Electrical, Electronic Industries and Power Projects

Electric equipment industry contributes over 2% of GDP which is projected to increase to about 12% in 2015 according to a
study by Frost & Sullivan. During the period, consumption of electrical equipment is estimated to increase from over USD 28
billion now to USD 363 billion, growing at a CAGR of about 30%. It is also expected that during 2010-2015, the Indian
equipment manufacturing will grow at 5.5 times the growth rate of global electronic equipment production.
The electrical equipment and accessories industry, with its highly diversified content, may be broadly segmented into (i)
generation equipment, (ii) transmission equipment, and (iii) distribution equipment. The equipments and accessories under
these segments include motors, turbines, generators, switchgears, transformers, circuit breakers, induction motors, power
capacitors, meters, transmission towers. Besides these, the spectrum covers a whole range of power cables including XLPE
and AAC and ACSR conductors and electrical consumer products like fans, electric lamps, exhausts and domestic appliances
and accessories. Inverters, gensets, UP also fall under its domain.
The electrical industry has been showing signs of recovery after poor performance in the recent years. The domestic electrical
industry, which includes equipment for generation, transmission, distribution and use of power in industrial units, constitutes
a major part of the electrical products.
The growth of the industry is directly related to the development of power generation and distribution. India's generation
capacity of 2,300 MW in 1950 expanded to over 116,500 MW including non-utilities at the end 2000-01. The total installed
capacity of electric power generation further increased to 141,080 MW in 2007-08 (upto January 2008) compared to a
capacity of 128,000 MW during the same period in 2006-07. The Eleventh Plan has targeted a capacity addition of 78,570
MW.
The five years (2007-2012) may be the best of times for power equipment makers with the power sector on an expansion spree.
With order-book growth expanding over the last three years, there is a good chance that this will continue. Close to 82% of
the planned generation capacity for the Tenth Plan was either implemented or was in the process of being implemented. Even
assuming a 70% implementation ratio for the Eleventh Plan, close to 55,000 MW will be added. Five ultra mega power
projects, totaling 20,000 MW are coming up in 2008. In the transmission sector, for example, Power Grid Corporation is
planning a capex of Rs 710 billion by 2010.
Earlier, the shortfalls in achieving the Plan targets of addition to power generation and up-gradation of transmission and
distribution had adversely affected the electrical equipment industry. The peak shortage which was over 11% of the
requirement in 2003-04 increased to 11.7% in 2004-05 and to over 12% in 2005-06. The shortage further rose to about 14% in
2006-07. In the ten months of 2007-08 the peak shortage had risen to over 15% of the peak demand of 107,010 MW.
Major players in electrical equipment segment are ABB, BHEL, BHEL Power Solutions, Havell's India, Kirloskar Electric,
Crompton Greaves and Suzlon Energy.
According to the Power Ministry, the power sector has tied up Rs 2,240 billion worth of investments to build power plants with
70,000 MW capacities in the next three years.
With some fast moves at launching fast track projects to augment supplies, the Indian industry needs to improve its
competitiveness. The Indian market is growing and multinationals with newer technologies are now more active.

We can provide you detailed project reports on the following topics. Please select the projects
of your interests.
Each detailed project reports cover all the aspects of business, from analysing the market,
confirming availability of various necessities such as plant & machinery, raw materials to
forecasting the financial requirements. The scope of the report includes assessing market
potential, negotiating with collaborators, investment decision making, corporate diversification
planning etc. in a very planned manner by formulating detailed manufacturing techniques and

forecasting financial aspects by estimating the cost of raw material, formulating the cash flow
statement, projecting the balance sheet etc.
We also offer self-contained Pre-Investment and Pre-Feasibility Studies, Market Surveys and
Studies, Preparation of Techno-Economic Feasibility Reports, Identification and Selection of
Plant and Machinery, Manufacturing Process and or Equipment required, General Guidance,
Technical and Commercial Counseling for setting up new industrial projects on the following
topics.
Many of the engineers, project consultant & industrial consultancy firms in India and worldwide
use our project reports as one of the input in doing their analysis.

Power Project, Power Generation Plants, Hydro electric Power,

Gas-Fired Power Station, Coal, Thermal, Water, Hydro, Wind,
Solar, Agro, Biogas Based Power Plants, Electrical Power Industry,
Alternative, Renewable Power Generation, Electricity Generation
India possesses one of the largest power generation capacities in the world (its current
ranking is fifth) with an installed capacity of 156,000 MW which is about 4 percent of global
power generation. The top four countries, viz., US, Japan, China and Russia together
consume about 49 percent of the total power generated globally. The average per capita
consumption of electricity in India is estimated to be 704kWh during 2008-09. The power
sector has emerged as major focus area for the government both central and state.
However, it suffers from power shortages estimated at 14-15 per cent, with the figure
higher in the northern and western regions.
India's generation capacity of 2,300 MW in 1950 expanded to over 116,500 MW including
non-utilities at the end 2000-01. The total installed capacity of electric power generation
further increased to 141,080 MW in 2007-08 (upto January 2008) compared to a capacity of
128,000 MW during the same period in 2006-07. The Eleventh Plan has targeted a capacity
addition of 78,570 MW. The five years (2007-2012) may be the best of times for power
equipment makers with the power sector on an expansion spree. With order-book growth
expanding over the last three years, there is a good chance that this will continue. Close to
82% of the planned generation capacity for the Tenth Plan was either implemented or was
in the process of being implemented. Even assuming a 70% implementation ratio for the
Eleventh Plan, close to 55,000 MW will be added. Five ultra mega power projects, totaling
20,000 MW are coming up in 2008. In the transmission sector, for example, Power Grid
Corporation is planning a capex of Rs 710 billion by 2010.

Earlier, the shortfalls in achieving the Plan targets of addition to power generation and upgradation of transmission and distribution had adversely affected the electrical equipment
industry. The peak shortage which was over 11% of the requirement in 2003-04 increased
to 11.7% in 2004-05 and to over 12% in 2005-06. The shortage further rose to about 14%
in 2006-07. In the ten months of 2007-08 the peak shortage had risen to over 15% of the
peak demand of 107,010 MW.
The national grid envisage 200,000 MW transmission capacity and 37,700 MW of interregional power transfer capacity (current inter-regional power transfer capacity is 20,750
MW) to ensure smooth transfer of power from power surplus to power-deficit regions.
According to the Power Ministry, the power sector has tied up Rs 2,240 billion worth of
investments to build power plants with 70,000 MW capacities in the next three years. The
Indian government has set ambitious goals in the 11th plan for power sector owing to
which the power sector is poised for significant expansion. In order to provide availability
of over 1000 units of per capita electricity by year 2012, it has been estimated that needbased capacity addition of more than 100,000 MW would be required. This has resulted in
massive addition plans being proposed in the sub-sectors of Generation Transmission and
Distribution. Investment is also expected to flow into different segments of the value chain,
covering the segments of power generation, transmission and distribution and allied
sectors such as equipment, technology and services. The private sector is expected to play
a more active role in investment and capital productivity. The government has undertaken a
number of initiatives to facilitate private sector participation.
With some fast moves at launching fast track projects to augment supplies, the Indian
industry needs to improve its competitiveness. The Indian market is growing and
multinationals with newer technologies are now more active.

We can provide you detailed project reports on the following topics. Please select the
projects of your interests.
Each detailed project reports cover all the aspects of business, from analysing the
market, confirming availability of various necessities such as plant & machinery, raw
materials to forecasting the financial requirements. The scope of the report includes
assessing market potential, negotiating with collaborators, investment decision making,
corporate diversification planning etc. in a very planned manner by formulating detailed

manufacturing techniques and forecasting financial aspects by estimating the cost of raw
material, formulating the cash flow statement, projecting the balance sheet etc.
We also offer self-contained Pre-Investment and Pre-Feasibility Studies, Market Surveys and
Studies, Preparation of Techno-Economic Feasibility Reports, Identification and Selection of
Plant and Machinery, Manufacturing Process and or Equipment required, General Guidance,
Technical and Commercial Counseling for setting up new industrial projects on the following
topics.
Many of the engineers, project consultant & industrial consultancy firms in India and
worldwide use our project reports as one of the input in doing their analysis.

