Electric power generation economics

R. A. Crewdson, W. F. Martin, Jr., D. L. Taylor, and K. Bakhtar,M Evaluation of the Technology and Economics of Extracting Energyfrom Magma Resources for Electric Power Generation, report by Mine Development and Engineering Co., Bakersfield, Calif., 1991. 

Other Regions. In AustraUa, Victoria has the largest reserves, although smaller ones occur in southern AustraUa, western AustraUa, Tasmania, and Queensland (28). The main deposit consists of many thick seams in about 500 km of the Latrobe Valley. The YaHourn coal field provides most of the fuel. The top coal seam is 65 m thick and is covered with 13 m of overburden. Most of this coal is used for electric power generation. It is very moist (55—72%), but has less than 5% ash. The lignitic coal found in South AustraUa is, for the most part, too deep for economic recovery. However, some of the better deposits are mined for power generation. 

Electric power generation using biomass as a fuel is economic in situations where the cost of the fuel is competitive with that of fossil fuels. The cost of a commercially available biomass steam—electric power plant is about 1500/kW for a wood-fired facility. If wood can be obtained at a cost of 2.00/GJ ( 2.10 X 10 /Btu), the total cost of power for base-load operation would be about 0.05/kWh. If wood or agricultural wastes are available at... 

In future, the economics of electric power generation is likely to be affected considerably by the amount of CO2 produced and the level of any environmental penalty... 

The NERC GADS ten-year review report for 1971-1980 on equipment availability presents statistical data sets on the performance of major types of electrical power generating units. Cumulative and unit.-year averages are calculated on such quantities as service hours, available hours, scheduled outage rate, mean time between full forced outages, shutdown because of economic reasons, and probability of outage. The number of start demands and successful starts are included. 

See also Batteries Capital Investment Decisions Consumption Economically Efficient Energy Choices Electricity Electric Power, Generation of Faraday, Michael Fuel Cells Fuel Cell Vehicles Magnetism and Magnets Oersted, Hans Christian Tesla, Nikola. 

See also Consei vation of Energy Consumption, Culture and Energy Usage Economically Efficient Energy Edison, Thomas Alva Elctricity Electricity, History of Electric Power, Generation of Power. 

Present theories of the origin of acid rain indicate that we can limit acid rain by reducing sulfur dioxide emissions and moving to low-sulfur fuels but, only about 20% of the world s petroleum reserves are low in sulfur. Switching U.S. midwestern power plants to low-sulfur coal could cause economic problems since much of the coal from the Midwest and Appalachia has a high sulfur content. Most of the electric power generated in the Midwest uses high-sulfur coal and it would cost tens of billions of dollars to scrub the sulfur out of coal. 

Increased problems of deposit formation and corrosion are encountered in industrial gas turbines such as those used in electric power generation and locomotives. Here, residual fuel oil must be used for economic reasons. Ash may deposit and tend to choke the gas turbine, thereby reducing volumetric efficiency. Moreover, vanadium and sodium, two common ash components, cause severe corrosion of super alloys at the high temperatures prevailing in gas turbines. Sulfur content is also significant, because the metal sulfates that form are much lower in melting point than the corresponding oxides and thereby contribute to deposit formation (17). 

Electric Power Research Institute Final Report AF-642 "Economic Studies of Coal Gasification Combined Cycle Systems for Electric Power Generation" EPRI, Palo Alto, California,... 

Historically, interest in coal technology has been cyclic, depending primarily on the price of petroleum. Coal dominated the U.S. energy picture until the discovery of petroleum. Each subsequent threat to oil supplies spurred a renewed interest in coal, which rapidly faded as major new oil discoveries increased the supply of oil and lowered its price. The threat to oil supplies in 1973 produced the historic response, generating increased interest in converting coal to more convenient, cleaner fuels. Coal use for electric power generation has increased, but the economic conversion of coal to clean transportation fuels still stands as one of the key technical challenges of our time. 

Chemical in South Korea in 1987.38 39 The process is based on 310 stainless steel, which resists corrosion in 98.5 percent H2S04 at temperatures up to 220°C. The intermediate absorber at Namhae takes 194°C gas from the converter third stage economizer and absorbs the S03 in 199°C, 99 percent acid. Recirculated acid from the absorber is cooled from 220°C in a 10-bar HRS boiler. The added energy recovery for this process is reported to increase the total recovery to 90 percent. Monsanto s proposed Monarch process combines HRS technology with the wet catalytic converter process (Lurgi) to increase heat recovery and shift it to high-pressure steam production for electric power generation.36... 

Kaiser, W. R. "Electric Power Generation from Texas Lignite" Geological Circular 78-3, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 1978. 

Many considerations are necessary when deciding if heat recovery equipment should be included in an incineration facility. Unless a practical use for the recovered heat exists, it is usually not advisable to include heat recovery equipment at a facility since the equipment is expensive. If an incineration facility operates at a large capacity, the generation of power from heat recovery equipment is generally economical. Municipal solid waste incineration facilities are widely used to produce steam for electric power generation. 

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