Fossil fuel power station: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:30, 23 September 2005

Revision as of 07:13, 27 September 2005

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A '''fossil fuel power plant (FFPP)''' (also known as steam electric power plant in the [[United States|US]], thermal power plant in [[Asia]], or power station in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]) is an energy conversion center designed on a large scale for continuous operation. Just as a [[battery (electricity)|battery]] converts relatively small amounts of [[chemical energy]] into [[electricity]] for temporary or intermittent use, the FFPP converts the sun's energy stored in [[fossil fuels]] such as [[coal]], oil, or [[natural gas]] successively into thermal energy, mechanical energy, and finally electric energy for continuous use and distribution across a wide geographic area. Each FFPP is a highly complex, custom -designed system. Present construction costs ([[2004]]) run to $1300/kW, or $650 million USD for a 500 [[MWe]] unit. Multiple generating units may be built at a single site for more efficient use of land, resources, and labor. The operational descriptions below are typical for a large plant and will vary from one plant to the next.

==Fuel transport and delivery==