Detailed Project Reports

The detailed project reports cover all the aspects of business, from analysing the market, confirming availability of
various necessities such as plant & machinery, raw materials to forecasting the financial requirements. The scope of
the report includes assessing market potential, negotiating with collaborators, investment decision making,
corporate diversification planning etc. in a very planned manner by formulating detailed manufacturing techniques
and forecasting financial aspects by estimating the cost of raw material, formulating the cash flow statement,
projecting the balance sheet etc. The DPR is prepared by highly qualified and experienced consultants and the
market research and analysis are supported by a panel of experts and computerised data bank.
Each Detailed Project Report Contains
Beginning:
Project Introduction, Brief History of the Product,
Properties, BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard)
Specifications & Requirements, Uses & Applications.

Manufacturing Techniques:
Formulae Detailed Process of Manufacture, Flow Sheet
Diagram.

Market Survey:
Present Market Position, Expected Future Demand,
Statistics of Imports & Exports, Export Prospect, Names
and Addresses of Existing Units (Present
Manufactures).

Personnel Requirements:
Requirement of Staff & Labour, Personnel Management,
Skilled & Unskilled Labour.

Plant & Machinery:

List of Plant & Machineries, Miscellaneous Items and
Accessories, Instruments, Laboratory Equipment's and
Accessories, Plant Location, Electrification, Electric Load
and Water, Maintenance, Suppliers / Manufacturers of
Plant and Machineries.

Land & Building:

Requirement of Land Area, Rates of the Land, Built up
Area, Construction Schedule, Plant Layout.

Raw Material:
List of Raw Materials, Properties of Raw Materials,
Availability of Raw Materials, Required Quality of Raw
Materials, Cost / Rates of Raw Materials.

Financial Aspects:
Cost of Raw Materials, Cost of Land & Building, Cost of
Plant & Machineries, Fixed Capital Investment, Working
Capital, Project Cost, Capital Formation, Cost of
Production, Profitability Analysis, Break Even Point,
Cash Flow Statement for 5 to 10 Years, Depreciation
Chart,Conclusion, Projected Balance Sheet, Land Man

Ratio.

What is Power Plant?

A power plant or a power generating station, is basically an industrial location that is utilized for
the generation and distribution of electric power in mass scale, usually in the order of several 1000
Watts. These are generally located at the sub-urban regions or several kilometers away from the
cities or the load centers, because of its requisites like huge land and water demand, along with
several operating constraints like the waste disposal etc. For this reason, a power generating station
has to not only take care of efficient generation but also the fact that the power is transmitted
efficiently over the entire distance. And thats why, the transformer switch yard to regulate
transmission voltage also becomes an integral part of the power plant.
At the center of it, however, nearly all power generating stations has an A.C. generator or an
alternator, which is basically a rotating machine that is equipped to convert energy from the
mechanical domain (rotating turbine) into electrical domain by creating relative motion between a
magnetic field and the conductors. The energy source harnessed to turn the generator shaft varies
widely, and is chiefly dependent on the type of fuel used.

Types of Power Station

A power plant can be of several types depending mainly on the type of fuel used. Since for the
purpose of bulk power generation, only thermal, nuclear and hydro power comes handy, therefore a
power generating station can be broadly classified in the 3 above mentioned types. Let us have a
look in these types of power stations in details.

Thermal Power Station

A thermal power station or a coal fired thermal power plant is by far, the most conventional method
of generating electric power with reasonably high efficiency. It uses coal as the primary fuel to boil
the water available to superheated steam for driving the steam turbine. The steam turbine is then
mechanically coupled to an alternator rotor, the rotation of which results in the generation of electric
power. Generally in India, bituminous coal or brown coal are used as fuel of boiler which has volatile
content ranging from 8 to 33 % and ash content 5 to 16 %. To enhance the thermal efficiency of the
plant, the coal is used in the boiler in its pulverized form.

In coal fired thermal power plant, steam is obtained in very high pressure inside the steam boiler by
burning the pulverized coal. This steam is then super heated in the super heater to extreme high
temperature. This super heated steam is then allowed to enter into the turbine, as the turbine blades
are rotated by the pressure of the steam. The turbine is mechanically coupled with alternator in a
way that its rotor will rotate with the rotation of turbine blades. After entering into the turbine, the
steam pressure suddenly falls leading to corresponding increase in the steam volume. After having
imparted energy into the turbine rotors, the steam is made to pass out of the turbine blades into the
steam condenser of turbine. In the condenser, cold water at ambient temperature is circulated with
the help of pump which leads to the condensation of the low pressure wet steam. Then this
condensed water is further supplied to low pressure water heater where the low pressure steam
increases the temperature of this feed water, it is again heated in high pressure. This outlines the
basic working methodology of a thermal power plant.

Nuclear Power Station

The nuclear power generating stations are similar to the thermal stations in more ways than one.
How ever, the exception here is that, radioactive elements like Uranium and thorium are used as the
primary fuel in place of coal. Also in a Nuclear station the furnace and the boiler are replaced by the
nuclear reactor and the heat exchanger tubes.
For the process of nuclear power generation, the radioactive fuels are made to undergo fission
reaction within the nuclear reactors. The fission reaction, propagates like a controlled chain reaction
and is accompanied by unprecedented amount of energy produced, which is manifested in the form
of heat. This heat is then transferred to the water present in the heat exchanger tubes. As a result,
super heated steam at very high temperature is produced.
Once the process of steam formation is accomplished, the remaining process is exactly similar to a
thermal power plant, as this steam will further drive the turbine blades to generate electricity.

Hydro-Electric Power Station

In Hydro-electric plants the energy of the falling water is utilized to drive the turbine which in turn
runs the generator to produce electricity. Rain falling upon the earths surface has potential energy
relative to the oceans towards which it flows. This energy is converted to shaft work where the water

falls through an appreciable vertical distance. The hydraulic power is therefore a naturally available
renewable energy given by the eqn:

Where g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/sec

= density of water = 1000 kg/m 3

H = height of fall of water.
This power is utilized for rotating the alternator shaft, to convert it to equivalent electrical energy.
An important point to be noted is that, the hydro-electric plants are of much lower capacity compared
to their thermal or nuclear counterpart. For this reason hydro plants are generally used in scheduling
with thermal stations, to serve the load during peak hours. They in a way assist the thermal or the
nuclear plant to deliver power efficiently during periods of peak hours.

Types of Power Generation

As mentioned above, depending on the type of fuel used, the power generating stations as well as
the types of power generation are classified. Therefore the 3 major classifications for power
production in reasonably large scale are :1) Thermal power generation.
2) Nuclear power generation.
3) Hydro-electric power generation.
Apart from these major types of power generations, we can resort to small scale generation
techniques as well, to serve the discrete demands. These are often referred to as the alternative
methods of power generation and can be classified as :1) Solar power generation. (making use of the available solar energy)
2) Geo-thermal power generation. (Energy available in the Earths crust)
3) Tidal power generation.

These alternative sources of generation has been given due importance in the last few decades
owing to the depleting amount of the natural fuels available to us. In the centuries to come, a stage
might be reached when several countries across the globe would run out of their entire reserve for
fossil fuels. The only way forward would then lie in the mercy of these alternative sources of energy
which might play an instrumental role in shaping the energy supplies of the future. For this reason
these might rightfully be referred as the energy of the future.

Electric Power Generation

The AC power is generated in 3 phase system as 3-phase AC electric power generation is most
economical. 3 phase AC generator is commonly known as the alternator. An alternator has balanced
three phase winding on its stator and an electromagnetic field is rotated inside the stator. Due to this
system, rotating magnetic field cuts the stator windings conductor and as a result, electricity is
induced in the stator windings. From terminals of the stator three phase power is obtained. In an
alternator, rotating electromagnet is energized by the DC source. The rotor is driven by some
external means with the help of thermal, hydal, wind or other forms of energy. For example, in
thermal power plant, the rotor of the alternator is rotated by means of a turbine shaft and the turbine
is driven by means of high temperature and pressure steam. The steam is produced in a boiler by
burning coal in the furnace.
As the stator winding is perfectly balanced, the three phase power produced in an alternator is also
balanced that means phase difference between two conjugative phases is 120 degrees (electrical).

