL BE REFUNDED GRANT OF LICENSE EPRI grants you the nonexclusive and nontransferable right during the term of this agreement to use this 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