1.

What are the different types of electricity-generating facilities visited and how do
these operate?

Answer: Three electricity-generating facilities that we visited, those are the following:
Geothermal Power Plant located at Brgy. Bitin, Bay, Laguna, Pililia Wind Farm located at
Pililia, Rizal; Diesel Power Plant located at Subic Bay Port, Olongapo City, and Bataan
Nuclear Power Plant located at Morong, Bataan.

An example of the geothermal power plant is the MakBan Geothermal Power

Plant. Geothermal power is power generated by geothermal energy. Technologies in use
include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power
stations. The MakBan Geothermal Power Plant has a capacity of 289 MW, located at Bay
and Calauan, Laguna- Sto. Tomas, Batangas, which was commissioned on April 26,
1979. Also, the MakBan Geothermal Power Plant is one of the two facilities that AP
Renewables Inc. acquired from PSALM last May 2009. It is the only indigenous base load
plant in Luzon that has better grid stability and availability. The Tiwi-MakBan geothermal
facilities have a combined generating capacity of 390 MW of Cleanergy.

Geothermal power is considered to be a sustainable, renewable source of energy

because the heat extraction is small compared with the Earth's heat content. The
greenhouse gas emissions of geothermal electric stations are on average 45 grams of
carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of electricity, or less than 5 percent of that of
conventional coal-fired plants.

Geothermal Power Plant works with the following procedure: hot water is
pumped from deep underground through a well under high pressure. When the water
reaches the surface, the pressure is dropped, which causes the water to turn into steam.
The steam spins a turbine, which is connected to a generator that produces electricity.
The steam cools off in a cooling tower and condenses back to water. The cooled water
is pumped back into the Earth to begin the process again.

Geothermal power is considered to be a sustainable, renewable source of energy

because the heat extraction is small compared with the Earth's heat content. The
greenhouse gas emissions of geothermal electric stations are on average 45 grams of
carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of electricity, or less than 5 percent of that of
conventional coal-fired plants.

Water or working fluid is heated, and then sent through a steam turbine where the
thermal energy (heat) is converted to electricity with a generator through a phenomenon
called electromagnetic induction. The next step in the cycle is cooling the fluid and
sending it back to the heat source.

Water that has been seeping into the underground over time has gained heat
energy from the geothermal reservoirs. There no need for additional heating, as you
would expect with other thermal power plants. Heating boilers are not present in
geothermal steam power plants and no heating fuel is used.

Production wells are used to lead hot water/steam from the reservoirs and into
the power plant. Rock catchers are in place to make sure that only hot fluids are sent to
the turbine. Rocks can cause great damage to steam turbines. Injection wells ensure
that the water that is drawn up from the production wells returns to the geothermal
reservoir where it regains the thermal energy (heat) that we have used to generate
electricity.

Depending on the state of the water (liquid or vapor) and its temperature,
different types of power plants are used for different geothermal reservoirs. Most
geothermal power plants extract water, in its vapor or liquid form, from the reservoirs
somewhere in the temperature-range 100-320°C (220-600°F).

An example of the geothermal power plant is the MakBan Geothermal Power

Plant. Geothermal power is power generated by geothermal energy. Technologies in use
include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power
stations. The MakBan Geothermal Power Plant has a capacity of 289 MW, located at Bay
and Calauan, Laguna; Sto. Tomas, Batangas, which was commissioned on April 26,
1979. Also, the MakBan Geothermal Power Plant is one of the two facilities that AP
Renewables Inc. acquired from PSALM last May 2009. It is the only indigenous base load
plant in Luzon that has better grid stability and availability. The Tiwi-MakBan geothermal
facilities have a combined generating capacity of 390 MW of Cleanergy.
 The initial phase of the transmission facility connection will cover the 67.5-MW
Pililla wind power plant which is targeted on stream this year.The wind farm’s direct
connection to Meralco’s distribution network through the 115-kV Malaya-Teresa
transmission line has been elected as the “best option,” primarily in consideration of
accessibility and reliability factors as the distance is considerably shorter and the costs
are relatively lower than other configurations. AWOC emphasized that “the Pililla wind
farm intends to source its own power requirement of 600 kW (kilowatts) from Meralco.”
The facility will be equipped with 27 wind turbine generators with a capacity of 2.5 MW
each.
Wind turbines operate on a simple principle. The energy in the wind turns two or
three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft,
which spins a generator to create electricity.