Frequency, Voltage and Interconnected System

If p is the number of poless and N is the RPM of an alternator, frequency of the generated voltage
will be Np/120. In India the frequency of generated power or simply power frequency is 50 Hz. In
USA it is 60 Hz. In modern power plants there are generally more than one number of alternators run
in parallel. Not only in a single plant, may alternators, of other plants also be interconnected to run
parallel. This arrangement improves flexibility and efficiency of the power system. When the power
stations of different locations are interconnected by means of transmission lines, the total network is
referred as a grid. In other word grid is a system by which alternators of all power plants connected
to that grid run in parallel. If any of the alternators becomes out of service, still power can be fed by
other alternators without affecting availability of the system. As many numbers of alternators are

connected and run in parallel, the frequency and voltage of the system becomes much stable
irrespective of degree of loading present in the system. The main drawback of the grid system is,
when an alternator is connected to the grid, its frequency, voltage and phase sequence must match
with that of the grid, and the process of matching the said parameters of alternator with the grid is
not a simple task and the process is called synchronizing.

Conventional Source of Electric Power

Generation
There are mainly three conventional source of electric power generation, and they are thermal hydal,
and nuclear energy.

Thermal Power Generation

In thermal power plant coal or diesel is burnt to produce sufficient heat. This heat energy is utilized to
produce high temperature and high pressure steam in the boiler.

Basic Component of Thermal Power Generating Unit

This steam is then passed through the turbine blades and the turbine shaft rotates due to this steam
pressure. The rotor of an alternator is mechanically coupled with the turbine shaft and hence it also
rotates. This rotation produces electric power.

Hydal Power Generation

Here the water head is used to rotate the rotor shaft of an alternator. Water head can be naturally
available or it can be created. In hilly region water head can be naturally available in the hill top
natural lakes. In plain land, it can be created by constructing dams across suitable rivers. In
comparing to a thermal power plant, hydel plants are more echo-friendly as they are free from fuel
combustion. Also the running cost of hydal plant is much cheaper than that of thermal plants as there
is no need of fuel to be burnt.

Basic Component of a Hydal Power Generating Unit

Although running cost of a hydal power plant is quite low, but initial constructional cost of this plant is
quite high as compared to thermal power plant. As because, there is huge involvement of money in
construction of dams and other necessary civil buildings. Water turbine generally runs at a low
speed, hence number of poles in the generator is higher to achieve fixed 50 Hz power frequency.
The number of pole in a hydal alternator may be up to 20 or more.

Nuclear Power Generation

It is estimated that, the coal reserve of our country will be exhausted within next 40 years if the coal
is continued to be consumed in present rate. The solution of this situation is a nuclear power plant as
thought. In a nuclear power station, Uranium 235 is subjected to nuclear fission. In fission process, U
235 is bombarded by a beam of neutrons. The collision of neutrons with the nucleus of U 235
creates huge heat energy along with other neutrons. These newly created neutrons are called fission
neutrons which again hit by other U 235 nuclear and create mare heat energy and other fission
neutrons. During fission process the nucleus of U 235 is divided into two parts. The fission process is
commutative in nature. That is why, a nuclear reaction is a chain reaction and hence it should be
allowed to be occurred in a controlled manner. The moderates and control rods are used to control
this chain reaction.

Moderates are used to reduce the velocity of neutrons and control rods are used to absorb neutrons

for maintaining, required number of neutrons for the process. Moderates are made of heavy water or
pure carbon and control rods are made of cadmium or boron steel. The speed of the nuclear
reaction can be controlled by inserting control rods up to a desire deep into the reaction chamber. By
pushing down and pulling up the control rods, the output of the nuclear generating plant is controlled.
Although this process is not manual, it is controlled by the automatic feedback control system. The
heat generated during fission is taken out from the reactor by means of coolant consisting of liquid
sodium or some gaseous fluids. The coolant is circulated between heat exchanger and the reactor. It
takes heat from the reactor and gives the heat to the water in the heat exchanger. Thus the water in
the heat exchanger is converted to high pressure and high temperature steam. This steam then
drives a turbine and exhausts into a condenser where it is condensed into water and cooled down
for re- feeding to the heater changes again via a feed water pump. The main advantage of nuclear
power plant is its minimum fuel consumption. It has been observed that for running a 1000 MW
thermal power plant, nearly 6 X106 kg of coal to be burnt every day, whereas in a nuclear power
plant only 2.5 kg of Uranium to be consumed daily for getting same output. But the initial investment
of nuclear power plant is quite high. It produces electricity without causing any air pollution, but, it
has always a chance of radiation hazard because of leakage in reactor chamber. Another major
disadvantage of this plant is its disposals, as because its disposals are not free from radioactivity.

Non Conventional Source of Electrical

Power Generation
Although the main sources of electric power generation are thermal, hydal, and nuclear power
plants, but still there are many other non conventional sources of power available. These non
conventional sources, like wind power, solar power, MHD generation, fuel cell, etc. are becoming the
promising alternative sources for electric power generation.
Thermal power generation plant or thermal power station is the most conventional source of
electric power. Thermal power plant is also referred as coal thermal power plant and steam
turbine power plant. Before going into detail of this topic, we will try to understand the line diagram
of electric power generation plant.

Theory of Thermal Power Station

The theory of thermal power station or working of thermal power station is very simple. A power
generation plant mainly consists of alternator runs with help of steam turbine. The steam is

obtained from high pressure boilers. Generally in India, bituminous coal, brown coal and peat are
used as fuel of boiler. The bituminous coal is used as boiler fuel has volatile matter from 8 to 33 %
and ash content 5 to 16 %. To increase the thermal efficiency, the coal is used in the boiler in powder
form.
In coal thermal power plant, the steam is produced in high pressure in the steam boiler due to
burning of fuel (pulverized coal) in boiler furnaces. This steam is further supper heated in a super
heater. This supper heated steam then enters into the turbine and rotates the turbine blades. The
turbine is mechanically so coupled with alternator that its rotor will rotate with the rotation of turbine
blades. After entering in turbine the steam pressure suddenly falls and corresponding volume of the
steam increases. After imparting energy to the turbine rotor the steam passes out of the turbine
blades into the condenser. In the condenser the cold water is circulated with the help of pump which
condenses the low pressure wet steam. This condensed water is further supplied to low pressure
water heater where the low pressure steam increases the temperature of this feed water, it is again
heated in high pressure.
For better understanding we furnish every step of function of a thermal power station as follows,
1) First the pulverized coal is burnt into the furnace of steam boiler.
2) High pressure steam is produced in the boiler.
3) This steam is then passed through the super heater, where it further heated up.
4) This supper heated steam is then entered into a turbine at high speed.
5) In turbine this steam force rotates the turbine blades that means here in the turbine the stored
potential energy of the high pressured steam is converted into mechanical energy.

Line Diagram of Power Plant

6) After rotating the turbine blades, the steam has lost its high pressure, passes out of turbine blades
and enters into a condenser.

7) In the condenser the cold water is circulated with help of pump which condenses the low pressure
wet steam.
8) This condensed water is then further supplied to low pressure water heater where the low
pressure steam increases the temperature of this feed water, it is then again heated in a high
pressure heater where the high pressure of steam is used for heating.
9) The turbine in thermal power station acts as a prime mover of the alternator.

Overview of Thermal Power Plant

A typical Thermal Power Station Operates on a Cycle which is shown below.

A typical Thermal Power Station Operates on a Cycle

The working fluid is water and steam. This is called feed water and steam cycle. The ideal
Thermodynamic Cycle to which the operation of a Thermal Power Station closely resembles is the
RANKINE CYCLE.
In steam boiler the water is heated up by burning the fuel in air in the furnace & the function of the
boiler is to give dry super heated steam at required temperature.
The steam so produced is used in driving the steam Turbines. This turbine is coupled to
synchronous generator (usually three phase synchronous alternator), which generates electrical
energy.
The exhaust steam from the turbine is allowed to condense into water in steam condenser of turbine,
which creates suction at very low pressure and allows the expansion of the steam in the turbine to a
very low pressure. The principle advantages of condensing operation are the increased amount of
energy extracted per kg of steam and thereby increasing efficiency and the condensate which is fed
into the boiler again reduces the amount of fresh feed water.
The condensate along with some fresh make up feed water is again fed into the boiler by pump
(called the boiler feed pump).
In condenser the steam is condensed by cooling water. Cooling water recycles through cooling
tower. This constitutes cooling water circuit.

