Three Major Types of Power Plants

Thermal power plants (steam power plants)

• Thermal or steam power plants are located at those sites where a large amount of water and coal are available. In addition, they are mostly found near the load centres. 
• These plants usually use coal as a fuel and sometimes oil. 
• They operate on the principle of Modified Rankine cycle.  
• These power plants need a lot of space and storage as to store coal, installing of turbine, boiler and other auxiliaries. 
• The overall efficiency is in between 30% -35% as compared to other plants. But modern thermal power plants efficiency is in the range of 35% and 49%. 
• The standby losses are higher even the boiler is working or if the turbine is not in operation. 
• The disadvantages of such power plants are that they are less clean and also produce greenhouse gases. 
• The fuel cost is high. The coal is also heavy and to be transported to the power plants. The initial cost is low, but their running cost is higher than hydro and nuclear power plants. 
• The lifespan of a thermal power plant is in between 30-35 years. 

Hydro-electric power plants:

• They are mostly built where a significant volume of water will quickly be stored in a reservoir by constructing a dam. The potential water energy is transformed to kinetic energy and used for the spinning of a turbine. 
• The fuel used is water. The water availability is unreliable as it is weather dependent. 
• The hydropower plants are highly efficient as compared to all other power plants. The efficiency is as high as 85% to 90%.
• They are environmentally clean, but the obstacle is that can affect marine life. Also, the residents in the region ought to be relocated. 
• The construction and size of the dam are enormous. Thus it requires very large space for storage of water. 
• The initial cost of these power plants is also very high as the dam and reservoir construction is expensive. On the other side, the fuel cost is zero because the water is free to be sourced.
• The average lifespan of hydropower plants is 100 years. 

Nuclear power plants:

• The nuclear power plants are located away from the heavy population areas as to avoid radio pollution. 
• The working principle of nuclear power plants depends on the thermonuclear fission. 
• The fuel used for generating energy in a nuclear plant is uranium (235) and also other radioactive materials. 
• Typically the efficiency of nuclear power plants is higher than thermal power plants as it is mostly 55%. 
• The radioactive waste disposal can affect the environment outside, especially when buried underground. Contamination can occur underwater. 
• Needs less room relative to other plants of the same efficiency. 
• The initial cost of a nuclear power plant is high. The nuclear reactor is complicated and needs the most trained engineers. While the running cost is very low as a small amount of fuel is used. 
• The lifespan of nuclear power is around 40 years.