Quantity, Quality, and Availability of Waste Heat from United States Thermal Power Generation

TLDR

Secondary application of unconverted heat produced during electric power generation has the potential to improve the life‑cycle fuel efficiency of the electric power industry and the sectors it serves. This work quantifies residual heat from U.S. thermal power plants and evaluates intermittency and transport issues for its utilization. Using Energy Information Administration plant‑level data and literature‑reported process efficiencies, the authors estimate unconverted heat flux from individual plants in 2012 and model its temperature, spatial, and temporal availability to assess technical and economic feasibility.

Abstract

Secondary application of unconverted heat produced during electric power generation has the potential to improve the life-cycle fuel efficiency of the electric power industry and the sectors it serves. This work quantifies the residual heat (also known as waste heat) generated by U.S. thermal power plants and assesses the intermittency and transport issues that must be considered when planning to utilize this heat. Combining Energy Information Administration plant-level data with literature-reported process efficiency data, we develop estimates of the unconverted heat flux from individual U.S. thermal power plants in 2012. Together these power plants discharged an estimated 18.9 billion GJ(th) of residual heat in 2012, 4% of which was discharged at temperatures greater than 90 °C. We also characterize the temperature, spatial distribution, and temporal availability of this residual heat at the plant level and model the implications for the technical and economic feasibility of its end use. Increased implementation of flue gas desulfurization technologies at coal-fired facilities and the higher quality heat generated in the exhaust of natural gas fuel cycles are expected to increase the availability of residual heat generated by 10.6% in 2040.