The ambient air is allowed to enter in the boiler after dust filtration. Also the flue gas comes out of the
boiler and exhausted into atmosphere through stacks. These constitute air and flue gas circuit. The
flow of air and also the static pressure inside the steam boiler (called draught) is maintained by two
fans called Forced Draught (FD) fan and Induced Draught(ID) fan.
The total scheme of a typical thermal power station along with different circuits is illustrated below.

Inside the boiler there are various heat exchangers, viz. Economiser, Evaporator (not shown in
the fig above, it is basically the water tubes, i.e. downcomer riser circuit), Super Heater (sometimes
Reheater, air preheater are also present).
In Economiser the feed water is heated to considerable amount by the remaining heat of flue gas.
The Boiler Drum actually maintains a head for natural circulation of two phase mixture (steam +
water) through the water tubes.
There is also Super Heater which also takes heat from flue gas and raises the temperature of steam
as per requirement.

Efficiency of Thermal Power Station or Plant

The overall efficiency of a thermal power station or plant varies from 20% to 26% and it depends
upon plant capacity.

Installed plant capacity

Average overall thermal efficiency

upto 1MW

4%

1MW to 10MW

12%

10MW to 50MW

16%

50MW to 100MW

24%

above 100MW

27%

Thermal Power Plant Location

A thermal power station or thermal power plant has ultimate target to make business profit. Hence
for optimizing the profit, the location of the station is much important factor. Power generation plant
location plays an optimizing part in the economy of the station.
The most economical , location of power plant can be determined by graphical method as described
below,
The most economical and ideal power plant location is the center of gravity of the load because for
such a power generation plant the length of the power transmission network will be minimum, thus
the capital cost to the system is reduced.
Lets explain the graphical method, say, X and Y be two reference axes.
Lets Q1(x1, y1), Q2(x2, y2), Q3(x3, y3), Q4(x4, y4),.and Qn(xn, yn) are n
numbers of load centers. From the above graph we get, the coordinates of the center of gravity of
the load, Q(x, y) where

Obviously the location of thermal power station is best at the center of gravity of the load, but many
times it is not possible to establish a thermal power plant at the CG of the load. Since normally CG
point of the load may be at the heart of the city. so other many points to be considered to decide the
best optimized location of the power plant.
1) The electric power generation plant must be constructed at such a place where the cost of land
is quite reasonable.

2) The land should be such that the acquisition of private property must be minimum.
3) A large quantity of cooling water is required for the condensers etc of thermal power generation
plant, hence the plant should preferably situated beside big source of natural water source such as
big river.
4) Availability of huge amount of fuel at reasonable cost is one of the major criterion for choosing
plant location.
5) The plant should be established on plane land.
6)The soil should be such that it should provide good and firm foundation of plant and buildings.
7) The thermal power plant location should not be very nearer to dense locality as there are
smoke, noise steam, water vapors etc.
8) There must be ample scope of development of future demand.
9) Place for ash handling plant for thermal power station should also be available very near by.
10) Very tall chimney of power station should not obstruct the traffics of air ships.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Thermal Power

Station
Advantages:
1) Economical for low initial cost other than any generating plant.
2) Land required less than hydro power plant.
3) Since coal is main fuel & its cost is quite cheap than petrol/diesel so generation cost is
economical.
4) There are easier maintenance.
5) Thermal power plant can be installed in any location where transportation & bulk of water are
available.

Disadvantages:
1) The running cost for a thermal power station is comparatively high due to fuel,maintenance etc.
2) Large amount of smoke causes air pollution.The thermal power station is responsible for Global
warming.
3) The heated water that comes from thermal power plant has an adverse effect on the lives in the
water and disturbs the ecology.
4) Overall efficiency of thermal power plant is low like less 30%.

Definition of Boiler
Steam boiler or simply a boiler is basically a closed vessel into which water is heated until the
water is converted into steam at required pressure. This is most basic definition of boiler.

Working Principle of Boiler

The basic working principle of boiler is very very simple and easy to understand. The boiler is
essentially a closed vessel inside which water is stored. Fuel (generally coal) is bunt in a furnace
and hot gasses are produced. These hot gasses come in contact with water vessel where the heat
of these hot gases transfer to the water and consequently steam is produced in the boiler. Then this
steam is piped to the turbine of thermal power plant. There are many different types of boiler utilized
for different purposes like running a production unit, sanitizing some area, sterilizing equipment, to
warm up the surroundings etc.

Steam Boiler Efficiency

The percentage of total heat exported by outlet steam in the total heat supplied by the fuel(coal) is
called steam boiler efficiency.

It includes with thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency & fuel to steam efficiency. Steam boiler
efficiency depends upon the size of boiler used. A typical efficiency of steam boiler is 80% to 88%.

Actually there are some losses occur like incomplete combustion, radiating loss occurs from steam
boiler surrounding wall, defective combustion gas etc. Hence, efficiency of steam boiler gives this
result.

Types of Boiler
There are mainly two types of boiler water tube boiler and fire tube boiler.
In fire tube boiler, there are numbers of tubes through which hot gases are passed and water
surrounds these tubes.
Water tube boiler is reverse of the fire tube boiler. In water tube boiler the water is heated inside
tubes and hot gasses surround these tubes.

These are the main two types of boiler but each of the types can be sub divided into many which
we will discuss later.

Fire Tube Boiler

As it indicated from the name, the fire tube boiler consists of numbers of tubes through which hot
gasses are passed. These hot gas tubes are immersed into water, in a closed vessel. Actually in fire
tube boiler one closed vessel or shell contains water, through which hot tubes are passed. These fire
tubes or hot gas tubes heated up the water and convert the water into steam and the steam remains
in same vessel. As the water and steam both are in same vessel a fire tube boiler cannot produce
steam at very high pressure. Generally it can produce maximum 17.5 kg/cm 2 and with a capacity of 9
Metric Ton of steam per hour.

Types of Fire Tube Boiler

There are different types of fire tube boiler likewise, external furnace and internal furnace fire tube
boiler.
External furnace boiler can be again categorized into three different types1) Horizontal Return Tubular Boiler.
2) Short Fire Box Boiler.

3) Compact Boiler.
Again, internal furnace fire tube boiler has also two main categories such as horizontal tubular and
vertical tubular fire tube boiler.
Normally horizontal return fire tube boiler is used in thermal power plant of low capacity. It consists of
a horizontal drum into which there are numbers of horizontal tubes. These tubes are submerged in
water. The fuel (normally coal) burnt below these horizontal drum and the combustible gasses move
to the rear from where they enter into fire tubes and travel towards the front into the smoke box.
During this travel of gasses in tubes, they transfer their heat into the water and steam bubbles come
up. As steam is produced, the pressure of the boiler developed, in that closed vessel.

Advantages of Fire Tube Boiler

1) It is quite compact in construction.
2) Fluctuation of steam demand can be met easily.
3) It is also quite cheap.

Disadvantages of Fire Tube Boiler

1) As the water required for operation of the boiler is quite large, it requires long time for rising steam
at desired pressure.
2) As the water and steam are in same vessel the very high pressure of steam is not possible.
3) The steam received from fire tube boiler is not very dry.

Water Tube Boiler

A water tube boiler is such kind of boiler where the water is heated inside tubes and the hot gasses
surround them.

This is the basic definition of water tube boiler. Actually this boiler is just opposite of fire tube boiler
where hot gasses are passed through tubes which are surrounded by water.