Simply stated, a wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity
to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the
blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity.

Wind is a form of solar energy and is a result of the uneven heating of the
atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and the rotation of the
earth.

The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used
to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in
the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks
(such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical
power into electricity.

The "Pililla, Rizal" Wind Energy Service Contract granted to Alternergy Philippine
Holdings Corporation (APHC) covers an area of 4,515 hectares under Department of
Energy WESC NO. 2009-09-018.

The project consists of 27 wind turbine generators grouped into three clusters with
aggregate capacity of 67.5 megawatts (MW). The said project, after completion will
interconnect to Meralco’s Malaya-Teresa 115 kilovolts (KV) transmission line located
just 10 kilometers from the project site.
 The wind project developer, Alternergy Wind One Corporation (AWOC), awarded its
115 kV Transmission Line and 115 kV Switchyard Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC) contract to Meralco Industrial and Engineering Services Corporation
(MIESCOR).The proposed two-phased wind power project of AWOC in Rizal province has
secured regulatory approval for the construction of dedicated point-to-point
transmission facilities that will connect it to the load network of Manila Electric
Company.

A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator to

generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine-generator. A diesel
compression-ignition engine often is designed to run on fuel oil, but some types are
adapted for other liquid fuels or natural gas.

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.

Pressurized water reactors (PWRs) constitute the large majority of the world's
nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor (LWR), the other
types being boiling water reactors (BWRs) and supercritical water reactors (SCWRs). In a
PWR, the primary coolant (water) is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core
where it is heated by the energy released by the fission of atoms. The heated water then
flows to a steam generator where it transfers its thermal energy to a secondary system
where steam is generated and flows to turbines which, in turn, spin an electric generator.
In contrast to a boiling water reactor, pressure in the primary coolant loop prevents the
water from boiling within the reactor. All LWRs use ordinary water as both coolant and
neutron moderator.

Nuclear fuel in the reactor pressure vessel is engaged in a fission chain reaction,
which produces heat, heating the water in the primary coolant loop by thermal
conduction through the fuel cladding. The hot primary coolant is pumped into a heat
exchanger called the steam generator, where it flows through hundreds or thousands of
small tubes. Heat is transferred through the walls of these tubes to the lower pressure
secondary coolant located on the sheet side of the exchanger where the coolant
evaporates to pressurized steam. The transfer of heat is accomplished without mixing
the two fluids to prevent the secondary coolant from becoming radioactive.

In a nuclear power station, the pressurized steam is fed through a steam turbine
which drives an electrical generator connected to the electric grid for transmission. After
passing through the turbine the secondary coolant (water-steam mixture) is cooled down
and condensed in a condenser. The condenser converts the steam to a liquid so that it
can be pumped back into the steam generator, and maintains a vacuum at the turbine
outlet so that the pressure drop across the turbine, and hence the energy extracted from
the steam, is maximized. Before being fed into the steam generator, the condensed
steam (referred to as feedwater) is sometimes preheated in order to minimize thermal
shock.

Two things are characteristic for the pressurized water reactor (PWR) when
compared with other reactor types: coolant loop separation from the steam system and
pressure inside the primary coolant loop. In a PWR, there are two separate coolant loops
(primary and secondary), which are both filled with demineralized/deionized water. A
boiling water reactor, by contrast, has only one coolant loop, while more exotic designs
such as breeder reactors use substances other than water for coolant and moderator
(e.g. sodium in its liquid state as coolant or graphite as a moderator). The pressure in
the primary coolant loop is typically 15–16 megapascals (150–160 bar), which is notably
higher than in other nuclear reactors, and nearly twice that of a boiling water reactor
(BWR). As an effect of this, only localized boiling occurs and steam will recondense
promptly in the bulk fluid. By contrast, in a boiling water reactor the primary coolant is
designed to boil.
2. Which power plant is more efficient and less expensive to operate than any other
plants?

