Course Name

POWER GENERATION SYSTEMS

Course Objectives

 To introduce various methods of power generation from different

energy sources.
 To impart knowledge on economic aspects of power generation.
 Course Outcomes

✓ CO1: Describe the working of a thermal power station.

✓ CO2: Identify different components of a nuclear power station

✓ CO3: Illustrate the working principle and operation of hydro and gas
power plants.

✓ CO4: Elucidate the process of power generation by solar and wind

energy..

✓ CO5: Enumerate various economic aspects of power generation.

Course Content
1. UNIT – I : Thermal Power Generating Stations

2. UNIT - II : Nuclear Power Generating Stations

3. UNIT - III : Hydal and Gas power Generating stations

4. UNIT – IV : Solar & Wind Power Generating Systems

5. UNIT –V : Economic Aspects of Power Generation & Tariff Methods

UNIT–I: Thermal Power Generating Stations
Single line diagram of Thermal Power Station showing paths of coal, steam,
water, air, ash and flue gasses-
Brief description of TPS components: Economizers, Boilers, super heaters,
Turbines, condensers, chimney and cooling towers.
 INTRODUCTION TO POWER SYSTEMS
 Definition:
It is a system which can deals with the principles of power generation, transmission
and distribution in order to supply electrical energy to various consumers on
economical basis.

 Economical basis:The cost of electrical energy should be minimum.

 A Power system can be broadly classified as Generation, Transmission,

Distribution, and Utilization of electrical power.

Different stages of a Power System

Importance of Electrical Energy
Energy may be needed as heat, as light, as motive power etc. The present-day advancement in science
and technology has made it possible to convert electrical energy into any desired form. This has given
electrical energy a place of pride in the modern world. The survival of industrial undertakings and our
social structures depends primarily upon low cost and uninterrupted supply of electrical energy.
In fact, the advancement of a country is measured in terms of per capita consumption of electrical
energy.
Electrical energy is superior to all other forms of energy due to the following reasons:
(i) Convenient Form. Electrical energy is very convenient form of energy. It can be easily
converted into other forms of energy. For example, if we want to convert electrical energy into
heat, the only thing to be done is to pass electrical current through a wire of high resistance e.g., a
heater. Similarly, electrical energy can be converted into light (e.g. electric bulb). Mechanical
energy (e.g. electric motors) etc.
ii. Easy control. The electrically operated machines have simple and convenient starting, control
and operation. For in stance, an electric motor can be started or stopped by turning on or off a
switch. Similarly, with simple arrangements , the speed of electric motors can be easily varied over
the desired range.
iii. Greater flexibility. One important reason for preferring electrical energy is the flexibility that it
offer. It can be easily transported from one place to another with the help of conductors.
iv. Cheapness. Electrical energy is much cheaper than other forms of energy. Thus it is overall
economical to use this form of energy for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes.
v. Cleanliness. Electrical energy is not associated with smoke, fumes or poisonous gases. Therefore,
its use ensures cleanliness and healthy conditions.
vi. High transmission efficiency. The consumers of electrical energy are generally situated quite
away from the centers of its production. The electrical energy can be transmitted conveniently and
efficiently from the centers of generation to the consumers with the help of overhead conductors
known as transmission lines..
 Classification Of Power Plants Or Energy Sources

❑ Power plants using ❑ Power plants using Non-

conventional (non-renewable) conventional (renewable) sources
sources of energy of energy

❖ Steam power plant ➢ Solar thermal power plant

❖ Nuclear(Atomic) power plant ➢ Wind powered

generation(aerogeneration)
❖ Diesel power plant
➢ Wave power plant
❖ Gas power plant
➢ Tidal power plant
❖ Hydro electric(Hydel) power plant
➢ Geothermal power plant
➢ Bio-mass power plant
➢ Ocean thermal power plant
 Conventional sources of energy Non-conventional sources of energy
These sources of energy are not abundant, These sources of energy are abundant in
present in limited quantity, e.g. coal, nature, e.g. solar energy, wind energy, tidal
petroleum, natural gas. energy, biogas from biomass etc.