Types of Water Tube Boiler

There are many types of water tube boilers, such as
1) Horizontal Straight Tube Boiler.
2) Bent Tube Boiler.
3) Cyclone Fired Boiler.
Horizontal Straight Tube Boiler again can be sub divided into two different types,
i) Longitudinal Drum Water Tube Boiler.
ii) Cross Drum Water Tube Boiler.
Bent Tube Boiler also can be sub divided into four different types,
i) Two Drum Bent Tube Boiler.

ii) Three Drum Bent Tube Boiler.

iii) Low Head Three Drum Bent Tube Boiler.
iv) Four Drum Bent Tube Boiler.

Advantages of Water Tube Boiler

There are many advantages of water tube boiler due to which these types of boiler are essentially
used in large thermal power plant.
1) Larger heating surface can be achieved by using more numbers of water tubes.
2) Due to convectional flow, movement of water is much faster than that of fire tube boiler, hence
rate of heat transfer is high which results into higher efficiency.
3) Very high pressure in order of 140 kg/cm2 can be obtained smoothly.

Disadvantages of Water Tube Boiler

1) The main disadvantage of water tube boiler is that it is not compact in construction.
2) Its cost is not cheap.
3) Size is a difficulty for transportation and construction.
For obtaining maximum fuel combustion efficiency it is required to proper and complete combustion
of fuel inside the boiler furnace. For that, proper and sufficient supply of air and proper mixing of air
with fuel are primary requirements. Adequate supply of fuel particles for proper burning of particles
also to be maintained.
The combustion should produce designated temperature of the steam boiler and maintains it
consistently.
In addition to these, the method of firing steam boiler is such that, the system may be easily handled
and also, operation and maintenance should be minimum. There are mainly two methods of firing
steam boiler with coal as fuel. One is solid fuel firing other is pulverized fuel firing.
Let us discuss one by one.

There are mainly two types of solid fuel firing system

1) Hand firing
2) Mechanical stroke firing
Smaller size boiler can be operated by hand firing system. This system was commonly used to drive
coal engine locomotive in past. Here, coal chips are put into the furnace frequently by shovels.

Mechanical Stoker Firing

When fuel i.e. coal is put into the steam boiler furnace by means of mechanical stoker, the firing of
boiler method is referred as mechanical stoker firing. There are mainly two types of mechanical
stoker firing systems.

Under Feed Mechanical Stoker Firing

Here, combustion takes place on the grate. The primary air is fed below the grate. The primary air is
fed below the grate. The secondary air is allowed at the top. when the coal is burnt, it is pushed
down by fresh coal. The fresh coal is pushed on the grate by means of rams as shown.

Cross-sectional Conceptual View of Underfeed Stoker

The ignition occurs downwards against the primary air flow. The volatile matter filters through the
bed and is completely burnt. The combustion rate is high. The light ash contents and combustion
gases fly away to the atmosphere along with primary air. Heavier ash content comes down over the
grate and ultimately falls into ash pit.

Travel Grate Stoker Solid Coal Firing

Here, the coal is burnt on a chain grate which continuously travel forwards slowly combustion takes
place during the journey of coal from first end to last end of the furnace. At the end of the combustion
heavier ash content falls into ash pit by gravitational force as the grate chain moves like conveyor
belt. The lighter ash particles and combustion gases fly away with primary air.

Pulvarized Fuel Firing

For getting most calorific value of coal, the coal is pulvarized in fine powder and then mixed with
sufficient air. The mixture of coal powder and air is fired in the steam boiler furnace to achieve most
efficient combustion process.This is most modern and efficient method of boiler firing.

Due to pulverization, the surface area of coal becomes much larger, and in this method air required
for combustion is much less. As the quantity of required air and fuel both are less, loss of heat in this
method of boiler firing is much less, hence temperature can easily be reached to the designated
level. As the combustion is most efficient pulverized coal firing increases the overall efficiency of
steam boiler. As handling of lighter coal dust is much easier than handling of heavier coal chips, it is
quite easy to control the output of the boiler by controlling supply of fuel to the furnace. Hence
fluctuation of system load can smoothly be met.
In addition these advantages, pulverized coal firing system has may disadvantages. Such as
1) The initial cost of installing this plant is very high.
2) Not only initial cost, running cost of this plant is quite high as separate pulverization plant to
installed and run additionally.
3) High temperature causes high thermal loss through flue gas.

4) This type of method of boiler firing has always a risk of explosion.

5) This is also difficult and expensive to filter fine ash particles from fine gas. Moreover, the quantity
of ash particles in the flue gas is more in pulverized system.

Pulvarization Process
Process of pulvarization is discussed here in brief.
1) First the coal is crushed by preliminary crasher. The coal is crushed to 2.5 cm. or less.
2) Then this crushed coal is passed through magnetic separator to separate any iron content in the
coal. Iron must be removed, otherwise during pulverizing iron particles will cause spark which results
unwanted fire hazard.
3) After that, crushed coal is dried properly before pulverization. The moisture content must be less
than 2% after drying operation.
4) Then the coal is crushed again in fine particles in ball mill. This process is referred as
pulverization.
5) This pulverized coal is then puffed with air and put into furnace as fluid.
Fluidization is a method of mixing fuel and air in a specific proportion, for obtaining combustion. A
fluidized bed may be defined as the bed of solid particles behaving as a fluid. It operates on the
principal that when an evenly distributed air is passed upward through a finely divided bed of solid
particles at low velocity, the particles remain undisturbed, but if the velocity of air flow is steadily
increased, a stage is reached when the individual particles are suspended in the air stream. If the air
velocity is further increased, the bed becomes highly turbulent and rapid mixing of particles occur
which appear like formation of bubbles in a boiling liquid and the process of combustion as a result is
known as fluidized bed combustion .
The velocity of air, causing fluidization depends on a number of parameter, like :1) Size of fuel particles.
2) Density of air fuel mixture.

Hence, these parameters are given due consideration, while manipulating with air flow velocity for
desired rate of combustion.
In fluidized bed combustion, rapid mixing ensures uniformity of temperature. The main advantage
of fluidized bed combustion system is that municipal waste, sewage plant sludge, biomass,
agricultural waste and other high moisture fuels can be used for heat generation .
A fluidized furnace has an enclosed space with a base having openings to admit air. Crushed coal,
ash and crushed dolomite or limestone is mixed in the bed furnace and high velocity combustion air
is then passed through the bed, entering from the furnace bottom. With the steady increase in the
velocity of air, a stage will be reached when the pressure drop across the bed becomes equal to the
weight per unit cross-section of the bed, and this particular critical velocity is called the minimum
fluidizing velocity. With further increase in velocity of air, the bed will begin to expand and allow
passage of additional air, in the form of bubbles. When the air velocity becomes 3 to 5 times the
critical velocity, the bed resembles to that of a violently boiling liquid. A pictorial representation of
fluidized bed combustion is given in the figure below :-

The evaporator tubes of boiler are directly immersed in the fluidized bed and the tubes, being in
direct contact with the burning coal particles, produce very high heat transfer rates. Because of this,
the unit size is reduced to a great extent, and also produces combustion with very high efficiency.

Types of Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC)

Fluidized Bed combustion can be in 2 variants, namely :1) Vertical type FBC :These are generally used in smaller plant, and has the capacity to produce
steam of up to 6 tonnes per hour only. Their vertical shape reduces the overall dimension of the
steam boiler, and is extremely efficient in plants, where space provision is limited.
2) Horizontal type FBC : There are almost 10 times in capacity when compared to vertical type
fluidized bed combustion. They can produce as much as 60 tonnes of steam per hour, and are

placed horizontally with respect to the boiler tubes. The high capacity of the horizontal type Fluidized
boilers coupled with their high efficiency, makes them an extremely desirable choice for the coal fired
thermal power generating station .

