Economic analysis of a 600 mwe ultra supercritical circulating fluidized bed power plant based on coal tax and biomass co-combustion plans

In recent years, circulating fluidized bed combustor (CFBC) has been regarded as a viable alternative to the conventional pulverized coal combustor (PCC) for utility-scale coal power generation owing to its superior technology for fuel flexibility and supercritical (SC)/ultra supercritical (USC) steam circuit adaptability. The objective of this study is to analyze the economic feasibility of a 600MWe USC CFB boiler, in which coal or a mixture of coal and biomass would be used as fuel. After the demonstration and commercialization of SC CFBC units had succeeded up to 600MWe, USC CFBCs have been widely developed throughout the world. Although high capital costs, high auxiliary power use, and technology maturity have hindered the adoption of USC CFBC for utility power generation, the demand of cleaner environments and energy conversion have driven communities to develop and adopt USC CFBC. Its economic feasibility was evaluated in terms of net present value (NPV), benefit/cost ratio (B/C ratio), and internal rate of return (IRR). In particular, the effect of coal tax and domestic biomass co-combustion on economic efficiency was analyzed.