Utility systems, capital cost

Electric power systems can be thought of as being comprised of three important sectors generation, transmission, and distribution. For most utilities, generation capital equipment costs account for approximately 50 percent of total plant in costs. Generation also accounts for close to 75 percent of total operation and maintenance expense. 

This will not necessarily be the optimum design for the network. The optimum design will be that which gives the lowest total annual costs taking into account the capital cost of the system, in addition to the utility and other operating costs. The number of exchangers in the network, and their size, will determine the capital cost. 

The true energy costs associated with a production expansion require the true cost implications in the utility system to be established, even if there is no capital investment required in the utility system. 

The utilities required for the refrigeration system other than power are therefore very much less than for recompression with steam, although the capital cost and the cost of power will be much higher. 

Unlike the methane steam reformer, the autothermal reformer requires no external heat source and no indirect heat exchangers. This makes autothermal reformers simpler and more compact than steam reformers, resulting in lower capital cost. In an autothermal reformer, the heat generated by the POX reaction is fully utilized to drive the SR reaction. Thus, autothermal reformers typically offer higher system efficiency than POX systems, where excess heat is not easily recovered. 

The PCO system can operate basically unattended, resulting in extremely low operation and maintenance costs (D12104Q, p. 25). Over a 10-year life cycle, the Los Alamos National Laboratory estimates that operating costs will make up only 17% of total costs. Capital costs account for 43%, utilities for 14%, and maintenance for 26% of the total costs (D12104Q, p. 26). 

Maintenance of a PSVE system is expected to cost 2% of the installed capital cost of the system per year. Operation and waste disposal costs are a function of concentration of contaminants and the airflow rate and will therefore vary widely (D14489S, p. 26). Once a system is installed, no utilities are generally required. If a valve and differential pressure control system are used, these could be run by solar-cell-powered batteries (D18119L, p. 384). 

CAPITAL costs, plot area, and overall investment may be saved by an overview of the platform utility systems. 

Fixed cost indicator is derived form the total capital cost of the system. It defined as 5% of capital cost. It comprise operational and maintenance cost for whole system, including hydrogen production and its utilization for the electric energy production. 

Capital cost indicator is defined as the 18% of total capital cost for the hydrogen production and utilization elements. For each option the total capital cost is obtained forms the scale down of the hydrogen system as they are defined in the evaluation of larger system. 

The cost per wafer will depend on many factors. First, the reactor can be quite expensive, so it is a capital item and must be amortized. Also, if the reactor has to be cleaned very frequently or is unreliable and experiences a lot of down time, then this will also add to the capital cost. If the reactants are expensive and not utilized efficiently, then this is another expense item. Energy requirements can be high for heating either the chamber or the susceptor. So, a system with high wafer throughput leads in the direction of lower cost per wafer, provided film quality is acceptable. 

High reliability, acceptable capital and operating costs, and minimal environmental impact are requirements for gasification systems proposed for utility applications. Operating costs can be minimized by using a gasifier that is... 

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