Coal Plants Adopt Digital Tech for Grid Flexibility

As power grid loads fluctuate dramatically with the increasing integration of renewable energy, conventional thermal power plants face a critical transformation from being "power backbones" to becoming "flexible regulation hubs." This shift represents not just an industry imperative but a crucial factor for maintaining grid stability and security.

In July 2024, a cutting-edge technical symposium focusing on this transformation was held in Hefei. With the coal power sector facing fundamental repositioning during China's 15th Five-Year Plan period, the industry is rapidly evolving to fulfill dual roles of "baseload security" and "flexible regulation." Digitalization and intelligent technologies have emerged as key solutions for addressing challenges like ultra-low load operation and variable load response.

Key Technological Pathways

The conference explored several critical technological approaches:

• Intelligent Operation Systems: Digital twins, remote diagnostics, unmanned inspections, and smart control systems are creating "smart brains" for power plants, significantly enhancing operational safety and economic performance under complex conditions.
• Deep Peak Regulation and Efficiency Optimization: Innovations in circulating fluidized bed boilers, turbine efficiency enhancement, and automatic backpressure adjustment are unlocking existing units' frequency regulation potential, enabling more precise load control.
• Green Low-Carbon Upgrades: Practical solutions including CCUS carbon capture, ammonia co-firing combustion, and furnace temperature field visualization are providing viable pathways for decarbonizing thermal power generation.
• System-Wide Synergy: The integration of virtual power plants and large-scale modeling technologies is strengthening power plants' active grid support capabilities. These innovations serve as powerful tools for addressing flexible peak regulation challenges while driving high-quality green development in the energy sector.

Through deep integration of technology and management, coal-fired power is reinventing itself to provide robust support for the stable operation of new power systems. This transformation demonstrates how traditional energy infrastructure can adapt to serve the needs of modern, renewable-heavy grids while maintaining reliability and efficiency.