Technical and Economic Evaluation of China’s Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle: The Case of Yantai Project

Due to the advantages such as high efficiency of electricity generation and high degree of cleanness, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant represents the direction of development for all fired power plants in China. This essay analyzes the technical requirements and economic attributes of the Chinese IGCC power plant of 400 MW level in plan. It is both necessary and possible for China to develop IGCC power plant with the technical foundation available. The biggest obstacle facing the development of IGCC is the huge amount of investment and high cost of electric generation. According to the sensitivity analysis, investment is the main element affecting the cost of power generation. Though it is difficult to control investment in the present phase, with restricting elements like technique and facility, smooth operation of the project could still be ensured through government’s preferential policies toward IGCC power plant, such as setting price for clean electricity, offering investment subsidies and preferential taxes. The premise for such policies is a determined and consistent development strategy of IGCC technique.