Thermodynamic and thermoeconomic optimization of a geothermal power plant in Sichuan, China

Abstract

This report presents intermediate- and high-temperature geothermal fields distributed in China. Sichuan geothermal area has been selected for a new power plant in the near future, based on governmental policy and energy company demand. Five types of geothermal power systems are designed and presented for it. Using the EES and Scilab software, comparison and optimization of these power systems are analysed, taking into account thermodynamic and thermoeconomic laws. The results show that, for this geothermal system, a binary system is better than other systems. The optimum capacity of the binary system is 3506 kW and 3773 kW for the Tuo-Bei and Yu-Lingong geothermal fields, respectively. The power production cost is 0.04 US$/kWh for the binary system and the payback period is about 6 years. The thermodynamic and thermoeconomic optimization are determined by using basic data for the future power plant design in the Sichuan geothermal area.