Supplement material for paper “Repurposing Coal Power Plants into Thermal Energy Storage for Supporting Zero-carbon Data Centers”
We consider that the operating coal power plants in the ERCOT system as of 2022, except for those scheduled to be retired by 2025, are eligible for retrofitting. Table I shows the information on 12 eligible coal power plants from global energy monitors [1] and US EIA [2].
Table 1 Information on 12 eligible coal power plants in Texas
| Plant | Plant name | Capacity (MW) | Start year | Combustion technology | Coal type | Lat | Lon | Heat rate (Btu/kWh) | Emission factor (kg CO2 /TJ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayette Power Project | 460 | 1988 | subcritical | lignite | 29.92 | -96.75 | 10,878 | 101,000 |
| 2 | J. K. Spruce Station | 566 | 1992 | subcritical | sub-bit | 29.31 | -98.32 | 10,878 | 96,100 |
| 3 | J. K. Spruce Station | 878 | 2010 | subcritical | sub-bit | 29.31 | -98.32 | 9,572 | 96,100 |
| 4 | Limestone Generating Station | 893 | 1985 | subcritical | lignite | 31.42 | -96.25 | 10,878 | 101,000 |
| 5 | Limestone Generating Station | 957 | 1986 | subcritical | lignite | 31.42 | -96.25 | 10,878 | 101,000 |
| 6 | Major Oak power station | 174.6 | 1990 | subcritical | lignite/sub-bit | 31.09 | -96.70 | 12,618 | 98,550 |
| 7 | Major Oak power station | 174.6 | 1991 | subcritical | lignite/sub-bit | 31.09 | -96.70 | 12,618 | 98,550 |
| 8 | Oak Grove Plant | 916.8 | 2010 | supercritical | lignite | 31.18 | -96.49 | 9,250 | 101,000 |
| 9 | Oak Grove Plant | 878.6 | 2011 | supercritical | lignite | 31.18 | -96.49 | 9,250 | 101,000 |
| 10 | Parish Generating Station | 614.6 | 1982 | subcritical/ccs | sub-bit | 29.48 | -95.63 | 17,155 | 9,610 |
| 11 | San Miguel Electric Cooperative | 410 | 1982 | subcritical | lignite | 28.70 | -98.48 | 11,748 | 101,000 |
| 12 | Sandy Creek Plant | 1008 | 2013 | supercritical | sub-bit | 31.48 | -96.96 | 8,409 | 96,100 |
 |
|---|
| Locations of 12 coal power plants |
In total we simulate 12 scenarios including two baseline scenarios (1) ERCOT 2030 considering retrofitting without additional DCs (2) ERCOT 2030 without additional DC loads and retrofitting. Results of all scenarios can be found in the GitHub: https://github.com/yifueve/coal_repurpose/tree/main
Table 2 Summary of the scenarios
| Scenarios of Data center and Energy storage technology | TES | LIB | TES & LIB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero-carbon DC, inflexible | (3) | (5) | (9) |
| Zero-carbon DC, flexible | (4) | (6) | (10) |
| Unconstrained DC, inflexible | Not applicable | (7) | (11) |
| Unconstrained DC, flexible | Not applicable | (8) | (12) |
 |
|---|
| Scenario (3) Zero-carbon DC, inflexible |
 |
|---|
| Scenario (1) No DCs considering retrofitting |
Table 3 Result path
| Scenarios | Result path |
|---|---|
| (1) | ../ercot_baseline/Results_retro |
| (2) | ../ercot_baseline/Results_baseline |
| (3) | ../ercot_IF_ZC/Results_TES |
| (4) | ../ercot_F_ZC/Results_TES |
| (5) | ../ercot_IF_ZC/Results_LIB |
| (6) | ../ercot_F_ZC/Results_LIB |
| (7) | ../ercot_IF_UC/Results_LIB |
| (8) | ../ercot_F_UC/Results_LIB |
| (9) | ../ercot_IF_ZC/Results_FULL |
| (10) | ../ercot_F_ZC/Results_FULL |
| (11) | ../ercot_IF_UC/Results_FULL |
| (12) | ../ercot_F_UC/Results_FULL |
[1] GlobalEnergyMonitor,“GlobalCoalPlantTracker,”GlobalCoalPlantTracker.Accessed:Feb.28,2023. [Online]. Available: https://globalenergymonitor.org/projects/global-coal-plant-tracker/
[2] US Energy Informa-on Administra-on, “Coal-fired electric power plants.” Accessed: Sep. 10, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.eia.gov/coal/data.php#prices
[3] EIA,“CapitalCostandPerformanceCharacteris-cEs-matesforU-lityScaleElectricPowerGenera-ng Technologies.” Accessed: Apr. 21, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/powerplants/capitalcost/pdf/capital_cost_AEO2020.pdf
[4] “GenX.”Accessed:May24,2023.[Online].Available:genxproject.github.io/GenX/dev/