Power plant Engineering:

Introduction
Power plants are used for the generation of electric power. It actually doesnt create energy, but
transforms its. For example, coal, locked up chemical energy, immediately captured as heat and
pressure of steams, then passed into KE of spinning turbine, and finally converted in electrical
current in the generator.

A countries development is measured by the power generation industry and its power demand.
The standard of living in a country is normally related to the consumption of electricity in that
country. In Bangladesh, there has been considerable increase in the power development under
various five year plans.
In 2013 only an estimated 59.6 % of the Bangladesh population is connected to the electricity
grid. In 2010, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics mentioned 90% access in urban areas and only
42% access in rural areas. In 2013, from 10,213 MW installed electrical generation capacity
(public, private and import), a maximum output delivered was 6,675 MW
A power plant or a power generating station is basically an industrial location that is utilized for the
generation and distribution of electric power in mass scale, usually in the order of several 1000 Watts.
These are generally located at the sub-urban regions or several kilometers away from the cities or the load
centers, because of its requisites like huge land and water demand, along with several operating
constraints like the waste disposal etc. For this reason, a power generating station has to not only take
care of efficient generation but also the fact that the power is transmitted efficiently over the entire
distance. And thats why, the transformer switch yard to regulate transmission voltage also becomes an
integral part of the power plant.
At the center of it, however, nearly all power generating stations has an A.C. generator or an alternator,
which is basically a rotating machine that is equipped to convert energy from the mechanical domain
(rotating turbine) into electrical domain by creating relative motion between a magnetic field and the
conductors. The energy source harnessed to turn the generator shaft varies widely, and is chiefly
dependent on the type of fuel used.
A power plant can be of several types depending mainly on the type of fuel used. Since for the purpose of
bulk power generation, only thermal, nuclear and hydro power comes handy, therefore a power generating
station can be broadly classified in the 3 above mentioned types. Let us have a look in these types of
power stations in details.
Thermal Power Station
A thermal power station or a coal fired thermal power plant is by far, the most conventional method of
generating electric power with reasonably high efficiency. It uses coal as the primary fuel to boil the water
available to superheated steam for driving the steam turbine. The steam turbine is then mechanically
coupled to an alternator rotor, the rotation of which results in the generation of electric power. Generally
in India, bituminous coal or brown coal are used as fuel of boiler which has volatile content ranging from

8 to 33 % and ash content 5 to 16 %. To enhance the thermal efficiency of the plant, the coal is used in the
boiler in its pulverized form.

In coal fired thermal power plant, steam is obtained in very high pressure inside the steam boiler by
burning the pulverized coal. This steam is then super heated in the super heater to extreme high
temperature. This super heated steam is then allowed to enter into the turbine, as the turbine blades are
rotated by the pressure of the steam. The turbine is mechanically coupled with alternator in a way that its
rotor will rotate with the rotation of turbine blades. After entering into the turbine, the steam pressure
suddenly falls leading to corresponding increase in the steam volume. After having imparted energy into
the turbine rotors, the steam is made to pass out of the turbine blades into the steam condenser of turbine.
In the condenser, cold water at ambient temperature is circulated with the help of pump which leads to the
condensation of the low pressure wet steam. Then this condensed water is further supplied to low pressure
water heater where the low pressure steam increases the temperature of this feed water, it is again heated
in high pressure. This outlines the basic working methodology of a thermal power plant.
Nuclear Power Station
The nuclear power generating stations are similar to the thermal stations in more ways than one.
However, the exception here is that, radioactive elements like Uranium and thorium are used as the
primary fuel in place of coal. Also in a Nuclear station the furnace and the boiler are replaced by the
nuclear reactor and the heat exchanger tubes.
For the process of nuclear power generation, the radioactive fuels are made to undergo fission reaction
within the nuclear reactors. The fission reaction, propagates like a controlled chain reaction and is
accompanied by unprecedented amount of energy produced, which is manifested in the form of heat. This
heat is then transferred to the water present in the heat exchanger tubes. As a result, super heated steam at
very high temperature is produced.
Once the process of steam formation is accomplished, the remaining process is exactly similar to a
thermal power plant, as this steam will further drive the turbine blades to generate electricity.

