The impact of Australia's carbon price on the optimisation and selection of gas turbine CHP systems

This paper aims to indentify the impact of Australia's carbon pricing mechanism on the optimization of a gas turbine combined heat and power (CHP) system using a thermoeconomic approach. Three economic scenarios were considered: no carbon price (case one); carbon price and not liable (case two); and a carbon price and liable (case three). With the intention of demonstrating the methodology used and to identify the impact of the carbon price quantitatively, a case study was utilized. Pricing data sourced from an ongoing investigation at this institution was employed to facilitate the three economic scenarios in addition to the yearly price fluctuations. The system was permitted to operate at off-design conditions in order to determine the optimum working conditions for each month. The analysis drew on the economic indicators of net present worth and payback period. Two connection modes to the grid were considered: A single connection that allowed only for the purchasing of supplementary electricity from the grid and a dual connection which allowed both purchasing and selling of electricity.