1. GENERATION
CONVENTIONAL SOURCES
STRUCTURE OF POWER SYSTEM
 Power system owned by state electricity boards.
 Private sector utilities operate in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad
 Regional electricity boards – Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, North-eastern.
 Power Grid corporation- Central.
Introduction
 India is one of the world’s largest consumer of energy
 Installed capacity – 1,67,317 MW
 Thermal = 1,08,602 MW
 Nuclear = 4,780 MW
 Hydro = 37,367 MW
 RES = 16,787 MW
 Per capita power consumption – 612KWH
 Annual power production – 680 billion KWH

2. Break up of Power
 Thermal power Plants : 65.34%[
 Hydro Electric Power Plants : 21.53%
 Nuclear Power Plants : 2.70%
 Renewable energy sources : 10.42%
 30% to 40% of electrical power is lost in transmission and distribution
Thermal Power Plants
 Installed Capacity – 65% of total installed capacity.
 Coal based –54% of total installed capacity.
 Gas Based –10% of total installed capacity.
 Oil Based –1% of total installed capacity.
Main Components
 Fuel Handling Unit
 Ash Handling Unit
 Boiler Unit
 Feed Water Unit
 Cooling Water Unit
 Generator Unit

3.  Turbine Unit
Main Circuit
 Fuel And Ash Circuit
 Air And Gas Circuit
 Feed Water And Steam Circuit
 Cooling Water Circuit
Fuel And Ash Circuit
 Fuel stored and fed to the boiler through conveyor belts. Broken down into proper shape
for complete burning.
 Ash thus generated after burning is removed from the boiler through ash handling
equipment
Air And Gas Circuit
 Air is required for combustion of fuel and is supplied through fans
 Air is passed through air preheater to extract energy from flue gases for proper burning of
the fuel
 Flue gases have ash and several gases which are passed through the precipitator(dust
collector) and go to atmosphere through chimney.
Feed Water And Steam Circuit
 Steam Converted to water by condenser.
 Water is demineralized & hence not wasted to have better economic operation of the
plant.
 Some part of steam and water is lost while passing through different parts.
 Boiler feed pump feeds water into the boiler drum where it is heated to form steam.
 Wet steam is again heated in super heater before passing through the turbine
 Steam is expanded in the turbine to run it. After which again it goes to boiler for
reheating
Cooling Water Circuit
 To condensate the steam, large quantity of cooling water is required which is taken from
river or pondage
 After passing through the condenser, it is fed back to the river or Pondage

4. Boiler
Turbine
Economizer

5. Selection Of site
 Availability of cheap land.
 Availability of water.
 Availability of fuel.
 Possibility of future expansion of the plant.
 Away from the urban areas due to pollution.
 The initial cost of plant.
 Magnitude and nature of load to be handled.
Hydro Power Plant
 India is Pioneer in HEP
 Darjeeling(1898) and Shivanasamudra (1902) one of the first in Asia.
 Installed Capacity – 37,367MW

6. Advantages of Hydro Power Plant
 Water is self – replenishing, non wasting.
 Water reaches the powerhouse site on its own.
 Water after producing electricity can be used for drinking or irrigation.
 Efficiency of HEP is high(about 80%).
 HEP has very long life.
 Maintenance is easy and less expensive.
 The percentage outage is low.
 Benefits of recreation, fisheries etc.
Selection of sites
 Availability of water
 Storage of water
 Head of water
 Distance of power station to the load centres
 Accessibility of site

7. Classification of HEP based on Capacity
 Very low-capacity plants – up to 0.1MW
 Low capacity plants – up to 1.0 MW
 Medium-capacity plants – up to 10 MW
 High-capacity plants – more than 10 MW
Classification of HEP based on Capacity
 Micro Hydro plants : < 100KW
 Mini Hydro plants : 100KW to 1MW
 Small Hydro plants : 1MW to few MW
 Hydro plants : More than a few MW
 Super Hydro plants : More than 1000MW
Classification of HEP based on Head
 Low-head Plants < 15m
 Medium-head Plants 15 – 70m
 High-head Plants 71 – 250m
 Very High-head Plants > 250m
Nuclear Power Plants
 Twenty Nuclear Reactors
 Production – 4780 MW
 Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled nuclear reactions(Fission)
 Uranium-235 and plutonium-239.
Nuclear Fission

8. NPP Using A Heat Exchanger
PWR – Pressurized Water Reactor(Nuclear Furnace or Pile)
Main Components Of A Reactor
 Fuel Rods – Tube filled with pellets of Uranium
 Shielding - Protection against alpha, beta and Gamma Rays
 Moderator - Slow down the neutron release(Heavy water, Beryllium, Graphite)
 Control Rods - neutron absorbing material(boron Carbide, cadmium)
 Coolant - To transfer the heat generated inside the reactor to a heat exchanger for
utilization of power generation(CO2, H2, He, heavy water, liquid metal-Sodium or
Potassium)
 Steam Separator - steam from the heated coolant is fed to the turbines to produce
electricity from generator.

9.  Containment - concrete lined cavity acting as a radiation shield
Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
Heavy Water Reactor(CANDU)
Gas-Cooled Reactor

10. Selection of Site
 Availability of water - NPP requires ample amount of water for cooling and steam
generation.
 Disposal of Waste – Dangerous waste/residue obtained
It needs to be disposed deep under the ground in sea so that radioactive effect is
eliminated.
 Away from populated area – For health safety
 Nearest to the load centre
 Other Factors – Accessibility to the road and rail are general considerations.
Advantages of NPP
 Fuel is easy to transport.
 Energy generated is very efficient and the remaining waste is compact.
 Nuclear reactors need little fuel.
 Amount of waste produced is much smaller than that produced in coal burning plant
 Chance of a nuclear accident is 1 in 250 years.
 Clean source of energy.
Disadvantages
 Actual cost of producing energy is more because of containment, radioactive waste
storage system
 The mining of the fuel itself can cause serious problems
 The meltdown of reactor can cause serious disaster.
GAS POWER PLANT

11. Axial Compressor
 Air is taken from the atmosphere , compressed, heated (usually by combustion of fuel in
the air) and expanded in the turbine.
 Gases coming out of the turbine are exhausted in the air.
 Used in emergency and when there is peak demand.
 Fossil fuels such as gasoline, natural gas etc are used as fuel
Diesel Engine
 It is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to
burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber.
 Diesel engines are manufactured in two stroke and four stroke versions.
 Used to drive the prime mover of electric generators
 Used as a stand-by set for start up of auxiliaries in steam and gas power plants

12.  Used for emergency supply to hospitals, hotels, factories and in other commercial units.
Advantages:
 High operating efficiency.
 Need very little water for cooling.
 Quick start and stop is possible.
 Easier handling of fuel.