Advantages and Dis-advantages of Fluidized

Bed Combustion
FBC is being used exhaustively these days in all major power stations all over the globe, owing to
numerous advantages that it offers over the other pre-dominant methods of combustion. Few of
those are :1) High thermal efficiency.
2) Easy ash removal system, to be transferred for made cement .
3) Short commissioning and erection period.
4) Fully automated and thus ensures safe operation, even at extreme temperatures.
5) Efficient operation at temperatures down to 150 C ( i.e. well below the ash fusion temperature).
6) Reduced coal crushing etc.(pulverised coal is not a necessity here).
7) The system can respond rapidly to changes in load demand, due to quick establishment of
thermal equilibrium between air and fuel particles in the bed.
8) The operation of fluidized bed furnace at lower temperature helps in reducing air pollution. The
low temperature operation also reduces the formation of nitrogen oxides. By adding either dolomite
(a calcium-magnesium carbonate) or lime stone (calcium carbonate) to the furnace the discharge of
sulphur oxides to the atmosphere can also be reduced if desired.
In view of all these advantages of fluidized bed combustion above, where fluidized bed
combustion emerges as the best alternative available today, still the major drawback of this system

is that the fan power has to be maintained at a considerably highvalue, since the air has to be
supplied continuously at a very high pressure for supporting the bed. This in turn increases the
operating cost of the auxiliary units of the plant. But it is more than compensated by the high values
of efficiency that FBC provides.
Power system mainly contains three parts namely generation, transmission and distribution.
Generation means how to generate electricity from the available source and there are various
methods to generate electricity but in this article we only focused on generation of electricity by the
means of hydro or water (hydro power plant). As we know that the power plant is defined as the
place where power is generated from a given source, so here the source is hydro thats why we
called it hydro power plant.

Hydro Power Plant

In hydro power plant we use gravitational force of fluid water to run the turbine which is coupled
with electric generator to produce electricity. This power plant plays an important role to protect our
fossil fuel which is limited, because the generated electricity in hydro power station is the use of
water which is renewable source of energy and available in lots of amount without any cost. The big
advantage of hydro power is the water which the main stuff to produce electricity in hydro power
plant is free, it not contain any type of pollution and after generated electricity the price of electricity
is average not too much high.

Construction and Working of Hydro Power

Plant

Fundamental parts of hydro power plant are

a) Area
b) Dam
c) Reservoir
d) Penstock
e) Storage tank
f) Turbines and generators
g) Switchgear and protection
For construction of hydro power plant first we choose the area where the water is sufficient to
reserve and no any crisis of water and suitable to build a dam, then we construct the dam. The main
function of dam is to stop the flow of water and reserve the water in reservoir. Mainly dam is situated
at a good height to increase the force of water. Reservoir stocks up lots of water which is employed
to generate power by means of turbines. After that Penstock, the pipe which is connected between
dam and turbine blades and most important purpose of the penstock is to enlarge the kinetic energy
of water thats why this pipe is made up of extremely well-built material which carry on the pressure
of water. To control the pressure of water means increase or decrease water pressure whenever
required, we use a valve. Storage tank comes in picture when the some reason the pressure of
water in reservoir is decreases then we use storage tank it is directly connected to penstock and use
only in emergency condition. After that we employ turbine and generator. Turbine is the main stuff,
when water comes through the penstock with high kinetic energy and falls on turbine blades, turbine
rotates at high speed. As we know that the turbine is an engine that transfers energy of fluid into
mechanical energy which is coupled with generator and generator converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy which we utilize at the end. In hydro power plant we also add switchgears and
protections which control and protect the whole process inside the plant. The control equipments
consists control circuits, control devices, warning, instrumentation etc and connect to main control
board. After generating electricity at low voltage, we use step up transformer to enlarge the level of
voltage (generally 132KV, 220KV, 400KV and above) as per our requirement. After that we transmit
the electric power to the load center, and then we step down the voltage for industrial and large
consumer and then again we step down the voltage to distribute electricity at domestic level which
we used at home.

This is the whole process of generating electricity by the means of hydro (hydro power plant) and
then transmitting and distributing electricity.

History of Hydro Power Plant

First hydro power is used by the Greekins to spin water wheels for crushing wheat into flour before
more than 2000 years ago. In the 1700s, hydropower was generally used for pumping irrigation
(non-natural use of water on the way to the land) water. We start to generate electricity from hydro
power in 1882 when United States (U S) establishes a first hydro power station which generate 12.5
kilowatts (KW) of power. The rapid growth of hydro power comes in 1900s when hydraulic reaction
turbine comes in picture as a result in 1900s hydro power plants fulfill the requirement of 40% of
total United States electricity. In between 1905-1911 largest hydro power station (Roosevelt Dam) is
built by the united state and its generated capacity is increased from 4500kW to 36,000kW.In 1914
S.J. Zowski developed the high specific speed reaction (Francis) turbine runner for low head
applications. 1922 the first time a hydroelectric plant was built specifically for crest power. In 1933
Hoover Dam, Arizona generated electricity first time. In 1940 over 1500 hydro power plants generate
about one third of the United States electrical energy.
If we compare the countries on the basis of generated electricity by the means of hydro power,
Canada on the top after that United State then Brazil then Russia then China then Norway and at 7th
number India is present. India fulfills the 3.5% power to the total world power through hydro power
plants.
In India scope of hydro power is very good, first hydro power station, capacity of 130kW establishes
in Asia at mounts of Darjeeling in 1898 and after that in 1902 Shimsh (Shivanasamudra) is
established and both located in India. Now a day in India the leading hydro power plant is located of
river Naptha Jhakri hydro project of 1500MW in Himachal Pradesh. In India main boost come in the
field of hydro power in august 1998 when the Government of India publicized a plan on Hydro
Power Development after that in November 2008 once again Indian government announced this
plan and as a result India become leading country list to produce hydro power.
This a general idea about hydro power plant.
For generating electrical power, it is essential to rotate the rotor of an alternator by means of a prime
mover. The prime mover can be driven by different methods. Using diesel engine as prime mover is

one of the popular methods of generating power. When prime mover of the alternators is diesel
engine, the power station is called diesel power station.
The mechanical power required for driving alternator comes from combustion of diesel. As the diesel
costs high, this type of power station is not suitable for producing power in large scale in our country.
But for small scale production of electric power, and where, there is no other easily available
alternatives of producing electric power, diesel power station are used.
Steam power stations and hydro power plants are mainly used to produce maximum portion of the
electrical load demands. But for steam power station, sufficient supply of coal and water are
required.
For hydro power station, plenty source of water and big dams are required. But where all these
facilities are not available, such as no easy way of coal transportation and no scope of constructing
dam, there it is established.
Diesel power plants are also popularly used as standby supply of different industries, commercial
complexes, hospitals, etc. During power cut, these diesel power generators are run to fulfil required
demand.

Advantages of Diesel Power Station

1.

This is simple in design point of view.

2.

Required very small space.

3.

It can also be designed for portable use.

4.

It has quick starting facility, the small diesel generator set can be started within few
seconds.

5.

It can also be stopped as when required stopping small size diesel power station, even
easier than its starting

6.

As these machines can easily be started and stopped as when required, there may not
be any standby loss in the system.

7.

Cooling is easy and required smaller quantity of water in this type power station.

8.

Initial cost is less than other types of power station.

9.

Thermal efficiency of diesel is quite higher than of coal.

10.

Small involvement is less than steam power station.

Disadvantages of Diesel Power Station

1.

As we have already mentioned, the cost of diesel is very high compared to coal. This is
the main reason for which a diesel power plant is not getting popularity over other means of
generating power. In other words the running cost of this plant is higher compared to steam and
hydro power plants.

2.

The plant generally used to produce small power requirement.

3.

Cost of lubricants is high.

4.

Maintenance is quite complex and costs high.

Different Components of Diesel Power

Station
In addition to diesel generator set or DG set there are many other auxiliaries attached to at diesel
power station.
Lets discuss one by one.

Fuel Supply System

In fuel supply system there are one storage tank, where oil in stored.
Strainer : This oil then pump to dry tank, by means of transfer pump.
During transferring from main tank to smaller dry tank, the oil passes through strainer to remove
solid impurities. From dry tank to main tank, there is another pipe connection. This is over flow pipe.
This pipe connection is used to return the oil from dry tank to main tank in the event of over flowing.

From dry tank the oil is injected in the diesel engine by means of fuel injection pump.

Air Intake System

This system supplies necessary air to the engine for fuel combustion. It consists of a pipe for
supplying of fresh air to the engine. Filters are provided to remove dust particles from air.

