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Repurposing Coal Power Plants with Nuclear Power Plants
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Repurposing Coal Power Plants with Nuclear Power Plants

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B4: Nuclear Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 4899

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yaoli Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361001, China
2. Research Center for Nuclear Engineering, Xiamen 361001, China
Interests: nuclear thermal hydraulics; nuclear power system development and analysis; nuclear safety
Prof. Dr. Jeong Ik Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
Interests: nuclear thermal hydraulics; nuclear reactor safety; nuclear power system development and analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Łukasz Bartela

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Power Engineering and Turbomachinery, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Interests: energy storage; hydrogen technologies; nuclear power; supercritical carbon dioxide; thermodynamic analysis; economic analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As global demand for carbon-free electricity increases and the trend of retiring coal power plant continues, coal-to-nuclear (C2N) transitions may prove an attractive pathway to minimize the cost of and schedule for the deployment of carbon-free electricity generation facilities.

The proposed Special Issue dedicated to “Repurposing Coal Power Plants with Nuclear Power Plants” focuses on the technical, political, economic, and environmental benefits of C2N transitions. It will cover C2N designs and operations, safety assessments, economic analyses, and policy issues. It will provide a forum to discuss and present recent and innovative research methodologies, results, technologies, experiments, and the best practices for C2N transitions. Papers that review and implement methodologies for assessing C2N fitness for service will also be welcome. This topic will also be included in the conference in Xiamen, China, on 27–28 April 2024, titled “Repower Summit Xiamen 2024”.

This Special Issue aims to present the latest developments and applications in C2N transitions.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

  • Design and operation;
  • Safety assessment;
  • Techno-economic analysis;
  • Energy policy;
  • Feasibility study.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Yaoli Zhang
Prof. Dr. Jeong Ik Lee
Dr. Łukasz Bartela
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coal power plant repurposing
  • coal-to-nuclear transitions
  • coal repowering

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1184 KiB  
Article
Economic Assessment of Coal-Fired Power Unit Decarbonization Retrofit with High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors
by Bixiong Luo, Li Zhang, Wei Li, Yanlin Su, Yongjian Ye, Chenyu Wang, Yixuan Liu, Yi Zhang and Xinwei Zhu
Energies 2024, 17(17), 4232; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17174232 - 24 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1165
Abstract
To mitigate global warming, phasing out coal in the global energy system orderly and rapidly is an important near-term strategy. However, the majority of coal-fired plants in China have operated for less than 15 years. Accelerated coal power plant retirements would lead to [...] Read more.
To mitigate global warming, phasing out coal in the global energy system orderly and rapidly is an important near-term strategy. However, the majority of coal-fired plants in China have operated for less than 15 years. Accelerated coal power plant retirements would lead to substantial asset stranding. Coal-to-nuclear (C2N) technology offers a potential solution by replacing coal boilers in existing coal-fired plants with nuclear reactors. In this study, the G4-ECONS model was used to assess the economics of repowering a 600 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant with two 272 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The timeline for the C2N project and the additional cost of dispatching electricity from the grid during retrofitting were discussed. Results showed that the C2N total capitalized costs are 19.4% (baseline estimate, USD 5297.6/kW) and 11.1% (conservative estimate, USD 5847.2/kW) lower than the greenfield project (USD 6576.5/kW), respectively. And C2N projects need to reduce LUEC by at least 20% to become competitive. This study can inform engineering design decisions leading to more precise and cost-effective C2N projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repurposing Coal Power Plants with Nuclear Power Plants)
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26 pages, 3131 KiB  
Article
Study on Conventional Island Retrofit Strategies for Converting Coal-Fired Power Plants to Nuclear Power Stations in China
by Bixiong Luo, Li Zhang, Wei Li, Xinwei Zhu, Yongjian Ye and Yanlin Su
Energies 2024, 17(12), 2912; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17122912 - 13 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1522
Abstract
The conversion of coal-fired power plants to nuclear power stations is a potential method for decarbonizing coal power and offers a pathway for low-carbon development in China’s power industry. This paper focuses on retrofitting China’s coastal coal-fired power stations and compares the potential [...] Read more.
The conversion of coal-fired power plants to nuclear power stations is a potential method for decarbonizing coal power and offers a pathway for low-carbon development in China’s power industry. This paper focuses on retrofitting China’s coastal coal-fired power stations and compares the potential nuclear reactor technologies for the retrofit: China’s mainstream pressurized water reactor and the commercially operated fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The analysis compares the degree of matching between the two technologies and coal-fired power stations in terms of unit capacity, thermal system parameters, unit speed, structural dimensions, and weight, which significantly impact the retrofit scheme. The results indicate that HTGR is more compatible with coal-fired power plants and is recommended as the type of nuclear reactor technology to be retrofitted. The study selected the 210 MWe High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) as the reactor technology for retrofitting a typical 300 MW class subcritical coal-fired unit. Based on the concept of subcritical parameters upgrading, the potential analysis and strategy study of retrofit is carried out in terms of the turbine, the main heat exchange equipment, the main pumps, and the main thermal system pipelines in the conventional island. The results indicate that the conventional island of the HTR-PM nuclear power plant has significant potential for retrofitting, which can be a crucial research direction for nuclear retrofitting of coal-fired power plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repurposing Coal Power Plants with Nuclear Power Plants)
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15 pages, 1349 KiB  
Article
Global Residual Demand Analysis in a Deep Variable Renewable Energy Penetration Scenario for Replacing Coal: A Study of 42 Countries
by Jai-Oan Cho, Jeong Ik Lee and Staffan Qvist
Energies 2024, 17(6), 1480; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17061480 - 20 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1473
Abstract
This study analyzes the residual demand curves of 42 countries under five scenarios with varying variable renewable energy (VRE) levels to observe how replacing coal with VRE can alter the demand curve. Using 2018 demand data, the residual demand was calculated and analyzed [...] Read more.
This study analyzes the residual demand curves of 42 countries under five scenarios with varying variable renewable energy (VRE) levels to observe how replacing coal with VRE can alter the demand curve. Using 2018 demand data, the residual demand was calculated and analyzed by subtracting the VRE supply curve from the demand curve. The operational requirements for low-carbon load-following sources amid high VRE penetration are examined. Key findings indicate that substantial peak residual demand persists even with 70% energy from VREs, emphasizing the need for significant load-following resources. Transitioning to a 70% VRE scenario could reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 16.799 billion tons, advancing towards carbon neutrality. However, this benefit depends on maintaining grid stability, highlighting the importance of adequate load-following plants to manage VRE intermittency. Countries like Malaysia, South Korea, Tunisia, the UK, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Libya face higher load-following demands due to specific renewable energy contexts. This study reveals varying renewable energy environments across countries, suggesting that a universal strategy for carbon neutrality and replacing coal may not be feasible. Each nation must develop its own approach to emission reduction, considering its unique conditions. This research emphasizes the urgent need for developing cost-effective, flexible, low-carbon load-following sources to enhance decarbonization potential globally. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Repurposing Coal Power Plants with Nuclear Power Plants)
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