They have been in use for a long time. They are yet in development phase over the
past few years.
They are not replenished continuously. They They are replenished continuously by
are formed over a million years. natural processes.

They are called non-renewable sources of They are called renewable sources of
energy. energy.
They can be exhausted completely due to They cannot be exhausted completely.
over-consumption except for hydel power.

They pollute the environment by emitting They are environment-friendly, do not

harmful gases and also contribute to global pollute the environment.
warming.
They are commonly used for industrial and They are used commonly used for
commercial purposes. household purposes.

Heavy expenditure is involved in using and Using these sources is less expensive.
maintaining these sources of energy.

They are used extensively, at a higher rate They are not used as extensively as
than the non-conventional sources. conventional sources.
 INSTALLED CAPACITY BY SOURCE IN INDIA AS ON 12 JANUARY 2022
Coal: 203,190 MW (51.7%)
Lignite: 6,620 MW (1.7%)
Hydro: 46,512 MW (11.8%)
Wind, Solar & Other RE: 104,879 MW (26.7%)
Gas: 24,900 MW (6.3%)
Nuclear: 6,780 MW (1.7%)
Diesel: 510 MW (0.1%)

INSTALLED GENERATION CAPACITY (SECTOR WISE) AS ON 31.01.2022

Sector MW % of Total
Central Sector 98,327 24.9%
State Sector 1,05,314 26.7%
Private Sector 1,91,434 48.5%
Total 3,95,075 100.0%
Installed GENERATION CAPACITY(FUELWISE) AS ON 31.01.2022
CATAGORY INSTALLED % of SHARE IN Total
GENERATION
CAPACITY(MW)
Fossil Fuel
Coal 2,03,900 51.6%
Lignite 6,620 1.7%
Gas 24,900 6.3%
Diesel 510 0.1%
Total Fossil Fuel 2,35,929 59.7%
Non-Fossil Fuel
RES (Incl. Hydro) 1,52,366 38.5%
Hydro 46,512 11.8 %
Wind, Solar & Other RE 1,05,854 26.8 %
Wind 40,101 10.2 %
Solar 50,304 12.7 %
BM Power/Cogen 10,176 2.6 %
Waste to Energy 434 0.1 %
Small Hydro Power 4,840 1.2 %
Nuclear 6,780 1.7%
Total Non-Fossil Fuel 1,59,146 40.3%
Total Installed Capacity 3,95,075 100%
(Fossil Fuel & Non-Fossil Fuel)
 Unit-1

THERMAL POWER GENERATING

STATIONS
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
 A generating station which converts heat energy of coal
combustion into electrical energy is known as a steam
power station.

 Steam is produced in the boiler by utilizing the heat of

coal combustion. The steam is then expanded in the prime
mover (i.e., steam turbine) and is condensed in a
condenser to be fed in to the boiler again.

 The steam turbine drives the alternator which converts

mechanical energy of the turbine into electrical energy.

 This type of power station is suitable where coal and

water are available in abundance and a large amount of
electric power is to be generated
 - Flow of energy conversion in Steam power plant

Chemical energy of fuel

Oxidation
Chemical energy
Heat Energy
Heat energy is transfered to fluid in
Thermal energy
Boiler
Steam Energy
Steam energy
Heat energy is converted into
Mechanical energy by Prime
Mechanical energy mover
Mechanical Energy
Electrical energy Mechanical energy is converted
into Electrical energy by Generator
Electrical Energy
Video to understand the working of Thermal Power Stations
The whole arrangement can be divided into the following
four stages for the sake of simplicity.

•Fuel and Ash circuit.

•Air and Flue gas circuit.

•Steam, Power generating and Feed water circuit.

•Cooling water circuit.

Fuel and Ash circuit.
 FUEL AND ASH CIRCUIT:-
This circuit includes two units, namely
➢ Fuel unit – Coal storage plant, Coal handling plant.
➢ Ash unit – Ash storage plant, Ash handling plant.

The coal is transported to the power station by road or rail or ship according to
the location of the plant from coal mines. This coal is primarily stored in the coal
storage plant. Storage of coal is primarily a matter of protection against;
i) Failure of transportation systems and ii) General coal shortages.

i.e., to maintain continuous availability of the coal at the plant for continuous
operation of the plant.