Diesel power plants produce power from a diesel engine. Diesel

electric plants in the range of 2 to 50 MW capacities are used as

central stations for small electric supply networks and used as a

standby to hydro electric or thermal plants where
continuous power supply is needed. Diesel power plant is not
economical compared to other power plants.
The diesel power plants are cheaply used in the fields mentioned
below.Peak load plants1.
Mobile electric plants2.
Standby units3.
Emergency power plants4.
Starting stations of existing plants5.
Central power station etc.
General Layout of Diesel power plants
General Layout of Diesel power plantsFigure shows the
arrangements of the engine and its auxiliaries in a diesel power
plant.The major components of the plant are:
a) Engine
Engine is the heart of a diesel power plant. Engine is directly
connected through a gear box to the generator. Generally twostroke engines are used for power generation. Now adays,
advanced super & turbo charged high speed engines are
available for power production.

b) Air supply system

Air inlet is arranged outside the engine room. Air from the
atmosphere is filtered by airfilter and conveyed to the
inlet manifold of engine. In large
plantssupercharger/turbocharger is used for increasing the
pressure of input air which increasesthe power output.
c) Exhaust System
This includes the silencers and connecting ducts. The heat
content of the exhaust gas isutilized in a turbine in a
turbocharger to compress the air input to the engine.
d) Fuel System
Fuel is stored in a tank from where it flows to the fuel pump
through a filter. Fuel isinjected to the engine as per the load
requirement.
e) Cooling system
This system includes water circulating pumps, cooling towers,
water filter etc. Coolingwater is circulated through the engine
block to keep the temperature of the engine in thesafe range.
f) Lubricating system
Lubrication system includes the air pumps, oil tanks, filters,
coolers and pipe lines.Lubricant is given to reduce friction of
moving parts and reduce the wear and tear of theengine parts.
g) Starting System
There are three commonly used starting systems, they are;1) A
petrol driven auxiliary engine,2) Use of electric motors,
3)Use of compressed air from an air compressor at a pressure of
20 Kg/cm

h) Governing system

The function of a governing system is to maintain the speed of

the engine constantirrespective of load on the plant. This is done
by varying fuel supply to the engineaccording to load.
Advantages of diesel power plants
1.
More efficient than thermal plant2.
Design, Layout etc are simple and cheap3.
Part load efficiency is very high4.
It can be started quickly5.
Simple & easy maintenance6.
No problem with fuel & dust handling7.
It can be located in the heart of town8.
Less cooling water required.
Disadvantages
1.
There is a limitation for size of a diesel engine2.
Life of plant is comparatively less3.
Noise pollution is very high4.

Repair cost is very high5.

High lubrication cos

Hydro-Electric Power Station

In Hydro-electric plants the energy of the falling water is utilized to drive the turbine which in turn runs
the generator to produce electricity. Rain falling upon the earths surface has potential energy relative to
the oceans towards which it flows. This energy is converted to shaft work where the water falls through
an appreciable vertical distance. The hydraulic power is therefore a naturally available renewable energy
given by the eqn:
P =g QH
Where,P=power available in water
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/sec 2
= density of water = 1000 kg/m 3
Q=Discharge or flow of water in (m3/sec.)
H = height of fall of water.
So, power=9.81*1000*Q*H*10-3kW=9.81QH kW
This power is utilized for rotating the alternator shaft, to convert it to equivalent electrical energy.
An important point to be noted is that, the hydro-electric plants are of much lower capacity compared to
their thermal or nuclear counterpart. For this reason hydro plants are generally used in scheduling with
thermal stations, to serve the load during peak hours. They in a way assist the thermal or the nuclear plant
to deliver power efficiently during periods of peak hours.
Types of Power Generation

As mentioned above, depending on the type of fuel used, the power generating stations as well as the
types of power generation are classified. Therefore the 3 major classifications for power production in
reasonably large scale are :1) Thermal power generation.
2) Nuclear power generation.
3) Hydro-electric power generation.
Apart from these major types of power generations, we can resort to small scale generation techniques as
well, to serve the discrete demands. These are often referred to as the alternative methods of power
generation and can be classified as :1) Solar power generation. (making use of the available solar energy)
2) Geo-thermal power generation. (Energy available in the Earths crust)
3) Tidal power generation.
These alternative sources of generation has been given due importance in the last few decades owing to
the depleting amount of the natural fuels available to us. In the centuries to come, a stage might be
reached when several countries across the globe would run out of their entire reserve for fossil fuels. The
only way forward would then lie in the mercy of these alternative sources of energy which might play an
instrumental role in shaping the energy supplies of the future. For this reason these might rightfully be
referred as the energy of the future.

