On the technical feasibility of gas turbine inlet air cooling utilizing thermal energy storage

The potential of using thermal energy storage (TES) in the form of ice or chilled water to cool gas turbine inlet air is evaluated for a remote oil field location in the Sultanate of Oman using local hourly typical meteorological year weather data. It is found that under the conditions investigated seasonal TES in chilled water storage tanks or ice bins for the location considered is prohibitively expensive and thus not recommended. Application of partial TES option shows that the cool storage does not result in any noticeable reduction in the chiller size. Hence. TES whether seasonal, partial, or full storage is not a viable option for the considered location, especially in the absence of tithe-of-use utility rate structure. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.