From the coal storage plant, coal is delivered to the coal handling plant where it
is pulverized (i.e., crushing the coal into small pieces or powder), for rapid
combustion without using large quantity of excess air. The pulverized coal is fed to
the boiler by belt conveyors.

The coal is burnt in the boiler and the ash produced after the complete
combustion of coal is removed to the ash handling plant and then delivered to the
ash storage plant for disposal into the environment.
FUELS FOR THERMAL POWER PLANT:-
Fuels may be classified as Solid, Liquid, Gaseous and as natural or
prepared. The various fuels commonly used for combustion in the thermal power
plant are coal, oil, and gas. Gaseous fuel is rarely economical except when the
power plant is located near natural gas field or gas manufacturing industries. Oil
is used only where it is plentiful and cheap. Coal is the most commonly used fuel
in thermal plants.

SOLID FUELS:-
Coal is the solid fuel used in thermal power plants. Coal contains
moisture, carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen and ash etc..,
Classification of coals:-
The coals can be classified in the order of heat or calorific value namely
Peat, Lignite, Bituminous, Semi-Bituminous, Sub-Bituminous (black lignite),
Anthracite, Semi- Anthracite.
Among all these types, semi-bituminous coals are best suited for power
generation due to its advantages like,
•High ‘Enthalpy’ of combustion value between 27,000 and 35,000 KJ/Kg.
•Low ash content compared to other types of coals.
•Low percentage of moisture.
 PULVERIZATION OF COAL
 Pulverization is the process of crushing the coal in to a fine powder. Especially all the
Indian coals contain 20-40% of ash content and the coal demand varies according to the
plant capacity.
 For example a 400MW capacity plant requires about 5000-6000 tons of coal every day.
High ash content of coal reduces the boiler thermal efficiency.
 Hence the pulverization is needed in order to utilize the coal effectively and by that to
improve overall plant efficiency.
Advantages:-
 Surface exposure is increased, resulting in rapid combustion without requiring large
amount of excess air.
 Wide varieties of coal, even low grade of coal can be used, since it is used in powdered
form.
 The rate of feed of the fuel can be regulated properly and easily, resulting in fuel
economy.
 Higher boiler efficiency is achieved due to almost complete combustion of the fuel.
 Ash removing problems are reduced.
•The firing process in boiler can be started rapidly.
•Fluctuations of load can be easily met. (Fast response to load changes).
•Pulverized fuel increases over all plant efficiency, so we can construct larger capacity
plants to meet peak loads.

Dis-Advantages:-

oCoal preparation plant is required which makes the installation expensive in initial cost.
oThere is risk of explosion as coal is burnt like gas. Hence, skilled personnel are required.
oHowever, the pulverized fuel firing has some disadvantages, the advantages of using
pulverized fuel outweight the disadvantages, and hence all modern plants use pulverized
fuel.
Coal handling plant working
 AIR AND FLUE GAS CIRCUIT:-
In a boiler the combustion of the fuel requires supply of sufficient quantity
of air and removal of exhaust gases (flue gases) and this is achieved by draught
system. So, this circuit includes two units, namely
• Air unit – Forced draught fan, Air-Pre heater
• Passage of Flue gases.
Air is drawn from the atmosphere by a forced draught fan through the air
pre-heater, in which it is heated by using the heat energy of flue gases, on the
way passing to chimney. i.e., the air pre-heater increases the temperature of the
air supplied for coal burning by deriving heat from flue gases. This air is now fed
to boiler for the combustion of coal, which releases exhaust gases called flue
gasses.
 The principal benefits of preheating the air are,
• Increased thermal efficiency and
• Increased steam capacity per square metre of boiler surface.
The flue gasses after passing around the boiler tubes and super heater tubes are drawn
by the induced draught fan through dust collector (or precipitator), economizer and air pre-
heater and finally exhausted to the atmosphere through chimney.
Air preheater: An air preheater increases the temperature of the
air supplied for coal burning by deriving heat from flue gases. Air is
drawn from the atmosphere by a forced draught fan and is passed
through air preheater before supplying to the boiler furnace. The
air preheater extracts heat from flue gases and increases the
temperature of air used for coal combustion. The principal benefits
of preheating the air are increased thermal efficiency and increased
steam capacity per square meter of boiler surface.

