Financial Feasibility Study for Utilizing Flue Gas Emissions from the Adipala Power Plant to Generate 5 kW of Electricity

Rendi Hendra Eka Hermawan; Eri Prabowo

Authors

Rendi Hendra Eka Hermawan Program Studi Magister Teknik Elektro Institut Teknologi PLN, Jakarta, Indonesia
Eri Prabowo Program Studi Magister Teknik Elektro Institut Teknologi PLN, Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords:

Waste heat utilization, Adipala PLTU, Feasibility study, Micro ORC

Abstract

Electric power reliability remains central to Indonesia’s economic stability while decarbonization pressures increase. This study evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of recovering flue-gas heat from the Adipala coal-fired power plant to generate 5 kW via a micro Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). Field measurements at the economizer duct show a flue-gas mass flow of 55,000 kg h⁻¹ at 170 °C, corresponding to about 400 kW_th of recoverable heat. A thermodynamic model with realistic parasitic losses and a 12% cycle efficiency indicates a net electrical output of 5 kW with exhaust temperature maintained at 110 °C and boiler backpressure limited to 2 mbar, so boiler operation is not disturbed. Economic appraisal uses a discounted cash-flow model with CAPEX USD 15,000, annual O&M USD 450, availability factor 0.80, electricity price USD 0.10 kWh⁻¹, and discount rate 10%. Results show annual net cash inflow USD 3,054, NPV ≈ USD 11,000, IRR ≈ 19.8%, BCR = 1.59, and a simple payback of ~4.9 years. Sensitivity checks indicate project resilience to reasonable variations in availability, carbon pricing, and component cost. The findings demonstrate that small-scale ORC deployment on plant economizers can be technically sound, economically attractive, and supportive of modest emissions reduction and asset-management goals for thermal power stations.

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