Exhaust System
The exhaust gas is removed from engine, to the atmosphere by means of an exhaust system. A
silencer is normally used in this system to reduce noise level of the engine.

Cooling System
The heat produced due to internal combustion, drives the engine. But some parts of this heat raise
the temperature of different parts of the engine. High temperature may cause permanent damage to
the machine. Hence, it is essential to maintain the overall temperature of the engine to a tolerable
level. Cooling system of diesel power station does exactly so. The cooling system requires a water
source, water source, water pump and cooling towers. The pump circulates water through cylinder
and head jacket. The water takes away heat from the engine and it becomes hot. The hot water is
cooled by cooling towers and is re-circulated for cooling.

Lubricating System
This system minimises the water of rubbing surface of the engine. Here lubricating oil is stored in
main lubricating oil tank. This lubricating oil is drawn from the tank by means of oil pump. Then the
oil is passed through the oil filter for removing impurities. From the filtering point, this clean
lubricating oil is delivered to the different points of the machine where lubrication is required the oil
cooler is provided in the system to keep the temperature of the lubricating oil as low as possible.

Starting System
For starting a diesel engine, initial rotation of the engine shaft is required. Until the firing start and the
unit runs with its own power. For small DG set, the initial rotation of the shaft is provided by handles
but for large diesel power station. Compressed air is made for starting.
Electrical power can be generated by means of nuclear power. In nuclear power station, electrical
power is generated by nuclear reaction.

Here, heavy radioactive elements such as Uranium (U235) or Thorium (Th232) are subjected to nuclear
fission. This fission is done in a special apparatus called as reactor.
Before going to details of nuclear power station, lets try to understand what is fission?
In fission process, the nuclei of heavy radioactive atoms are broken into two nearly equal parts.
During this breaking of nuclei, huge quantity of energy is released. This release of energy is due to
mass defect. That mean, the total mass of initial product would be reduced during fission. This loss
of mass during fission is converted into heat energy as per famous equation E = mc 2, established by
Albert Einstein.
The basic principle of nuclear power station is same as steam power station. Only difference is
that, instead of using heat generated due to coal combustion, here in nuclear power plant, heat
generated due to nuclear fission is used to produce steam from water in the boiler. This steam is
used to drive a steam turbine. This turbine is the prime mover of the alternator. This alternator
generates electrical energy. Although, the availability of nuclear fuel is not plenty but very less
amount of nuclear fuel can generate huge amount of electrical energy. This is the unique feature of a
nuclear power plant. One kg of uranium is equivalent to 4500 metric tons of high grade coal. That
means complete fission of 1 kg uranium can produce as much heat as can be produced by complete
combustion of 4500 metric tons high grade coal. This is why, although nuclear fuel is much costlier,
but nuclear fuel cost per unit electrical energy is still lower than that cost of energy generated by
means of other fuel like coal and diesel. To meet up conventional fuel crisis in present era, nuclear
power station can be the most suitable alternatives.

Advantages of Nuclear Power Station

1.

As we said, the fuel consumption in this power station is quite low and hence, cost for
generating single unit is quite less than other conventional power generation method.

2.

A nuclear power station occupies much smaller space compared to other conventional
power station of same capacity.

3.

This station does not require plenty of water, hence it is not essential to construct plant
near natural source of water. This also does not required huge quantity of fuel; hence it is also
not essential to construct the plant near coal mine, or the place where good transport facilities
are available. Because of this, the nuclear power station can be established very near to the load
centre.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plant

1.

The fuel is not easily available and it is very costly.

2.

Initial cost for constructing nuclear power station is quite high.

3.

Erection and commissioning of this plant is much complicated and sophisticated than
other conventional power station.

4.

The fission by products are radioactive in nature, and it may cause high radioactive
pollution.

5.

The maintenance cost is higher and the man power required to run a nuclear power
plant is quite higher since speciality trained people are required.

6.

Sudden fluctuation of load cannot be met up efficiently by nuclear plant.

7.

As the by products of nuclear reaction is high radioactive, it is very big problem for
disposal of this by products. It can only be disposed deep inside ground or in a sea away from
sea share.

Different Components of Nuclear Power

Station
A nuclear power station has mainly four components.
1.

Nuclear reactor,

2.

Heat exchanger,

3.

Steam turbine,

4.

Alternator.
Lets discuss these components one by one:

Nuclear Reactor
In nuclear reactor, Uranium 235 is subjected to nuclear fission. It controls the chain reaction that
starts when the fission is done. The chain reaction must be controlled otherwise rate of energy
release will be fast, there may be a high chance of explosion. In nuclear fission, the nuclei of nuclear
fuel, such as U235 are bombarded by slow flow of neutrons. Due to this bombarding, the nuclei of
Uranium is broken, which causes release of huge heat energy and during breaking of nuclei, number
of neutrons are also emitted.
These emitted neutrons are called fission neutrons. These fission neutrons cause further fission.
Further fission creates more fission neutrons which again accelerate the speed of fission. This is
cumulative process. If the process is not controlled, in very short time the rate of fission becomes so
high, it will release so huge amount of energy, there may be dangerous explosion. This cumulative
reaction is called chain reaction. This chain reaction can only be controlled by removing fission
neutrons from nuclear reactor. The speed of the fission can be controlled by changing the rate of
removing fission neutrons from reactors.
A nuclear reactor is a cylindrical shaped stunt pressure vessel. The fuel rods are made of nuclear
fuel i.e. Uranium moderates, which is generally made of graphite cover the fuel rods. The moderates

slow down the neutrons before collision with uranium nuclei. The controls rods are made of cadmium
because cadmium is a strong absorber of neutrons.
The control rods are inserted in the fission chamber. These cadmium controls rods can be pushed
down and pull up as per requirement. When these rods are pushed down enough, most of the fission
neutrons are absorbed by these rods, hence the chain reaction stops. Again, while the controls rods
are pulled up, the availability of fission neutrons becomes more which increases the rates of chain
reaction. Hence, it is clear that by adjusting the position of the control rods, the rate of nuclear
reaction can be controlled and consequently the generation of electrical power can be controlled as
per load demand. In actual practice, the pushing and pulling of control rods are controlled by
automatic feedback system as per requirement of the load. It is not controlled manually. The heat
released during nuclear reaction, are carried to the heat exchanger by means of coolant consist of
sodium metal.

Heat Exchanger
In heat exchanger, the heat carried by sodium metal, is dissipated in water and water is converted to
high pressure steam here. After releasing heat in water the sodium metal coolant comes back to the
reactor by means of coolant circulating pump.

Steam Turbine
In nuclear power plant, the steam turbine plays the same role as coal power plant. The steam drives
the turbine in same way. After doing its job, the exhaust steam comes into steam condenser where it
is condensed to provide space to the steam behind it.

Alternator
An alternator, coupled with turbine, rotates and generates electrical power, for utilization.

Site Selection of Nuclear Power Station

1.

Availability of water : Although very large quantity of water is not regulated as hydroelectric power plant, but still sufficient supply of neutral water is obvious for cooling purposes in
nuclear power station. That is why it is always preferable to locate this plant near a river or sea
side.

2.

Disposal of Water : The by products or wastes of nuclear power station are radioactive
and may cause severe health hazards. Because of this, special care to be taken during disposal

of wastes of nuclear power plant. The wastes must be buried in sufficient deep from earth level
or these must be disposed off in sea quite away from the sea share. Hence, during selecting the
location of nuclear plant, these factor must be taken into consideration.
3.

Distance from Populated Area : As there is always a probability of radioactivity, it is

always preferable to locate a nuclear station sufficiently away from populated area.

4.

Transportation Facilities : During commissioning period, heavy equipments to be

erected, which to be transported from manufacturer site. So good railways and road ways
availabilities are required. For availability of skilled manpower good public transport should also
be present at the site.

