Electric plant, basics fuel costs

Steam power plants produce electricity with rather low thermal efficiency. An increase in efficiency leads to savings in fuel costs and minimizes environmental effects. The two basic approaches in increasing the thermal efficiency of a cycle are (i) design a process that transfers heat to the working fluid at high temperature in the boiler and (ii) design a process that transfers heat to the working fluid at low temperature in the condenser. These may decrease the temperature differences, and hence the level of irreversibility. 

The solution found here to the viscose waste-gas problem dispenses with additional energy requirement in the form of electric power, fuel gas, or natural gas. No new waste materials are produced. The operating costs of the process depend basically on the market price of sulfuric acid. The process scheme has by now been applied internationally in several viscose plants. 

In recent years, prices for many commodities and materials have been escalating at a very rapid rate. Two of these materials most relevant to new power plant construction are copper and concrete. Obviously, these cost increases in basic materials will greatly impact the costs of a variety of finished products, including the construction of nuclear plants and the manufacture of the fuel assemblies. In the following section, an attempt has been made to discuss the impacts of a number of items and issues on the present and future economics of electricity generated by nuclear power. 

The estimated electricity generation cost for a serial plant in the basic operating scheme is 0.009 US /kW(e)/hour. This value could be reduced when using MOX or UN fuel in a closed fuel cycle. 

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