Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon
I think (not having actually worked on a turbine) that NG peakers still generally have a running cost even if they're idle. From what I know, most thermal generators generally keep at set temperature to avoid thermal cycling and fatigue.
That being said, peaker plants are likely to be replaced by batter storage in the near future anyways.
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Except the new generation of natural gas power plants aren't thermal systems; they are gas turbines. In essence, they are jet engines bolted to the ground, and hooked up to a generator. Starting and stopping these type of engines is a lot easier than older thermal plants are, and these power plants are much more efficient than older thermal units; the more simpler units can achieve a thermal efficiency of 30%, while units that include thermal recovery systems can achieve efficiencies in excess of 60%, which is significantly better than traditional thermal power plants can achieve.
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