POWER PLANT ECONOMICS

Question1. What do you understand by present-worth concept? How is it estimated?

Question2. How does the fuel cost relate to the load and the cost of power generation?
Question3. What do you understand by depreciation? How the depreciation rate is determined?
Question4. What is straight-line method of determining the depreciation charge?
Question5. What do you mean by sinking-fund method of accumulating the money for the
depreciation fund?
Question6. What are fixed costs?
Question7. What are the expenses which constitute the construction cost of a power plant?
Question8. What are the considerations to be made while selecting the suitable site for a thermal
and a nuclear power plant?
Question9. Explain what you understand by base load and peaking load. Why are base load
plants loaded heavily?
Question10. How is the load- duration curve constructed?
Question11. What do you understand by load factor and capacity factor?
Question12. Define reserve factor and diversity factor?
Question13. A power plant has the following annual factors:
Load factor = 70%, capacity factor = 50%, use factor = 60%, Maximum demand = 20MW.
Estimate (a) Annual energy production (b) reserve capacity over and above the peak load (c)
the hours per year during which the plant is not in service.
Question14. A 60 MW turbo generator set has an overall efficiency of 25%. The calorific value
of coal used is 24 MJ/kg. Estimate the consumption of coal per kWh and also per day of 24 h if
load factor is 30%.
Question15. A plant costing Rs 65000 has a useful life of 15 years. Find the amount which
should be saved annually to replace the equipment at the end of that time (a) by straight- line
method and (b) by sinking-fund method if the annual rate of compound interest is 5%. Assume
that the salvage value of equipment is Rs 5000.
Question16. A power station is said to have a use factor of 47% and capacity factor of 40%. For
how many hours in a year was the power station not in service?
Question17. Determine the generating cost per unit of 80 MW power station with the following
data:
Capital cost = Rs 160 X 107
Annual cost of fuel = Rs 32 X 106
Annual wages and taxes = Rs 36 X 106
Interest and depreciation = 10% of capital cost
Annual load factor = 45%
Question18. A power plant has the following annual factors: load factor = 0.75, capacity factor =
0.60, use factor = 0.65. Maximum demand is 60 MW. Estimate (a) The annual energy
production, (b) reserve capacity over and above the peak load (c) the hours per year during
which the plant is not in service.
Question19. The capital cost of a power generating equipment in a steam power plant is Rs 80 X
106. The useful life of the plant is 30 years and the salvage value is 5% of the capital cost.
Determine by the sinking-fund method the amount of money to be saved annually for
replacement if the yearly rate of compound interest is 6%.
Question20. A central power station has annual load factor, capacity factor and use factor as
60%, 40% and 45% respectively. The maximum demand is 15MW. Estimate (a) the annual
energy production and revenue earned if the cost of energy is Rs 1/kWh, (b) the reserve capacity
over and above the peak load and (c) the hours per year the station is not in service.