Answer: Geothermal electricity is about as close to a perfect source of renewable

energy as one can get. It’s (almost) carbon-free, doesn’t emit large quantities of noxious
gases or generate radioactive waste, doesn’t require the clear-cutting of virgin forests,
doesn’t take up lots of room, doesn’t blight the skyline (or at least not all that much),
doesn’t decapitate or incinerate birds, is replenished by the natural heat of the Earth,
delivers baseload power at capacity factors usually around 90% and can even if
necessary be cycled to follow load. It’s also one of the lowest-cost generation sources
presently available. No other renewable energy source can match this impressive list of
virtues or even come close to it.

A geothermal heat pump can extract enough heat from shallow ground anywhere in
the world to provide home heating, but industrial applications need the higher
temperatures of deep resources. The thermal efficiency and profitability of electricity
generation is particularly sensitive to temperature. The most demanding applications
receive the greatest benefit from a high natural heat flux, ideally from using a hot spring.
The next best option is to drill a well into a hot aquifer. If no adequate aquifer is
available, an artificial one may be built by injecting water to hydraulically fracture the
bedrock. This last approach is called hot dry rock geothermal energy in Europe, or
enhanced geothermal systems in North America. Much greater potential may be
available from this approach than from conventional tapping of natural aquifers.

Estimates of the potential for electricity generation from geothermal energy vary six
fold, from .035 to 2 TW depending on the scale of investments. Upper estimates of
geothermal resources assume enhanced geothermal wells as deep as 10 kilometers (6
mi), whereas existing geothermal wells are rarely more than 3 kilometers (2 mi) deep.
Wells of this depth are now common in the petroleum industry.

Water or working fluid is heated (or used directly in case of geothermal dry steam
power plants), and then sent through a steam turbine where the thermal energy (heat) is
converted to electricity with a generator through a phenomenon called electromagnetic
induction. The next step in the cycle is cooling the fluid and sending it back to the heat
source.

Water that has been seeping into the underground over time has gained heat energy
from the geothermal reservoirs. There no need for additional heating, as you would
expect with other thermal power plants. Heating boilers are not present in geothermal
steam power plants and no heating fuel is used.

Production wells are used to lead hot water/steam from the reservoirs and into the
power plant. Rock catchers are in place to make sure that only hot fluids are sent to the
turbine. Rocks can cause great damage to steam turbines. Injection wells ensure that
the water that is drawn up from the production wells returns to the geothermal reservoir
where it regains the thermal energy (heat) that we have used to generate electricity.
Depending on the state of the water (liquid or vapor) and its temperature, different types
of power plants are used for different geothermal reservoirs. Most geothermal power
plants extract water, in its vapor or liquid form, from the reservoirs somewhere in the
temperature-range 100-320°C (220-600°F).

Depending on what type of geothermal power plant, location and various other
factors, the thermal efficiency rate is not more than 10-23%. Technically, low efficiency
rates do not affect operational costs of a geothermal power plant, as it would with power
plants that are reliant on fuels to heat a working fluid.

Experts say geothermal energy is cleaner, more efficient, and more cost-effective
than burning fossil fuels, and it can reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Geothermal energy is clean because it can be generated without burning fossil fuels.
Geothermal plants release a fraction of the carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel plants,
and they create very little nitrous oxide or sulfur gases.
 Because the energy is generated right near the plant, it saves on processing and
transportation costs compared to other types of fuel. Geothermal plants are also
considered to be more reliable than coal or nuclear plants because they can run
consistently, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The initial costs of geothermal energy are high. However, a home geothermal energy
pump can cut energy bills by 30 to 40 percent and will pay for itself within 5 to 10 years.

Geothermal energy is considered renewable because the heat is continually

replaced. The water that is removed is put right back into the ground after its heat is
used.

Still, we're not using nearly as much geothermal energy as is available. That has to
do with the limited geographic availability of geothermal energy, and the difficulty and
expense of drilling down far enough to reach that energy. More advanced techniques
being developed could allow for deeper drilling, potentially bringing geothermal energy to
more people in more places.

For right now, geothermal heat pumps are the most viable option. They can be used
just about anywhere in the world because the temperature beneath the ground always
remains constant.

Although the environmental benefits of burning less fossil fuel by using renewable
sources of energy—such as geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind—are clear, there's
been a serious roadblock in their adoption: cost per kilowatt-hour.