Classifications of power plants

Power plants are broadly classified into two types
1. Conventional sources of energy (Nonrenewable sources of energy)
a. Thermal power plant: A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime
mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives
an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and
recycled to where it was heated; this is known as a Rankine cycle.
In coal thermal power plant, the steam is produced in high pressure in the steam boiler due to burning of
fuel (pulverized coal) in boiler furnaces. This steam is further supper heated in a super heater. This supper
heated steam then enters into the turbine and rotates the turbine blades. The turbine is mechanically so
coupled with alternator that its rotor will rotate with the rotation of turbine blades. After entering in

turbine the steam pressure suddenly falls and corresponding volume of the steam increases. After
imparting energy to the turbine rotor the steam passes out of the turbine blades into the condenser. In the
condenser the cold water is circulated with the help of pump which condenses the low pressure wet
steam. This condensed water is further supplied to low pressure water heater where the low pressure
steam increases the temperature of this feed water, it is again heated in high pressure.

1) First the pulverized coal is burnt into the furnace of steam boiler.
2) High pressure steam is produced in the boiler.
3) This steam is then passed through the super heater, where it further heated up.
4) This supper heated steam is then entered into a turbine at high speed.
5) In turbine this steam force rotates the turbine blades that means here in the turbine the stored potential
energy of the high pressured steam is converted into mechanical energy
6) After rotating the turbine blades, the steam has lost its high pressure, passes out of turbine blades and
enters into a condenser.
7) In the condenser the cold water is circulated with help of pump which condenses the low pressure wet
steam.
8) This condensed water is then further supplied to low pressure water heater where the low pressure
steam increases the temperature of this feed water, it is then again heated in a high pressure heater where
the high pressure of steam is used for heating.
9) The turbine in thermal power station acts as a prime mover of the alternator.

2 units, each of 125 MW,will produce total of 250 MW at Barapukuria steam power plant.The
plant is coal fired and equipped with reheater,all auxiliary and ancillary systems.It also consists
of step up power plant substation to transmit the generated electricity to 230kV national grid.The
boiler is open air installed for firing with coal.The steam turbine condensers shall be water
cooled.In order to cool condenser cooling water, there will be a cooling tower.The coal mine
mouth is 1km away from the plant site.
*Discharge water from the coal mine after required treatment will be used as cooling water.
* deep tube well water will be used for potable and demi water(demineralized) production
* The bottom ash from the boiler and the fly ash from the boiler and electrical precipitator shall
be dumped in a pond on the site. The ashes should be transported wet. They can be used as
irrigation purpose, brick manufacturing and so many purposes.
* Annual coal consumptions about 700,000 tons.

*Ash disposal area=375,000 m2

*overall gross efficiency=38%
*The following main components: 1.Steam Generator Plant 2.Steam turbine plant with
condenser and boiler systems for steam purposes,3.Coal handling system,4.Air and Flue gas
system,5.Ash handling system,6.Water Storage and Treatment.7.Auxiliary systems,8.electrical
and associated systems,9.Control systems.
b. Hydroelectric power plant: Micro hydro and minihydro have limited potential in Bangladesh, with
the exception of Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill tracts. Hydropower assessments have identified
some possible sites from 10 kW to 5 MW but no appreciable capacity has yet been installed. There
is one hydro power plant at Kaptai established in the 1960s with present installed capacity of 230
MW. The amount of electrical energy that can be generated from a water source depends primarily on
two things: the distance the water has to fall, and how much water is flowing. Hydroelectric power
stations are therefore situated where they can take advantage of the greatest fall of a large quantity
of water- at the bottom of a deep and steep sided valley or gorge, or near the base of a dam

