Development of Plant Performance Analysis System for Geothermal Power Plant

Geothermal energy is considered a comparatively abundant renewable energy resource. The geothermal power generation system has negligible environmental impact (approximately 0.015kg-CO₂/kWh), and it is expected to help prevent carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. On the other hand, in our institute, we have developed general purpose software (EnergyWin™) to analyze the thermal efficiencies of power generation systems easily and rapidly. Such software can not only analyze the plant performance but also investigate the effect of the performance-deteriorated equipment or air condition change on power output quantitatively. Using this software, we have developed a new plant performance analysis system based on actual operation data for geothermal power plants. Then, applying the system to existing facilities, we have analyzed the plant performance and evaluated the effectiveness of the plant maintenance strategy during periodic inspection for consistency.