That barrier may be opening, however—at least for one of these sources. Two recent
reports, among others, suggest that geothermal may actually be cheaper than every
other source, including coal. Geothermal power plants work by pumping hot water from
deep beneath Earth's surface, which can either be used to turn steam turbines directly or
to heat a second, more volatile liquid such as isobutene (which then turns a steam
turbine).

We can all agree that a geothermal power plant is the most efficient power
generating plant. But in terms of less expensive to operate nuclear power plant wins the
medal.
 The economics of nuclear power involves consideration of several aspects:

Capital costs, which include the cost of site preparation, construction, manufacture,
commissioning and financing a nuclear power plant. Building a large-scale nuclear
reactor takes thousands of workers, huge amounts of steel and concrete, thousands of
components, and several systems to provide electricity, cooling, ventilation, information,
control and communication. To compare different power generation technologies the
capital costs must be expressed in terms of the generating capacity of the plant (for
example as dollars per kilowatt). Capital costs may be calculated with the financing
costs included or excluded. If financing costs are included then the capital costs change
in proportion to the length of time it takes to build and commission the plant and with
the interest rate or mode of financing employed. It is normally termed the ‘investment
cost’. If the financing costs are excluded from the calculation the capital costs is called
the ‘overnight cost’, because it imagines that the plant appeared fully built overnight.

Plant operating costs, which include the costs of fuel, operation and maintenance
(O&M), and a provision for funding the costs of decommissioning the plant and treating
and disposing of used fuel and wastes. Operating costs may be divided into ‘fixed costs’
that are incurred whether or not the plant is generating electricity and ‘variable costs’,
which vary in relation to the output. Normally these costs are expressed relative to a unit
of electricity (for example, cents per kilowatt-hour) to allow a consistent comparison
with other energy technologies. To calculate the operating cost of a plant over its whole
life (including the costs of decommissioning and used fuel and waste management), we
must estimate the ‘levelised’ cost at present value. It represents the price that the
electricity must fetch if the project is to break even (after taking account of the
opportunity cost of capital through the application of a discount rate).

External costs to society from the operation, which in the case of a nuclear power is
usually assumed to be zero, but could include the costs of dealing with a serious
accident that are beyond the insurance limit and in practice need to be picked up by the
government. The regulations that control nuclear power typically require the plant
operator to make a provision for disposing of any waste, thus these costs are
‘internalized’ (and are not external). Electricity generation from fossil fuels is not
regulated in the same way, and therefore the operators of such thermal power plants do
not yet internalize the costs of greenhouse gas emission or of other gases and
particulates released into the atmosphere. Including these external costs in the
calculation gives nuclear power a significant advantage over fossil fuelled electricity
generation.

Operating costs

Fuel costs have from the outset given nuclear energy an advantage compared with
coal, oil and gas-fired plants. Uranium, however, has to be processed, enriched and
fabricated into fuel elements, and about half of the cost is due to enrichment and
fabrication. In the assessment of the economics of nuclear power allowances must also
be made for the management of radioactive used fuel and the ultimate disposal of this
used fuel or the wastes separated from it. But even with these included, the total fuel
costs of a nuclear power plant in the OECD are typically about a third of those for a
coal-fired plant and between a quarter and a fifth of those for a gas combined-cycle
plant. The US Nuclear Energy Institute suggests that for a coal-fired plant 78% of the
cost is the fuel, for a gas-fired plant the figure is 89%, and for nuclear the uranium is
about 14%, or double that to include all front end costs.

The overwhelming factor shaping the future of nuclear power is its lack of economic
competitiveness. Nuclear plants cost a lot to build. This limits the rate of new reactor
construction and causes utility companies to shut down reactors.

It is not the most efficient type of power generating plant because of the following
maintenance cost.

Capital costs. The usual rule of thumb for nuclear power is that about two thirds of
the generation cost is accounted for by fixed costs, the main ones being the cost of
paying interest on the loans and repaying the capital.One of the big problems with
nuclear power is the enormous upfront cost. These reactors are extremely expensive to
build. While the returns may be very great, they're also very slow. It can sometimes take
decades to recoup initial costs. Since many investors have a short attention span, they
don't like to wait that long for their investment to pay off.