These are classified into two types

a) Recuperative type (b) Regenerative type

•The recuperative type air-heater consists of a group of steel tubes.
The flue gases are passed through the tubes while the air flows
externally to the tubes. Thus heat of flue gases is transferred to air.
•The regenerative type air pre-heater consists of slowly moving
drum made of corrugated metal plates. The flue gases flow
continuously on one side of the drum and air on the other side.
This action permits the transference of heat of flue gases to the air
being supplied to the furnace for coal combustion.
 DUST COLLECTORS
Classifications:
Basically gas cleaning devices are called the dust collectors and these may be
classified as follows.
Dust collectors

Mechanical Dust collector Electrical dust collector

Electrostatic Precipitator

Wet dust collector Dry dust collector

colector

Mechanical dust collectors have efficiency increasing with load while the efficiency of
electrostatic precipitators falls with the increase in load. Combination of the two, giving the
constant efficiency characteristics, is often employed where, heavier dust particles are
removed by mechanical dust collectors and finer particles are eliminated by electrostatic
precipitator.
 DRAUGHT SYSTEM:-
In a boiler the combustion of the fuel requires supply of sufficient
quantity of air and removal of exhaust gasses and this is achieved by draught
system.
Draught is defined as; the circulation of air is caused by a difference in
pressure. Thus the draught is the difference in pressure between the two points
i.e., atmosphere and inside the boiler. It is measured in millimeters (mm) of
water.
Classifications:
Draught System

Natural Draught Artificial or Mechanical Draught

Forced Draught Fan Induced Draught

(FDF) collector Fan (IDF)

The draught may be produced either naturally or artificially (mechanical).

Natural draught is produced thermally and the mechanical draught is produced
by means of a fan.
STEAM, POWER GENERATING AND FEED WATER CIRCUIT:-
This circuit consists of boiler for the production of steam and other
auxiliary equipment for utilization of flue gases and re-using of steam
after utilized by the turbine, by using condenser and etc.., i.e., feeding the
condensate to the boiler and as well as power generating equipment.
This circuit includes three units, namely
•Steam unit – Boiler, Super heater.
•Power generation unit – Steam turbine, Alternator.
Feed water unit – Feed water heater, De-aerator, Economizer
 Boiler:-
The heat of combustion of coal in the boiler is utilized to convert water
into steam at high temperature and pressure. The flue gasses from the boiler
make their journey through super heater, economizer, and air pre-heater and are
finally exhausted to atmosphere through the chimney.

Steam boilers are broadly classified in to the following two types.

✓Water Tube boilers.
✓Fire Tube Boilers.
BOILER FURNACE:-
A boiler furnace is a chamber in which fuel is burnt to liberate the heat
energy. In addition, it provides support and enclosure for the combustion
equipment i.e., burners. The boiler furnace walls are made of refractory
(inflexible, hard) materials such as fire clay, silica, kaolin etc. These materials
have the property to resist change of shape, weight or physical properties at high
temperatures.
There are three types in construction of the furnace walls. They are,
Plain Refractory Walls:-
The plain refractory walls are suitable for small plants, where the furnace
temperatures may not be high.
Hollow Refractory Walls:-
For larger capacity plants, where the furnace temperature is quite high,
refractory walls are made hallow and air is circulated through hollow space to
keep the temperature of the furnace walls low.
Water Walls:-
The recent development is to use water walls. This works effectively for
the applications where high temperatures are produced. i.e.., where high steam
rates have to maintain for high rating plants.
Boiler working
SUPER HEATER:-
A super heater is a device, which is used to super heat the steam (removing last
traces of moisture) comes out from the boiler tubes by utilizing the heat energy of
flue gases. i.e.., the steam produced in the boiler is wet and is passed through a
super heater where it is dried and super heated by the flue gases on their way to
chimney. By using this super heating process, we can improve the overall efficiency
of the plant by keeping the steam at high pressure and temperature before expanded
in the turbine
Classifications:-
Super heaters are classified as,
✓Radiant Super heaters.
✓Convection Super heaters.
•A Radiant Super heater is normally located in the furnace, between the furnace
walls. It absorbs the heat from the burning fuel through radiation.
•The convection super heater uses the heat of flue gasses to super heat the steam by
removing the last traces of the moisture from the steam comes out from the boiler.
Steam Turbine:-
The dry and super heated steam from the super heater is fed to the steam
turbine through main valve. The heat energy of steam when passing over the blades
of the turbine is converted in to mechanical energy.

