“In response to the insufficient research on the coupling relationship between the thermal system performance and cold end parameters of indirect air-cooled units, experts from a power plant in Qinghai Province established a thermal cycle simulation model for a 660MW ultra supercritical indirect air-cooled coal-fired unit. They verified that composite sliding pressure operation can reduce steam consumption by 1.63% to 5.31% and heat consumption by 1.41% to 4.54%, providing a solution for the selection of variable load operation mode and energy conservation and consumption reduction of indirect air-cooled coal-fired units.”