Consider the Scherer coal fired power plant in the state of Georgia. It was built in the 1980’s. It has a capacity to produce 3,500 MW of electricity and is one of the biggest coal fired power plants in the US. The plant burns a low grade, low sulphur content sub-bituminous coal from Wyoming (Powder River Basin coal reserve – 40% of US market supply). Coal is transported by train to the power plant from Wyoming. The reason Powder River Basin coal is used by electric utilities is that it is very low sulphur content compared to coal mined from the Appalachian region. a. Calculate the consumption rate of coal in tons per hour and tons per year. Assume the plant is operating at full capacity of 3,500 MW electrical production, is 33% efficient at converting heat into electrical energy, and the lower heating value of the sub-bituminous coal is 8,500 Btu per pound. b. If a rail car holds 100 tons coal, how many rail cars a day are required to keep the plant operating? (A coal train is typically ~ 100 cars long). c. Given the average price of Powder River Basin coal of 32 $/ton, what is the annual cost of coal for the plant?
Consider the Scherer coal fired power plant in the state of Georgia. It was built in the 1980’s. It has a capacity to produce 3,500 MW of electricity and is one of the biggest coal fired power plants in the US. The plant burns a low grade, low sulphur content sub-bituminous coal from Wyoming (Powder River Basin coal reserve – 40% of US market supply). Coal is transported by train to the power plant from Wyoming. The reason Powder River Basin coal is used by electric utilities is that it is very low sulphur content compared to coal mined from the Appalachian region.
a. Calculate the consumption rate of coal in tons per hour and tons per year. Assume the plant is operating at full capacity of 3,500 MW electrical production, is 33% efficient at converting heat into electrical energy, and the lower heating value of the sub-bituminous coal is 8,500 Btu per pound.
b. If a rail car holds 100 tons coal, how many rail cars a day are required to keep the plant operating? (A coal train is typically ~ 100 cars long).
c. Given the average price of Powder River Basin coal of 32 $/ton, what is the annual cost of coal for the plant?
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