Quote:
Originally Posted by ConnClark
About the most it could possibly be is 25% as that is the amount of energy that is derived from natural gas and oil. Once again that is the most it could be not the likely amount of US energy production.
Not according to their website its not. They say its a straight coal powered steam plant it may be possible to design a plant like this but nobody has yet. If you can name an example I would like to know of it.
and these low temperature stages might extract an additional 3 to 7% due to the low operating temps. Also a bottoming cycle tends to reduce the efficiency of the upper cycle. At some point a bottoming cycle no longer helps
They aren't likely to spend 50% more to get 10 % more output. The binary mercury vapor cycles proved to be uneconomical to build and operate in the past. Its not like we will see more of them in the future as they are the type of design that could use nuke or coal which provides better than 60% of US electrical needs currently.
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YOU may say that the combined cycle generator yields only 25% percent efficiency. Siemens would like to disagree with you. They are claiming over 60%.
Press Releases - Siemens Global Website
And it seems as though they are not alone.
Here's General Electrics pitch.
How Combined Cycle Works - Renewable Energy | GE
And here is Mitsubishi's combined cycle plant offerings.
Combined Cycle Power Plants | Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas
There are several others that pop up in a Google search of "combined cycle power generation".
The plant RedDevil toured may or may not be anywhere near the claimed efficiencies. But the point remains the same. The power grid will improve. Even with the use of fossil fuels.
It seems my description of a triple combined cycle is largely an exercise in computer modelling. However, it is plausible and available if the need arises to push efficiencies towards 70%.
* It just dawned on me that you are speaking about the fuel use distribution in American power generation. It matters little. Gassified coal is used to power combined cycle power plants.
Your nit picking is just there to obfuscate the evidence that the grid can, and will improve.