A comprehensive review published in Engineering has systematically summarized the latest advances in intelligent coal-fired power technologies, outlining a technical pathway for coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) to evolve into flexible, dispatchable backup resources amid the large-scale integration of wind and solar energy. The paper focuses on three core technological pillars: intelligent perception, intelligent control, and intelligent operation, with detailed analysis of enabling technologies including ubiquitous sensing systems, advanced control algorithms, and automated operation platforms.

Against the backdrop of expanding renewable energy systems, CFPPs are shifting from traditional base-load power sources to supportive and regulatory resources, which raises new requirements for operational adaptability, efficiency, and intelligence. The review indicates that intelligent transformation has become a key enabler for both flexible operations and long-term sustainability of coal-fired generating units. In the domain of intelligent perception, progress in soft-sensing technology, online coal quality analysis, and low-load combustion stability monitoring has enhanced real-time observability and diagnostic capabilities of thermal power units. Ubiquitous sensing systems, constructed with advanced sensors and video-monitoring equipment, enable comprehensive condition awareness across the whole plant.

For intelligent control, the review highlights coordinated control strategies for boiler–turbine–thermal energy-storage systems and self-optimizing automatic plant start-up and shut-down systems (APS). These technologies help improve load change rates and minimum stable operation loads, addressing constraints such as thermal stress during rapid load fluctuations and response lag of coal feeding systems. In terms of intelligent operation, integrated platforms centered on advanced distributed control systems (DCS), intelligent combustion optimization, high-precision performance calculation, and multi-source heterogeneous information fusion monitoring are gradually realizing closed-loop, data-driven operational management.

The review also presents two engineering applications: the flywheel energy-storage system (FESS) coupled with coal-fired units for joint frequency regulation, and the unmanned operation retrofit project using autonomous control and decision-making technologies. These cases demonstrate that intelligent technologies can effectively enhance frequency regulation performance, operational reliability, and economic efficiency while reducing manual intervention.

The authors point out remaining challenges, including robust modeling under uncertain conditions, real-time decision-making integrated with edge computing, and improved interpretability of data-driven algorithms. Future research directions are proposed, such as large-scale deployment of ubiquitous sensing, multi-timescale coordinated control of thermal units and energy-storage systems, and unmanned operation supported by artificial intelligence and big data. The review provides references for the digital and intelligent transformation of coal-fired power toward cleaner, more flexible, and sustainable development in the evolving energy landscape.

The paper “Critical Review of Intelligent Coal-Fired Power Technologies and Applications,” is authored by Jizhen Liu, Zhongming Du, Qinghua Wang, Kaijun Jiang, Dan Gao. Full text of the open access paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2025.07.036. For more information about Engineering, visit the website at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/engineering.