Patent ID: RE44815

Claim:
A method of chilling inlet air to a combined cycle gas turbine plant, comprising: a. a gas turbine that includes a gas turbine inlet and a steam turbine; b. providing a system of circulating liquid chilling water including a chilling system that includes a first chiller; c. passing at least a portion of the liquid chilling water through the first chiller, the liquid chilling water passing through the first chiller being lowered to a first temperature; d. providing an inlet air chiller, comprising a cooling coil through which liquid chilling water passes, for lowering the temperature of inlet air being fed to the gas turbine compressor through heat transfer between the liquid chilling water passing through the cooling coil and the inlet air, wherein the inlet air chiller provides a liquid chilling water temperature rise; e. chilling the inlet air by directing the liquid chilling water through the cooling coil of the inlet air chiller to make heat transfer contact between the liquid chilling water and the inlet air; and f. controlling the leaving air temperature off the cooling coil to maintain a leaving air temperature slightly above the dew point temperature of the ambient air to maintain high efficiency on the power plant.