Power system mainly contains three parts namely generation, transmission and distribution. Generation
means how to generate electricity from the available source and there are various methods to generate
electricity but in this article we only focused on generation of electricity by the means of hydro or water
(hydro power plant). As we know that the power plant is defined as the place where power is generated
from a given source, so here the source is hydro thats why we called it hydro power plant.
In hydro power plant we use gravitational force of fluid water to run the turbine which is coupled with
electric generator to produce electricity. This power plant plays an important role to protect our fossil fuel
which is limited, because the generated electricity in hydro power station is the use of water which is
renewable source of energy and available in lots of amount without any cost. The big advantage of hydro
power is the water which the main stuff to produce electricity in hydro power plant is free, it not contain
any type of pollution and after generated electricity the price of electricity is average not too much high

a) Area b) Dam c) Reservoir d) Penstock e) Storage tank f) Turbines

and generators g) Switchgear and protection
c. Diesel power plant
For generating electrical power, it is essential to rotate the rotor of an alternator by means of a prime
mover. The prime mover can be driven by different methods. Using diesel engine as prime mover is one
of the popular methods of generating power. When prime mover of the alternators is diesel engine, the
power station is called diesel power station.
The mechanical power required for driving alternator comes from combustion of diesel. As the diesel
costs high, this type of power station is not suitable for producing power in large scale in our country

But for small scale production of electric power, and where, there is no other easily available alternatives
of producing electric power, diesel power station are used.
Steam power stations and hydro power plants are mainly used to produce maximum portion of the
electrical load demands. But for steam power station, sufficient supply of coal and water are required.

For hydro power station, plenty source of water and big dams are required. But where all these facilities
are not available, such as no easy way of coal transportation and no scope of constructing dam, there it is
established.
Diesel power plants are also popularly used as standby supply of different industries, commercial
complexes, hospitals, etc. During power cut, these diesel power generators are run to fulfil required
demand
Fuel supply system
Air intake system
Exhaust system
Cooling system
Lubricating system
Starting system

d. Nuclear power plant

Electrical power can be generated by means of nuclear power. In nuclear power station, electrical power
is generated by nuclear reaction.
Here, heavy radioactive elements such as Uranium (U 235) or Thorium (Th232) are subjected to nuclear
fission. This fission is done in a special apparatus called as reactor. Before going to details of nuclear
power station, lets try to understand what is fission? In fission process, the nuclei of heavy radioactive
atoms are broken into two nearly equal parts. During this breaking of nuclei, huge quantity of energy is
released. This release of energy is due to mass defect. That mean, the total mass of initial product would
be reduced during fission. This loss of mass during fission is converted into heat energy as per famous
equation E = mc2, established by Albert Einstein.
The basic principle of nuclear power station is same as steam power station. Only difference is that,
instead of using heat generated due to coal combustion, here in nuclear power plant, heat generated due
to nuclear fission is used to produce steam from water in the boiler. This steam is used to drive a steam

turbine. This turbine is the prime mover of the alternator. This alternator generates electrical energy.
Although, the availability of nuclear fuel is not plenty but very less amount of nuclear fuel can generate
huge amount of electrical energy. This is the unique feature of a nuclear power plant. One kg of uranium
is equivalent to 4500 metric tons of high grade coal. That means complete fission of 1 kg uranium can
produce as much heat as can be produced by complete combustion of 4500 metric tons high grade coal.
This is why, although nuclear fuel is much costlier, but nuclear fuel cost per unit electrical energy is still
lower than that cost of energy generated by means of other fuel like coal and diesel. To meet up
conventional fuel crisis in present era, nuclear power station can be the most suitable alternatives.

A nuclear power station has mainly four components.

1.

Nuclear reactor,

2.

Heat exchanger,

3.

Steam turbine,

4.

Alternator.

Nuclear Reactor
In nuclear reactor, Uranium 235 is subjected to nuclear fission. It controls the chain reaction that starts
when the fission is done. The chain reaction must be controlled otherwise rate of energy release will be
fast, there may be a high chance of explosion. In nuclear fission, the nuclei of nuclear fuel, such as U 235
are bombarded by slow flow of neutrons. Due to this bombarding, the nuclei of Uranium is broken, which
causes release of huge heat energy and during breaking of nuclei, number of neutrons are also emitted.

