Technical Guidelines: Generator Efficiency Standards
Australian Greenhouse Office, Department of the Environment and Heritage
Revised December 2006
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Scope
This guide covers the application of Generator Efficiency Standards, measured in terms of greenhouse intensity, to Australian fossil fuel based electricity and steam producers (when in conjunction with electricity production), existing and proposed, and sets out recommended practices for:
- determining best practice greenhouse efficiency standards for existing/refurbished power/cogeneration plant
- determining best practice greenhouse efficiency standards for new power/cogeneration plant
- determining the actual greenhouse intensity for power plant based on total fuel burned over a twelve month period and the corresponding energy output as electricity, and steam if applicable
- comparison of actual greenhouse intensity with best practice efficiency standards
- reporting greenhouse intensity performance .
This guideline also provides background theory and principles on power plant and cogeneration plant thermal efficiency, and indicative options for reducing greenhouse intensity.
Greenhouse efficiency is measured on the basis of the six Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) gases. However, this guideline is applicable only to greenhouse gases from fuel burning, i.e., CO2, CH4 and N2O . Greenhouse intensity is measured as the ratio of the quantity of greenhouse gases expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent to the quantity of electrical and if applicable thermal energy dispatched. The other greenhouse gases are not normally applicable but should be included where they arise.
Review of the Technical Guidelines
The review of the GES Technical Guidelines commenced in October 2004 and was undertaken by the Australian Greenhouse Office, Department of the Environment and Heritage. It was supported by a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) comprising representatives from the Australian Greenhouse Office, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, the generation sector and industry experts.
Draft Revised Technical Guidelines and companion Discussion Paper were released to stakeholders in September 2006. Submissions were considered and the Technical Guidelines redrafted to include:
- benchmark efficiencies for new generating plants for different fuel classes
- review of plant degradation causes and effects
- a spreadsheet tool for calculation of a power plant's reference curve and best practice performance range
- a requirement for new plants to provide operational stability reports
- what constitutes a plant refurbishment that triggers recalculation of reference performance
- expanded Costing of Options and information on the greenhouse gas abatement calculator
- direction on measurement uncertainty.
The original Technical Guidelines: Generator Efficiency Standards was released in January 2001.
Generator efficiency standards
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