| Abstract: | It is well known that the price per unit of generated electrical energy decreases with increasing size of the generator, which implies longer transmission lines and hence larger transmission losses. Considering both these facts, the optimum size of a thermal power station has been obtained by using life-cycle costing analysis; the demand is proposed to be met by a base load generator and a peak load generator. The dependence of the investment ratio (the ratio of present worth of net income to the capital investment) on relevant parameters has been studied. It is seen that there exist optimum sizes of base load generator and peak load generator of a power station, for a given load density. The effect of electricity price, coal price and escalation rates on the optimum sizes has also been investigated. The analysis has been made for constant demand as well as for growing demand. The effect of the ratio of base load to peak load on the economics has also been investigated. The cost data from a recent study in India have been used. |