Feed Water:-
The steam after utilized by turbine is exhausted to the condenser which
condenses the exhausted steam by means of cold water circulation. The condensate
from the condenser is used to feed water to the boiler. This feed water on its way to
the boiler is heated by feed water heaters and economizer. After heated by feed
water heater, the feed water is passed to economizer through de-aerator. The
function of de-aerator is to reduce dissolved oxygen content in the feed water. This
helps in raising the overall efficiency of the plant.
Steam turbine
A steam turbine converts heat energy of steam into mechanical energy and drives the
generator. It uses the principle that steam when issuing from a small opening attains a high
velocity. This velocity attained during expansion depends on the initial and final heat content
of the steam. This difference b/w initial and final heat content represents the heat energy
converted into kinetic energy.
These are of two types :-
▪Impulse turbine
▪Reaction turbine
Impulse steam turbines
▪In impulse turbine, steam coming out through a fixed nozzle at a very high velocity strikes the
blades fixed on the periphery of a rotor.

▪The blades change the direction of steam flow without changing its pressure.

▪The force due to change of momentum causes the rotation of the turbine shaft.

Reaction steam turbines

•A turbine in which steam pressure decreases gradually while expanding through the moving blades
as well as the fixed blades is known as reaction turbine.

•It consists of a large number of stages, each stage consisting of set of fixed and moving blades. The
heat drop takes place throughout in both fixed and moving blades.

•No nozzles are provided in a reaction turbine. The fixed blades act both as nozzles in which velocity
of steam increased and direct the steam to enter the ring of moving blades. As pressure drop takes
place both in the fixed and moving blades, all the blades are nozzle shaped.

•The steam expands while flowing over the moving blades and thus gives reaction to the moving
blades. Hence the turbine is called reaction turbine.
ECONOMIZER:-
An economizer heats the fed water on it’s way to boiler by utilizing heat
from the flue gases and thus raising the boiler efficiency and economizing on
the fuel used.
An economizer consists of a large number of thin walled small
diameter, closely packed parallel tubes made up of steel. The water flows
inside the tubes and the flue gases are outside the tubes as shown in the figure.
 COOLING WATER CIRCUIT:-

Cooling water unit – Condenser, Cooling tower.

In order to improve the efficiency of the plant, the steam exhausted from the
turbine is condensed by means of a condenser. Condensation is the process of
converting steam in to water.

Water is drawn from a natural source of supply such as a river, canal, or a

lake and is circulated through the condenser. The circulating water takes up the
heat of the exhausted steam and itself becomes hot. This hot water coming out
from the condenser is discharged to the river.

In case the availability of water from the source of supply is not assured
throughout the year, or if the plants are not nearer to the natural sources of water
like river, lake, etc.., cooling towers are used.

Hot water from the condenser is passed on to the cooling towers where it is
cooled. The cold water from the cooling tower is reused in the condenser.
Cooling tower working
•CONDENSER:-
A Condenser is a device which condenses the steam at the
exhaust of turbine. Condensation is the process of converting steam in to water. It
will improve the overall plant efficiency.
Functionality:
The Condenser serves two important functions, they are
•It creates a very low pressure at the exhaust of turbine, thus permitting expansion
of the steam in the prime mover to a very low pressure. This helps in converting
heat energy of steam into mechanical energy in the prime mover.
•To convert steam in to condensate, thus Condensed steam can be used as feed
water to the boiler.
Types of condensers:
There are two types of Condensers, namely
1. Jet Condenser.
2. Surface condenser.
JET CONDENSER:
In a Jet condenser, Cooling water and exhausted steam are mixed together.
Therefore, the temperature of cooling water condensate is the same when leaving
the condenser. i.e., heat transfer is by direct conduction.
SURFACE CONDENSER:
In a surface condenser, there is no direct contact between cooling water and
exhausted steam. If consists a group of horizontal tubes enclosed in a cast iron shell
as shown in the figure.

