Enhancing Energy Efficiency of Auxiliary Power in a Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant

This paper describes the auxiliary power consumption in Indian coal-fired thermal power plants. The factors influencing the auxiliary power are discussed in detail increase in auxiliary power due to lower plant load factor causes for lower PLF are enumerated. The effect of poor coal quality on auxiliary power is discussed. The effect of operational optimization, adoption of new energy efficient technologies, design deficiencies, etc., is discussed in detail along with remedial measures to reduce the auxiliary power. The energy conservation measures reduce the auxiliary power of 210 MW power plant from 11.59% to 8.50% with a payback period of 1-5 years.