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The efficiency of a conventional steam–electric power plant, defined as energy produced by the plant divided by the heating value of the fuel consumed by it, is typically 33 to 48%, limited as all heat engines are by the laws of thermodynamics (See: Carnot cycle). The rest of the energy must leave the plant in the form of heat.
The higher cost of turbines and the associated gears or generator/motor sets is offset by lower maintenance requirements and the smaller size of a turbine in comparison with a reciprocating engine of equal power, although the fuel costs are higher than those of a diesel engine because steam turbines have lower thermal efficiency. To reduce fuel ...
Type of steam generator unit used in coal-fired power plants. The steam generator or steam boiler is an integral component of a steam engine when considered as a prime mover. However it needs to be treated separately, as to some extent a variety of generator types can be combined with a variety of engine units.
In the nuclear plant field, steam generator refers to a specific type of large heat exchanger used in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) to thermally connect the primary (reactor plant) and secondary (steam plant) systems, which generates steam. In a boiling water reactor (BWR), no separate steam generator is used and water boils in the reactor ...
Dresden 1 Nuclear Flow Diagram featured a secondary steam generator for load following. The reactor featured a dual cycle, with steam coming from both the stream drum and steam generators. This made for rapid response to changes in power demand. Reactor power was regulated by actuation of the secondary admission valve by the turbine's governor.
Centralised energy sources are large power plants that produce huge amounts of electricity to a large number of consumers. Most power plants used in centralised generation are thermal power plants meaning that they use a fuel to heat steam to produce a pressurised gas which in turn spins a turbine and generates electricity. This is the ...
The turbine's hot exhaust powers a steam power plant (operating by the Rankine cycle). This is a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant. These achieve a best-of-class real (see below) thermal efficiency of around 64% in base-load operation. In contrast, a single cycle steam power plant is limited to efficiencies from 35 to 42%.
A turbo-electric COGAS power-plant. In this way, some of the otherwise lost energy can be reclaimed and the specific fuel consumption of the plant can be decreased. Large (land-based) electric powerplants built using this combined cycle can reach conversion efficiencies of over 60%.