Prospect of combined cycle power plant over conventional single cycle power plants in Bangladesh: A case study

In Bangladesh, the rising demand for electrical energy is a notable feature. Most of this energy is needed for domestic and industrial appliance electrical machineries and electric traction. Bangladesh has a huge population with increasing demand for electricity. The importance of electricity in everyday life in Bangladesh has reached such a stage that it is required to protect the power system from harm during fault conditions and to ensure maximum continuity of electricity supply. The power system of Bangladesh is facing several problems which are causing deficiency of electricity generation. The problems are such as: low production of electricity than the actual demand, faulty power system, lacking of natural resources required for electricity generation etc. This paper gives a brief description about the efficiency of combined cycle and single cycle power stations and shows the comparison between them to analyze that whether combined cycle power plants are more efficient for Bangladesh or not. This paper also discusses about the problems in electricity generation in Bangladesh and how to mitigate the desired electricity production by solving these problems. Using combined cycle is a wise choice as the heat energy which is produced in the gas turbine is re-used to boil the water into steam and supply the steam into the steam turbine to produce additional electricity. So, the combined cycle power station is the better option for electricity generation in Bangladesh. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the development, importance, challenges, progress and prospects of combined cycle power plants in Bangladesh.