Module 1

Introduction
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.
Conventional and non-conventional sources of renewable energy
Conventional: Energy that has been used from ancient times is known as
conventional energy. Coal, natural gas, oil, and firewood are examples of
conventional energy sources.
(Or usual) sources of energy (electricity) are coal, oil, wood, peat, uranium.
Non-conventional (or unusual) sources of energy include:
Solar power
Hydro-electric power (dams in rivers)
Wind power
Tidal power
Ocean wave power
Geothermal power (heat from deep under the ground)
Ocean thermal power (the difference in heat between shallow and deep
water)
Biomass (burning of vegetation to stop it producing methane)
Biofuel (producing ethanol (petroleum) from plants

Selection site of thermal power plant:

In general, both the construction and operation of a power plant requires the
existence of some conditions such as water resources and stable soil type.
Still there are other criteria that although not required for the power plant,
yet should be considered because they will be affected by either the
construction or operation of the plants such as population centers and
protected areas. The following list corers most of the factors that should be
studied and considered in selection of proper sites for power plant
construction:
Transportation network: Easy and enough access to transportation
network is required in both power plant construction and operation periods.
Gas pipe network: Vicinity to the gas pipes reduces the required expenses.
Power transmission network: To transfer the generated electricity to the
consumers, the plant should be connected to electrical transmission system
Therefore the nearness to the electric network can play a roll.
Geology and soil type: The power plant should be built in an area with soil
and rock layers that could stand the weight and vibrations of the power
plant.
Earthquake and geological faults: Even weak and small earthquakes can
damage many parts of a power plant intensively. Therefore the site should be
away enough from the faults and previous earthquake areas
Topography: It is proved that high elevation has a negative effect on
production efficiency of gas turbines. In addition, changing of a sloping area
into a flat site for the construction of the power plant needs extra budget.
Therefore, the parameters of elevation and slope should be considered.
Rivers and floodways: obviously, the power plant should have a
reasonable distance from permanent and seasonal rivers and floodways.
Water resources: For the construction and operating of power plant
different volumes of water are required. This could be supplied from either
rivers or underground water resources. Therefore having enough water
supplies in defined vicinity can be a factor in the selection of the site.

Environmental resources: Operation of a power plant has important

impacts on environment. Therefore, priority will be given to the locations that
are far enough from national parks, wildlife, protected areas, etc.
Population centers: For the same reasons as above, the site should have
an enough distance from population centers.
Need for power: In general, the site should be near the areas that there is
more need for generation capacity, to decrease the amount of power loss
and transmission expenses.
Climate: Parameters such as temperature, humidity, wind direction and
speed affect the productivity of a power plant and always should be taken
into account.
Land cover: Some land cover types such as forests, orchard, agricultural
land, pasture are sensitive to the pollutions caused by a power plant. The
effect of the power plant on such land cover types surrounding it should be
counted for.
Area size: Before any other consideration, the minimum area size required
for the construction of power plant should be defined.>
Distance from airports: Usually, a power plant has high towers and
chimneys and large volumes of gas. Consequently for security reasons, they
should be away from airports.
Archeological and historical sites: Usually historical building are fragile
and at same time very valuable. Therefore the vibration caused by power
plant can damage them, and a defined distance should be considered.

There are mainly three conventional source of electric power generation, and they are
thermal, hydel, and nuclear energy.
Thermal Power Generation: 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.

Fig:- Schematic diagram of thermal power plant.

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.
Advantages:
1. Fuel cost of thermal power plant is relatively low.
2. We can produce thermal energy almost everywhere in the world.
3. Heat production System is simple compared to other system.
4. Overall system cost effective.
5. Easy mechanism.
6. Same heat could be reused.
7. Easier Maintenance of power station.
8. Use of water is prominent here, therefore, any places with ample supply of water is a perfect
location for installing a thermal power station.
9. Thermal power plant requires comparatively small space to be installed.
Disadvantages:
1. Huge production of Carbon-di-oxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
2. Exhausted gases harms outside environment badly.
3. Low overall efficiency.
4. Thermal engines requires huge amount of lubricating oil that is very expensive.
5. Nuclear thermal power plant demands excessive amount of water for cooling purpose.
6. Coal type thermal power plant requires comparatively larger duration before it supply
generated power to the grid.
7. This type of power station ultimately responsible for raise in sea water level.

Hydel 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 hydel plant is
much cheaper than that of thermal plants as there is no need of fuel to be burnt.

Fig:- Schematic diagram of hydel power generation

Although running cost of a hydel 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 a run
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 hydel alternator may be up to 20 or more.
Advantages:
1. Once a dam is constructed, electricity can be produced at a constant rate.
2. If electricity is not needed, the sluice gates can be shut, stopping electricity generation. The
water can be saved for use another time when electricity demand is high.
3. Dams are designed to last many decades and so can contribute to the generation of electricity
for many years / decades.
4. The lake that forms behind the dam can be used for water sports and leisure / pleasure
activities. Often large dams become tourist attractions in their own right.
5. The lake's water can be used for irrigation purposes.
6. The buildup of water in the lake means that energy can be stored until needed, when the water
is released to produce electricity.
7. When in use, electricity produced by dam systems do not produce greenhouse gases. They do
not pollute the atmosphere.
Disadvanatges:

1. Dams are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a very high standard.
2. The high cost of dam construction means that they must operate for many decades to become
profitable.
3. The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed.
4. People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This
means that they lose their farms and businesses. In some countries, people are forcibly removed
so that hydro-power schemes can go ahead.
5. The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage. For example, the building of
the Hoover Dam in the USA triggered a number of earth quakes and has depressed the earths
surface at its location.
6. Although modern planning and design of dams is good, in the past old dams have been known
to be breached (the dam gives under the weight of water in the lake). This has led to deaths and
flooding.
7. Dams built blocking the progress of a river in one country usually means that the water supply
from the same river in the following country is out of their control. This can lead to serious
problems between neighboring countries.
8. Building a large dam alters the natural water table level. For example, the building of the
Aswan Dam in Egypt has altered the level of the water table. This is slowly leading to damage of
many of its ancient monuments as salts and destructive minerals are deposited in the stone work
from rising damp caused by the changing water table level.
Diesel 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.
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 recirculated 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.

Advantages of Diesel Power Station

1.
2.
3.
4.

This is simple in design point of view.

Required very small space.
It can also be designed for portable use.
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.
2.
3.
4.

The plant generally used to produce small power requirement.

Maintenance is quite complex and costs high.
Plant capacity is limited to about 50 MW of power.
Diesel fuel is much more expensive than coal.
5. Diesel engines are not guaranteed for operation under continuous, while steam can work
under 25% of overload continuously.