This article presents the performance analysis of a 700 MW future planned advanced ultra-supercritical (A-USC) coal-fired power plant fitted with post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The reference A-USC unit without CCS achieves a net efficiency of 47.6% with CO₂ emissions of 700 kgCO₂/MWh. Relatively to subcritical units, the net efficiency of the A-USC is 8%-pts higher while CO₂ emissions are 16.5% lower. For a CO₂ removal rate of 90%, the net efficiency of the CCS integrated A-USC unit is 36.8%. The resulting net efficiency loss is 10.8%-pts and the electricity output penalty is 362.3 kWh_el/t_CO2 for present state CCS technology. The study continues with the assessment of interface quantities between the capture unit and the steam cycle affecting the performance of the A-USC. Improved CO₂ absorbents could alleviate the net efficiency loss by 2–3%-pts, and enhanced CO₂ compression strategies and advanced heat integration could further reduce the efficiency loss by 0.5–1.2%-pts and 0.4–0.6%-pts, respectively. The total efficiency gain from CCS technology upgrades is estimated at 3.6%-pts, thus bringing down the net efficiency loss to 7.2%-pts and the electricity output penalty to 241.7 kWh_el/t_CO2.

A two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (2D CFD) simulation of a low-speed two-stroke marine engine simulation was performed in order to investigate the performance of 2D meshes that allow the use of more complex chemical schemes and pollutant formation analysis. Various mesh density simulations were compared with a 3D mesh simulation and with the experimentally obtained cylinder pressure. A heavy fuel model and a soot model were implemented in the software. Finally, the influences of three water injection strategies were simulated and evaluated in order to investigate the capability of the model and the influence of water injection on NOx formation, soot formation, and engine performance. We conclude that the direct water injection strategy reduces NOx emissions without adversely affecting the engine performance or soot emissions. The other two strategies—Intake air humidification and direct injection of fuel–water emulsion—reduced NOx emissions but at the cost of higher soot emissions or reduced engine performance.

This study analyzes the record electricity consumption in Croatia during the July 2024 heatwave and evaluates how the increased deployment of onshore wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) could mitigate a similar event in the future. Electricity demand and generation patterns under current (2024) and projected (2030) scenarios have been simulated using a sub-hourly power system model. The findings show that during the July 2024 heatwave, Croatia imported 35% of the electricity, with prices exceeding 400 €/MWh during peak hours. By 2030, the expanded wind and solar PV sectors (1.5 GW each) will increase the renewable share from 38.8% in July 2024 to 54.7% in July 2030. On the annual level, renewable energy generation increases from 53.8% in 2024 up to 66.9% in 2030. As result, the carbon intensity of the power sector will reduce from 223 gCO_2eq/kWh_el in 2024 to 197 gCO_2eq/kWh_el in 2030. The share of fossil fuel generation will increase slightly, from 19.7% in 2024 to 22% in 2030, but more significantly in the summer to meet the heatwave-induced electricity demand. Besides that, short-term energy storage of 2 GWh (400 MW discharge over 5 h) could effectively manage evening peak demands after solar PV ceases production.