These emitted neutrons are called fission neutrons. These fission neutrons cause further fission. Further
fission creates more fission neutrons which again accelerate the speed of fission. This is cumulative
process. If the process is not controlled, in very short time the rate of fission becomes so high, it will
release so huge amount of energy, there may be dangerous explosion. This cumulative reaction is called
chain reaction. This chain reaction can only be controlled by removing fission neutrons from nuclear
reactor. The speed of the fission can be controlled by changing the rate of removing fission neutrons from
reactors.
A nuclear reactor is a cylindrical shaped stunt pressure vessel. The fuel rods are made of nuclear fuel i.e.
Uranium moderates, which is generally made of graphite cover the fuel rods. The moderates slow down
the neutrons before collision with uranium nuclei. The controls rods are made of cadmium because
cadmium is a strong absorber of neutrons.
The control rods are inserted in the fission chamber. These cadmium controls rods can be pushed down
and pull up as per requirement. When these rods are pushed down enough, most of the fission neutrons
are absorbed by these rods, hence the chain reaction stops. Again, while the controls rods are pulled up,
the availability of fission neutrons becomes more which increases the rates of chain reaction. Hence, it is
clear that by adjusting the position of the control rods, the rate of nuclear reaction can be controlled and
consequently the generation of electrical power can be controlled as per load demand. In actual practice,
the pushing and pulling of control rods are controlled by automatic feedback system as per requirement of
the load. It is not controlled manually. The heat released during nuclear reaction, are carried to the heat
exchanger by means of coolant consist of sodium metal.
Heat Exchanger
In heat exchanger, the heat carried by sodium metal, is dissipated in water and water is converted to high
pressure steam here. After releasing heat in water the sodium metal coolant comes back to the reactor by
means of coolant circulating pump.
Steam Turbine
In nuclear power plant, the steam turbine plays the same role as coal power plant. The steam drives the
turbine in same way. After doing its job, the exhaust steam comes into steam condenser where it is
condensed to provide space to the steam behind it.
Alternator

An alternator, coupled with turbine, rotates and generates electrical power, for utilization.
Site Selection of Nuclear Power Station
1.

Availability of water: Although very large quantity of water is not regulated as hydro-electric
power plant, but still sufficient supply of neutral water is obvious for cooling purposes in nuclear
power station. That is why it is always preferable to locate this plant near a river or sea side.

2.

Disposal of Water: The by products or wastes of nuclear power station are radioactive and may
cause severe health hazards. Because of this, special care to be taken during disposal of wastes of
nuclear power plant. The wastes must be buried in sufficient deep from earth level or these must be
disposed off in sea quite away from the sea share. Hence, during selecting the location of nuclear
plant, these factor must be taken into consideration.

3.

Distance from Populated Area : As there is always a probability of radioactivity, it is always

preferable to locate a nuclear station sufficiently away from populated area.

4.

Transportation Facilities : During commissioning period, heavy equipments to be erected,

which to be transported from manufacturer site. So good railways and road ways availabilities are
required. For availability of skilled manpower good public transport should also be present at the
site.

Energy exists freely in nature. Some of them exist infinitely (never run out,
called RENEWABLE), the rest have finite amounts (they took millions of years to form,
and will run out one day, called NON-RENEWABLE)

What is Biomass
Biomass fuels come from things that once lived: wood products, dried vegetation, crop
residues, aquatic plants and even garbage. It is known as'Natural Material'. Plants used
up a lot of the sun's energy to make their own food (photosysnthesis). They stored the
foods in the plants in the form of chemical energy. As the plants died, the energy is
trapped in the residue. This trapped energy is usually released by burning and can be
converted into biomass energy.
Wood is a biomass fuel. It is renewable. As long as we continue to plant new trees to
replace those cut down, we will always have wood to burn. Just as with the fossil fuels,
the energy stored in biomass fuels came originally from the Sun.

It is such a widely utilized source of energy, probably due to its low cost and indigenous
nature, that it accounts for almost 15% of the world's total energy supply and as much
as 35% in developing countries, mostly for cooking and heating. (More reading on
Bioenergy or Biofuel here)

How is biomass converted into energy?

Burning:
This is a very common way of converting organic matter into energy. Burning stuff like
wood, waste and other plant matter releases stored chemical energy in the form of
heat, which can be used to turn shafts to produce electricity. Let's see this simple
illustration of how biomass is used to generate electricity.

