An 800 MW coal fired power plant supplies electricity to 500,000 homes. The powe

Question

An 800 MW coal fired power plant supplies electricity to 500,000 homes. The power plant has a capacity factor of 85%, an availability of 95%, and an overall cycle efficiency of 30% based on higher heating value. The coal used to fuel the plant has a heating value of 24 MJ/kg. Assume the electricity has a transmission efficiency of 94%.

a. How much electrical energy is generated annually by the power plant (MWh/yr)?

b. How many metric tons of coal are required to fuel the plant annually (Mg/yr)?

c. What is the average annual household electricity usage (kWh/home-yr)? Assume all generated electricity is used to supply the 500,000 households.

Explanation / Answer

a) Electrical energy = 800 * 24 * 365 = 7008000 MWh/yr

b) Energy required = 800 / (0.85 * 0.95 * 0.3)   = 3302.3736 MW

     Energy required in a year   = 3302.3736 * 3600 * 24 * 365

     Amount of coal   = 3302.3736 * 3600 * 24 * 365 / 24 * 10^6

                              = 4339318.91 Mg/yr

c) average requirement = 7008000*0.94 / 500000   = 13175 kWh/home-yr

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