Solar Energy System

Solar energy is the light and radiant heat from the Sun that control Earths climate and weather and
protract life. It is a renewable source of energy and originates with the thermonuclear process that
transfers about 650,000,000 tons of hydrogen to helium per second. This action produces lots of
heat and electromagnetic radiation. The produced heat remains in the sun and is helpful in
upholding the thermonuclear reaction and electromagnetic radiation together with visible, infrared
and ultra-violet radiation flow out into space in all directions.
Solar energy is in reality nuclear energy. Similar to all stars, the sun is a large gas sphere made up
mostly of hydrogen and helium gas. In the internal surface of sun 25% of hydrogen is fusing into
helium at a rate of about 7 x 1011 kg of hydrogen per second. Heat from the center is first and
foremost spread out, and then sends down, to the Sun surface, where it keeps up at a temperature
of 5800 K. According to Stefan-Boltzmanns Law, the total energy that is released by the Sun, and
therefore, the quantity of solar energy that we get here on Earth, is significantly reliant upon this
surface temperature.
Now a days solar energy system play an important role in the field of producing electricity or other
domestic uses like water heating, cooking etc. As we know that major part of generated electricity or
electricity depends upon coal which is used in thermal power plant (in In India 65% of total power is
generated by the thermal power plant). But the main problem is here that the fuel used in thermal
power plant is coal which is in limited amount and may be not available in future to produce or
generate electricity. That is the main reason to solar energy system comes to the picture.

Solar energy system is the pollution free source of energy and always available because, sun is the
single source of solar energy (also known as renewable energy or non conventional energy) which
sits at the central point of solar system and radiate energy at an tremendously huge and fairly
constant rate, per day per year as the form of electromagnetic radiation. Sun contained huge amount
of energy but the whole energy not utilized at earth due to some reason like(a) Earth is revolve at about its polar axis.
(b) Atmospheric reason of earth.
(c) Earth is relocate from the sun.
But the main thing is that after these obstacles sun energy reach to earth is sufficient to produce or
generate electricity which is polluted free. Due to this consideration somewhat we reduce the use of
Thermal Power Plant, Gas Power Plant etc and reserve the non renewable energy sources like coal,
petroleum etc for future. In recent years solar energy system is rise as a primary source of energy
that converted into electricity and almost all country in the world utilize maximum solar energy to
produce electricity and this is very less costly.
The main benefit of solar energy system is that the sun light is present everywhere free of cost. To
produce electricity or convert solar energy to other form of energy first we invest heavy amount for
solar panel that convert solar energy to other form but the main advantage is after that installation no
any type of maintenance is required for 40 to 50 years.

History of Solar Energy

First solar collector created by Swiss scientist named Horace-Benedict de Saussure in 1767 he take
an insulated box enclosed with three layers of glass which suck up heat energy. After that
Saussures box became famous and widely known as the first solar oven, getting temperatures of
230 degrees Fahrenheit. After that in 1839 a most important landmark in the progression of solar
energy occurs with the significant of the photovoltaic effect by a French scientist Edmond Becquerel.
In this he used two electrodes placed in an electrolyte and then exposing it to the light and results is
tremendous electricity increased a lot. . After that lots of experiment are occurred by various
scientists at time to time and modified our solar energy system to produce more electricity from solar

energy. But now a days also in this field various experiments are doing by a scientist, how to utilize
maximum solar energy which is available on the earth.
In 1873, Willoughby Smith discovered photoconductivity of a material known as selenium. In 1887
there was the discovery of the ultraviolet ray capacity to cause a spark jump between two electrodes
and this was done by Heinrich Hertz. In 1891 the first solar heater was created. In 1893 the first
solar cell was introduced. In 1908 William J. Baileys invented a copper collector which was
constructed using copper coils and boxes. In 1958, solar energy was used in space. In the 1970s,
Exxon Corporation designed an efficient solar panel which was less costly to manufacture. Less cost
manufacturing process of solar panel became the major milestone in the history of solar energy. In
1977 the US government embraced the use of solar energy by launching the Solar Energy Research
Institute. In 1981, Paul Macready produced the first solar powered aircraft. in the year 1982 there
was the development of the first solar powered cars in Australia. In 1999 the largest plant was
developed producing more than 20 kilowatts.
In 1999, the most proficient solar cell was developed with a photovoltaic efficiency of 36 percent,
now a day we produce 200 megawatts to 600 megawatts electricity from solar energy like in Indias
Gujarat Solar Park, a compilation of solar farms spotted around the Gujarat region, show a mutual
installed capacity of 605 megawatts and Golmud Solar Park in China, with an installed capacity of
200 megawatts.

Economics of Power Generation

In all new engineering enterprises of this era, the question of cost is of utmost importance. It is the
role played by an engineer to achieve the desired technical result, with minimum cost that
distinguishes him from a non engineer who can also possibly attain the same result, but at what
cost? In a power generation industry we are usually confronted with a situation where we have to
make a choice between equipment of high cost with high efficiency and their low cost counterpart
with lower efficiency. In the first case, the charges due to interest and depreciation will be higher with
lower energy bill as compared to the corresponding figures in the second case. Here the role of the
Electrical Engineer comes into play, where he has to balance the situation in such a way that the
total expenditure of the plant is minimum, and thus the study of economics of power generation is
of prime importance, taking all practical purposes into consideration.

To deduce the power generation economics effectively we should know the structure of annual
expenditure of the plant and the factors affecting them. The total annual expenditure of the plant
can be classified into several subheadings namely,
1) Fixed Charges
2) Semi fixed Charges
3) Running Charges
These are all important parameters pertaining to the Economics of power generation. and are
considered in details below.

Fixed Charges of Power Generation

Fixed charges, as the name suggest does not vary either with the capacity of the plant or with plant
operation. These costs remain fixed under all circumstances. These mainly include the salaries of
higher officials of the central organization and the rent of the land reserved for future expansion.

Semi Fixed Charges of Power Generation

These charges mainly depend on the installed capacity of the plant and are independent of the
electrical energy output of the plant. These charges include the following :
1) Interest and depreciation on the capital cost of the generating plant, transmission and distribution
network, buildings and other civil engineering works etc. Capital cost of the plant also includes the
interest paid during the construction of the plant, salaries of engineers and other employees,
development and construction of the power station. It also includes cost incurred on account of
transportation, labor etc. to bring the equipment on site and installing the same, all of which are
involved for the overall economics of power generation.
It is particularly note worthy, that in nuclear stations the capital cost of the station also includes the
cost of initial charges of the nuclear fuel minus the salvage value paid at the end of its useful life.
2) It also includes all types of taxes, insurance premiums pain on policies to cover the risk of
accidental breakdown.
3) Rent paid for the land being actually used for the construction purpose.

The cost due to starting and shutting down of plants are also included in this category , when the
power plant operates on one or two shift basis.

Running Charges of Power Generation

The running charges or running cost of a power plant, is probably one of the most important
parameters while considering the economics of power generation as it depends upon the number of
hours the plant is operated or upon the number of units of electrical energy generated. It essentially
comprises of the following costs incurred mentioned below.
1) Cost of the fuel delivered coupled with the fuel handling cost in the plant. Coal is the fuel used in a
thermal power plant, and diesel oil in case of a diesel station. In case of a hydro-electric plant there
is no fuel cost as water is the free gift of nature. But a hydro-plant requires higher installation cost
and their mega Watt output of power generation is also lower compared to the thermal power plants.
2) Wastage of the operational and maintenance stuff and salaries of supervisor staffs engaged in
running the plant.
3) In case of a thermal power plant, power generation economics includes the cost of feed water for
the boiler, like the cost of water treatment and conditioning.
4) As the amount of wear and tear of the equipment depends on the extent to which the plant is
being used, so the lubricating oil cost and repair and maintenance charges of the equipment are also
included in the running charges.
So, we can conclude saying, that the total annual charges incurred in the power generation, and the
overall power generation economics can be represented by the equation,
E = a + b KW + c kWH
1.

Where a represents the total fixed cost of the plant, and has no relation with the total
output of the plant or the number of hours for which the plant is running.

2.

b represents the semi-fixed cost, which mainly depends on the total output of the plant
and not on the number of hours for which the plant is being operated. The unit for b is thus
ideally chosen to be in k-Watt.

3.

c essentially represents the running cost of the plant, and depends on the number of
hours for which the plant is running to generate a certain mega watt of power. Its unit is given in
K-Watt-Hr.
Objective Questions on Electrical Power Generation (MCQs)