The Flexibility Toolbox, a guide on potential measures for enabling flexible operation of Indian coal fired power plants, was officially handed over to Indian partners on 19 April 2018. In 2017 the co-chairs of the Indo-German Energy Forum Subgroup on enhancement of power plants initiated this report on available technologies and measures for flexible operation of thermal power plants – the Flexibility Toolbox. This report has been compiled by VGB PowerTech e.V. and its Indian partner organization Excellence Enhancement Centre (EEC) jointly with Steag Energy Services GmbH under the auspices of the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF).

Flexible power plant operation to adapt to fluctuating renewable energy generation is one of the key topics within the bilateral energy cooperation between India and Germany. The toolbox was handed over to the Indian partners during an official IGEF subgroup meeting, focusing on fossil fuel based power plants, which took place in Berlin on 19 April 2018.

The toolbox intends to support the change of paradigm in the operation of thermal power plants – from base-load to flexible operation. It reflects that this change process requires suitable technologies, skilled people and leadership with foresight. The toolbox includes 40 different flexibility enhancement measures that require a plant retrofit or major technical intervention. 

To download the report, please click here. 

The measures are assigned to different plant areas and focus on combustion, water-steam cycle, turbine, I&C system and auxiliary systems. The description of each measure includes information about:

• Flexibility impact
• Limitations and critical issues that are addressed by the measure
• Description of the key features related to the measure
• Estimation of the required investment
• Time estimation for implementation