1. Energy from the sun is transferred and stored in plants. When the plants are cut or
die, wood chips, straw and other plant matter is delivered to the bunker

2. This is burned to heat water in a boiler to release heat energy (steam).

3. The energy/power from the steam is directed to turbines with pipes
4. The steam turns a number of blades in the turbine and generators, which are made
of coils and magnets.

5. The charged magnetic fields produce electricity, which is sent to homes by cables.

Other ways in which organic matter can be converted into energy include:
Decomposition:
Things that can rot, like garbage, human and animal waste, dead animals and the like
can be left to rot, releasing a gas called biogas (also known as methane gas or landfill
gas). Methane can be captured by a machine called Microturbine and converted into
electricity. Sometimes, animal waste (poop) can also be converted into methane by a
machine called 'Anaerobic Digester'
Fermentation:
Ethanol can be produced from crops with lots of sugars, like corn and sugarcane. The
process used to produce ethanol is called gasification

2. NonConventional sources of energy (Renewable sources of energy)

a. Solar: Solar power is a conversion of sunlight into electricity either directly using
photovoltaic (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP) Concentrated solar
power system uses lenses or mirrors. Solar photovoltaic: Solar photovoltaic
(PV) systems are in use throughout the country with over 2.9 million household-level
installations having a capacity of 122.2 MW (April 2014) .Scaling-up of solar PV
systems assisted by the development partners are being implemented
through Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), Rural
Electrification Board (REB), Local Government Engineering Department
(LGED), Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), NGOs and Private
Organizations.
Solar energy is the light and radiant heat from the Sun that control Earth's climate and weather and
protract life. It is a renewable source of energy and originates with the thermonuclear process that
transfers about 650,000,000 tons of hydrogen to helium per second. This action produces lots of heat and
electromagnetic radiation. The produced heat remains in the sun and is helpful in upholding the
thermonuclear reaction and electromagnetic radiation together with visible, infrared and ultra-violet
radiation flow out into space in all directions.
b. Solar power
c. Solar power is energy from the sun. "Solar" is the Latin word for "sun" and it's a
powerful source of energy. Without it, there will be no life. Solar energy is
considered as a serious source of energy for many years because of the vast
amounts of energy that is made freely available, if harnessed by modern

technology.

d. It is renewable!
It is considered 'Renewable Energy' because...
The technology used to convert the sun's power into electricity does not
produce smoke (carbon dioxide and other air pollutants).
Tapping the sun's energy does not usually destroy the environment.
e. Unfortunately, the sun does not available in the night, and in some days, clouds
and rains and other natural conditions prevent the sun's powerful rays to reach
us. This means that it is not always available. This a why we cannot rely on solar
energy alone.
f.

Solar cells
Solar cells are devices that convert light energy directly into electrical energy. In
these cells, there are semiconductors (silicon alloys and other materials). You
may have seen small solar cells on calculators or some mobile phones. Larger
arrays of solar cells are used to power road signs, and even larger arrays are
used to power satellites in orbit around Earth. Solar cells are also
called photovoltaic cells or PV devices.

g. Solar panels
Solar panels are different to solar cells. Solar panels do not generate electricity
directly. Instead they heat up water directly. A pump pushes cold water from a
storage tank through pipes in the solar panel. The water is heated by heat
energy from the Sun and returns to the tank. They are often located on the roofs
of buildings where they can receive the most sunlight.
There is also the Solar Thermal Power Plant. Here, a concentration of the
sun's energy by many panels is used to heat up water into steam, which is then
used to turn turbines to produce electricity.
Guess what! Power stations of this nature usually need a lot of space to capture

a lot of the sun's energy!

The Parabolic Trough System uses this kind of system. Here, troughs are
designed to direct the sun's energy to absorber tubes as long as the sun is up.
Many of these Parabolic troughs are installed to collect massive energy for the
rods to heat water to turn turbines.

Other less common methods that use the Solar Thermal Power Plant system are
the Solar Dish and The Solar Power
Tower.