Fig: Surface Condenser

COOLING TOWER:-
The water used for cooling the exhaust steam (i.e., converting in to
condensate) in the condenser, is circulated from natural sources like a lake or a
river, by means of circulating water tubes and is returned back to the source.
Need for a Cooling Tower:-
If sufficient quantity of water is not available, i.e., the natural resources
like river, lake are far away from the power plant, then the circulating water
should be cooled and used again.

In such cases, water is taken from

the natural sources to a tank by pumps
and stored. It is then pumped in to the
condenser, where it absorbs latent heat
from the exhaust steam and becomes hot,
and then the hot water is passed to a
cooling tower to make this hot circulating
water cool to use again.
 Classifications:-
For small capacity power plants, natural draught cooling tower is used,
which depends upon the wind velocity. These are not suitable for high rating
plants.
For large capacity power plants, cooling towers are classified as,
✓ Induced draught cooling tower.
✓ Forced draught cooling tower.
Both of these towers use fan to move the air through the tower.

• Induced draught cooling tower:-

In case of induced draught cooling towers, the fan is located at the top of
the tower. The air enters through the lower side, is drawn up and discharged to
the atmosphere.
• Forced draught cooling tower:-
In case of forced draught cooling towers, the fan is located at the base
of the tower and air is blown up by the fan, through the discharged water
and is discharged to the atmosphere.
Alternator:-
The steam turbine is coupled to an alternator. The alternator converts
mechanical energy of turbine in to electrical energy. The electrical output from
the alternator is delivered to the bus bars through transformer, circuit breaker,
and isolators.
ADVANTAGES OF THERMAL POWER PLANTS:
1. The fuel (i.e., coal) used is cheaper.
2. Less space is required in comparison with that for hydro-electric plants.
3. Cheaper in initial cost in comparison with other types of power plants of
same capacity.
4. Cheaper in production cost in comparison with that of diesel power plants.
5. It can be installed at any place irrespective of the existence of coal. The coal
can be transported to the site of the plant by rail or road ways.
6. Able to respond to rapidly changing loads without difficulty.
7. Such plants can be located near the load centers, hence it requires short
transmission lines, by that we can reduce line losses and transmission cost.
8. Firm capacity of these plants is high compared to other plants.

DIS-ADVANTAGES OF THERMAL POWER PLANTS:

1. It pollutes the atmosphere due to the production of large amount of smoke
and fumes.
2. It is costlier in running cost as compared to hydro electric plant.
3. Handling of coal and disposal of ash is quite difficult.
4. Efficiency of these plants is low compared to hydro electric plant.
5. These plants are less reliable compared to hydro electric plant.
SELECTION OF SITE FOR A THERMAL POWER PLANT

1. Supply of fuel

2. Availability of water

3. Transportation facilities

4. Cost and type of land

5. Nearness to load centers

6. Distance from the populated area

7. Labour supplies

8. Ash disposal
 EFFICIENCY OF A THERMAL PLANT
•Thermal efficiency:-
The ratio of heat equivalent of mechanical energy transmitted to the turbine
shaft to the heat of combustion of coal is known as “Thermal Efficiency” of steam
power station

Electrical Efficiency(or) Efficiency of generation:-

The ratio of heat equivalent of electrical output to the heat equivalent of

mechanical energy transmitted to turbine shaft is known as “Electrical Efficiency”
of steam power plant.
• Overall Power plant efficiency:-
The ratio of heat equivalent of electrical output to the heat
of combustion of coal is known as “Overall Efficiency” of steam
power station.

NOTE: In general, the overall thermal efficiency of thermal power

plant is 30 to 40%.