Gas-piston Power Plants: Advantages And Prospects

The demand for electrical and heat energy in Russia is increasing year by year in the geometric progression. The statistics show that the consumption of electricity in January-September this year increased by 1.6% compared to the same period of last year and amounted to 754.1 billion kW / h, and by 2020 the demand for energy will increase by a quarter. However, the growing needs of the population for electricity and heat can not be fully met, and there are many reasons for this: depreciation of fixed assets of housing and communal services, constantly growing tariffs, shortage and high cost of energy resources, lack of financing, and much more. There are many reasons, but at the core of everything is always money, or rather, their absence.

If we consider the standard situation, for example, the centralized energy supply of the cottage community, the picture becomes extremely clear. The heating of rural houses is mainly due to diesel fuel or diesel generators. Oven diesel fuel is used for heating non-gasified residential houses and industrial facilities, mainly it is widely used in Siberia and the Far East. According to the Ministry of Energy, in 2010, Russia produced 1.34 million tons of heating oil, and in 2012 - 2.73 million tons. By 2015, receipts from excises for this oil can amount to 21.1 billion rubles a year.

The Russian government plans to impose stove fuel with an excise tax of 5.86 thousand rubles per ton in 2013, 6.45 thousand rubles in 2014 and 7.73 thousand rubles in 2015. Officials expect that next year the excise on fuel of the ecological class "Euro-4" will rise to 8960 rubles per ton, for "Euro-5" - up to 5,750 rubles per ton, for diesel fuel - up to 5100 and 4500 (depends on the ecological class ) Rubles per ton. It, first of all, painfully will strike on a pocket of consumers. At the same time, the gasification program for the regions is gaining momentum. Natural gas can be an advantageous alternative to diesel fuel. Gas-piston power plants can solve the problem of energy deficit and high cost. This is a relatively inexpensive and very effective way of energy supply.

For example, the company CJSC "Ralt Engineering" offers gas piston power plants based on European generating equipment. The main component of such a power plant is a gas generator. It is an engine that uses natural gas as fuel. Such an electric generator allows producing electric energy at the place of its consumption, without requiring replenished fuel reserves, such as a diesel power unit.

The company offers consumers cogeneration plants based on gas piston generators. Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of heat and electricity. Such installations can operate in an autonomous mode or in parallel with an external network and have high electrical power and low specific fuel consumption. The use of natural gas as a fuel can reduce the production of harmful substances much more than, for example, when running a gasoline or diesel unit.

JSC "Ralt Engineering" mainly produces block-modular, that is, packaged in a special container, mini-CHP. Such power plants have a number of advantages over their stationary counterparts, for example, packaging in a container extends the service life, especially under extreme climatic conditions, for example, in Siberia or in the Far North. In addition, such stations are mobile, and do not require the erection of a special capital building, and the module itself is equipped with all the systems necessary for the normal operation of the generating equipment.

However, despite all the advantages of the block-modular gas-piston mini-CHP, consumers continue to use the services of distribution companies or diesel generators. It's all about the initial investment. First, the cost of the power plant is frightening by the number of zeros at the end. However, the most elementary calculations show that on average a year production companies spend about the same amount to buy electricity and heat from a local sales company. And now imagine how much consumers spend on electricity not in a year, but for 10-20 years! Own power station allows you to reduce electricity costs to 1.5 rubles / kW, and it pays off in about 1.5-2 years. Gas-piston unit-modular power plants can continuously supply energy to residential areas, production, military and industrial facilities, hospitals, schools, etc. Even the price of such a power plant is much lower than the cost of diesel fuel, a combined-cycle turbine or the purchase of energy from a distribution company.

The development of the fuel and energy complex requires long-term investments. The imminent economic crisis will undoubtedly affect the fuel and energy sector, so in the near future experts predict a rise in tariffs followed by a shortage of energy resources. In order to secure a reliable "energy" future, we must already take measures to switch to our own energy supply by installing our own power plant.