Economic feasibility of combined heat and power and absorption refrigeration with commercially available gas turbines

Combined heat and power (CHP) systems often use absorption technology to supply heating and cooling to a facility. With the availability of gas turbines spanning an increasingly wide range of capacities, it is becoming more and more attractive to utilize CHP via a combination of gas turbines and absorption chillers. The present study investigates the economic feasibility of implementing such CHP systems with existing, commercially available gas turbines and single, double, and triple effect absorption chillers. The maximum amount of thermal energy available for the chiller is calculated based on the size of turbine, exhaust flow rate and exhaust temperature, yielding approximately 300,000 kW of cooling (85,379 tons) for a large power turbine. The annual demand and usage avoided costs for varying turbine and absorption system sizes are discussed as well, showing that a CHP system is capable of saving millions of dollars annually on electricity.