Solar energy from the sun can be converted into

electricity by mean s of photovoltaic device, called PV in
short. Enough energy from the sun hits the earth every
hour to power the planet for an entire year. Sunlight is
made of tiny packets of energy called photons. These
photons radiate out from the sun and they collide with a
semiconductor on a solar panel. It all happens at the speed
f the light. The solar panel is made of several individual
cells, each with a positive and a negative layer, which
create an electric field. It works something like a battery.
So the photons strike the cell, and their energy frees some
electron in the semiconductor material. The electrons
create an electric current, which is harnessed by wires
connected to the positive and negative sides of the cell.
The electricity is created is multiplied by the number of cells in each panel and the number of
panels in each solar array. Combined, a solar array can make large amount of electricity.
-It produces clean energy
-It has no emissions
-It has no moving parts.
-It doesnt make any noise
-it doesnt need any water or fossil fuels to generate electricity.
-it can be located right where the power is needed or in the middle of nowhere or it can be tied
into the main electric grid.
Concentarting solar power(CSP) uses the suns energy to create enough heat to generate
electricity.Mirrors focus direct sunlight to produce very high temperatures that turn water to
steam.The steam spins the turbine,which drives an electric generator.CSP systems can store heat
during the day, and then use it to make electricity during cloudy periods,at night or whenever
people need it.Concentrating solar power works best as large scale installations,that provide
electricity into main electric grid.
b. Wind: Wind energy is form of solar energy which is produced because of the uneven heating
of the earth by the sun. Wind energy is a form of renewable energy and it helps to free the
environment from pollution. The main function i.e. converting wind energy into electrical energy

is done by wind turbine in the wind turbine power plant. Turbines uses wind and generate
electricity .Hub and blades are generally called turbine or rotor. Generally there are 2 to 3 a blade
in the turbine torot.Hub is mounted on the main shaft. Behind the turbine, there is an engine
housing, which is called Nacelle. Nacelle is mounted on a tower in order to get more wind
velocity. Wind will cause the blades to rotate. Due to this, rotor starts to moving, As the rotor is
connected to the main shaft, it spins the generator with the aid of gear mechanism. Because of
which,electicity is produced. It is mostly known today for electricity generation in all over the
world. 2 MW of installed wind turbines at Feni and Kutubdia.
We know that the Earths surface is containing very different types of land and lots of water
(approximately earth 71% surface covered by water). It sucks up the suns energy at unusual rates means
the sun heat is not uniformly distributed over the earths surface. Wind or flow of air on earth is caused by
massive convection currents in the atmosphere. As long as the sun heats up the earth, there will be wind
energy available on the earth

1
3
U
2
c. Tidal & Wave
d. Geothermal: Geothermal energy is a consistent and reliable resource that is ideal for replacing
baseload power sources such as polluting coal plants. Geothermal energy is heat from deep in the
earth. The heat is brought near the surface by underground circulation of water and by the intrusion into the earths crust of molten magma. The portion of geothermal energy that can be
developed easily is trapped in cavities beneath the earths surface. A geothermal plant pumps the
steam or hot water from these cavities to the surface, uses it to run an electrical generator, then
returns the fluids to the underground cavities. There are several types of geothermal power
technologies. Most of the installed geothermal electrical generating plants use either flash or

binary technologies. Generally, flash technologies are used when the geothermal resource has
temperatures of 350F and higher and binary technologies are used with temperatures below
350F. In both technologies, the geothermal fluids are returned to the underground reservoirs and
naturally reheated for reuse.

In a flash steam process, (see diagram) water from underground wells is separated (flashed) into
steam and water. The water is directly returned to the geothermal reservoir by injection wells, or
cycled for other process or agricultural uses before re-injection. The steam is used to drive a
turbine and generate electricity. Any gases in the steam are removed and, if necessary, treated to
remove dissolved pollutants. The steam is cooled to liquid form and then also reinjected into the
geothermal reservoir. For very high temperature resources, the water can be controlled to flash
more than once to recover even more
energy from the same resource.

