THE EFFECT OF EXOGENOUS FACTORS ON THERMAL POWER PLANT EFFICIENCY

Abstract

This study focuses on the relationship between exogenous factors (that cannot be directly impacted by the actions of an economic agent) and combined heat and power (CHP) plant efficiency. As a measure of fuel utilization efficiency this paper proposes to use the Сoefficient of Fuel Utilization (CFU), which is the Russian equivalent of the Primary Energy Factor indicator. Climate conditions and fuel type were used as the exogenous factors in this article. Climate conditions were measured via climate zone proxies. The cause-effect relationships were analyzed using a linear regression model. The findings of the study showcase that the plants, which use natural gas as their primary fuel, show higher fuel utilization efficiency compared to coil plants. Climate conditions were also proven to be a statistically significant factor with plants situated in the third climate zone (mostly regions of the Central and North-Western federal districts) showing the highest average CFU of about 71%. The research shows that the exogenous factors account for close to 20% of CHP plant fuel utilization efficiency in Russia. The authors conclude that climate conditions and fuel type should be taken into account when constructing various energy efficiency models applicable to the Russian context.

Keywords

• electric energy
• fuel utilization
• energy efficiency
• primary energy factor
• combined heat and power production
• thermal power plants