The overall research goal of TPP-RSU
is development of retrofitted and advanced designs of power plant fleet, which is energy efficient, climate neutral, economically beneficial and operationally safe and reliable. To reach this goal, the following two steps are crucial: (i) decarbonisation of current coal-fired power plants, i.e. substantial or complete elimination of carbon-dioxide (CO2) emission in power generation and (ii) improvement of power plant flexibility. Technical solutions for decarbonised coal-fired power plants will consider and evaluate implementation of CO2 capture and storage technologies, as well as new designs and retrofits of current coal-fired power plants with the aim of firing fuel with lower carbon content. The aims of the stated research are to define main design and operational characteristics of here addressed advanced and retrofitted thermal power plants, to evaluate required capital and operational expenditures, as well as economic and environmental benefits of their utilization. Technical solutions for improved flexibility of thermal power plants will provide primary and secondary frequency control in the electric power system and fulfil pre-requests for application of intermittent solar and wind power units in greater extent. The main challenge of providing the flexible power plant operation is the ultimate requirement of preservation of its safety and reliability under conditions of rapid change of its power.