A binary power plant is used for

moderate-temperature resources. The hot
water from a geothermal source is used to
heat a secondary working fluid, such as
ammonia or isobutane, in a closed-loop
system. The working fluid is vaporized in
a heat exchanger and is then used to drive a turbine-generator. A cooling system is used to
condense the vaporized working fluid back into liquid form to begin the process again. The hot
water from the geothermal resource is injected back into the reservoir. The hot water and the
working fluid are kept separate, so that environmental issues are minimal.
There are three types of geothermal plants around. These are dry steam, flash, and binary.
Dry Steam Plant
Dry steam plants take steam out of fractures in the ground and uses it to directly drive a turbine
that spins a generator.
Geothermal plants are used operational in different parts of the globe. These are usually located
in geologically unstable parts of the planet. You can see some in Chile, Iceland, New Zealand,
United States, the Philippines and Italy. At home, two most prominent areas for this are in the
Yellowstone basin and in northern California.
Aside from digging deep into the earth, there are some who believe we can generate power from
hot dry rocks. You have to dig 3 kilometers deep into the earth first to find these hot underground
radiogenic granite rocks. Right now, some Australia companies are exploring this technology.
Note:
Renewable sources of energy:

Renewable sources of energy are continuously produced in nature, and they will not get
exhausted eventually in future.
Nonrenewable sources of energy:
Nonrenewable sources of energy will get exhausted eventually in future.
Present situation of power sector in BANGLADESH:
Installed Capacity
Available Generation Capacity
Peak demand
Anticipated Load shedding
% of people under electricity facility
Per capita electricity consumption
Transmission lines(400kV)
Transmission lines(230kV)
Transmission lines(132kV)
Distribution lines(33 kv and below)
No. of Consumers
Present Installed Generation Capacity Public
sector
Present Installed Generation Capacity Private
sector

11,877 MW

8177.00 MW
10,283.00 MW

2000.00 MW
56
350 kwh
165 ckt.K.M.(circuit kilometers)
3172 ckt.K.M.
6359 ckt. K.M.
40,603 k.M.
31,57,030
6,365 MW (54%)
5,512 MW (46%)

Types of Power Plant in Bangladesh

Hydro 4 %
Diesel 8%
Gas Turbine 14 %
Combined cycle 24%
Steam turbine 50%

power generation
bypower
different
Companies
in bangladesh
Bangladesh
Development board(BPDB)
42.5%
Ashuganj Power station Company Ltd.(APSCL)7.85%

Electricity Generation Company of bangladesh(EGCB)5.5%

others 8.9%

Independent power Producers(IPPs) 20.65%

Rental power Plants(3,5,15,Q)14.7%

Fuel Consumptions pattern in power generation of Bangladesh

Natural Gas 62.93%

Hydro(water)1.94 %
Heavy furnace oil 21.11 %
coal 2.1 %
Diesel 7.71 %
imported 4.21%

Energy Sources of power generation in Bangladesh.

Fuel type
Natural gas
Hydro water
Furnace Oil
Diesel
Coal
Imported
Total

Capacity(unit)
7474.00 MW
230.00 MW
2507.00 MW
916.00 MW
250.00 MW
500.00 MW
11877.00 MW

Presently, Bangladesh gas fields Company Ltd (BGFCL) and CHEVRON produces the major
portion of total daily gas production, 37.55% and 47.74% respectively.

Gas transmission Company ltd.(GTCL) has the capacity to transmit 4455

MMCFD(million cubic feet per day)
In the gas distribution,Titas Gas Transmission and distribution company ltd.(TGTDCL)
shares the most number of percentages.

As the price of natural gas,for example,is $1.1/G and $2/G,for power and industry sectors
respectively,the price of electricity is low $ .05/kW,whereas,the price in india is $.07/kW

Target Electricity Generation:

By the year of 2015:11,500 MW
By the year f 2021:20,000 MW
By the year of 2030:33,500 MW
Energy Resources for power generation (for future):

Domestic Coal and imported Coal based power Plants

Implementation of nuclear power plants in Ruppor,pabna
Availability of new gas fields both in offshore and onshore.
Supply of solar energy

** Growth f power generation capacity is estimated to be 10% every year and by the year of
2021, the per capita electricity usage will be around 600 KWh.

Long term power generation Estimation:

Energy Sources
Gas
Coal
Oil(F/D)
Hydro
Nuclear
Renewable

Present (%)
63
2
29
2
0
0

2021(%)
30
53
3
1
10
3

2030(%)
28
38
5
4
19
6