Cost overruns. Construction delays can add significantly to the cost of a plant.
Because a power plant does not earn income and currencies can inflate during
construction, longer construction times translate directly into higher finance charges.
Modern nuclear power plants are planned for construction in five years or less.

Waste disposal costs. All nuclear plants produce radioactive waste. To pay for the
cost of storing, transporting and disposing these wastes in a permanent location, in the
United States a surcharge of a tenth of a cent per kilowatt-hour is added to electricity
bills.

Geothermal energy is the cheapest form of clean energy out there, with wind
energy a close second – and both could become cheaper than fossil fuel-fired energy if
governments will direct more research funding to them.Geothermal energy was singled
out as the cheapest renewable energy source out there, and could become competitive
with coal and gas-fired power. Specifically, research into "hot, dry rock" geothermal
technology could yield big increases in geothermal energy's potential.

Geothermal energy is that fraction of the natural heat of the Earth that gets
transported by magma flow, conduction and/or convection from the Earth’s hot interior
to within drilling range of the surface, where it forms two basic types of geothermal
resource:

• High-temperature resources (~180C or above) that are hot enough to generate

electricity, either from steam extracted directly from the ground, from steam produced
by “flashing” pressurized hot brine or from binary cycle heat exchangers. These
resources presently supply the world with 99% of its geothermal energy and are the ones
I discuss here.

• Low-temperature resources potentially amenable for use in heating, an application I

haven’t looked into and don’t discuss here.

Geothermal electricity is about as close to a perfect source of renewable energy as

one can get. It’s (almost) carbon-free, doesn’t emit large quantities of noxious gases or
generate radioactive waste, doesn’t require the clear-cutting of virgin forests, doesn’t
take up lots of room, doesn’t blight the skyline (or at least not all that much), doesn’t
decapitate or incinerate birds, is replenished by the natural heat of the Earth, delivers
baseload power at capacity factors usually around 90% and can even if necessary be
cycled to follow load. It’s also one of the lowest-cost generation sources presently
available. No other renewable energy source can match this impressive list of virtues or
even come close to it.

Experts say geothermal energy is cleaner, more efficient, and more cost-effective
than burning fossil fuels, and it can reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

3. What are the limitations of the power plant visited (in terms of generating
electricity)?

Answer: For Geothermal Power Plant;

Energy created from geothermal power is safe, clean, simple, reliable and
environment friendly as it is extracted from deep within the earth’s surface. But despite
these advantages, geothermal energy is not being used widely. Geothermal energy
suffers from its disadvantages as described below.

Can Run Out Of Steam : Geothermal sites can run out of steam over a period of time
due to drop in temperature or if too much water is injected to cool the rocks and this
may result huge loss for the companies which have invested heavily in these plants. Due
to this factor, companies have to do extensive initial research before setting up the plant.
You have to be incredibly careful when you are trying to check everything that is related
to geothermal energy. Mind must be taken to watch the heat and not to abuse it,
because if the heat is not taken care of properly, it can cause a meltdown or other issues
where the energy is not properly distributed or used.

For Diesel Power Plant;

The plant generally used to produce small power requirement. Because of this, it is
usually operated as a peaking plant. Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants,
and occasionally just "peakers," are power plants that generally run only when there is a
high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity. Because they supply power only
occasionally, the power supplied commands a much higher price per kilowatt hour than
base load power. Peak load power plants are dispatched in combination with base load
power plants, which supply a dependable and consistent amount of electricity, meeting
the minimum demand. Peak hours usually occur in the morning or late
afternoon/evening depending on location. In temperate climates peak hours often occur
when household appliances are heavily used in the evening after work hours. In hot
climates the peak is usually late afternoon when air conditioning load is high, during this
time many workplaces are still open and consuming power. In cold climates the peak is
in the morning when space heating and industry are both starting up. A peaker plant may
operate many hours a day, or it may operate only a few hours per year, depending on the
condition of the region's electrical grid. Because of the cost of building an efficient
power plant, if a peaker plant is only going to be run for a short or highly variable time it
does not make economic sense to make it as efficient as a base load power plant. In
addition, the equipment and fuels used in base load plants are often unsuitable for use in
peaker plants because the fluctuating conditions would severely strain the equipment.
For these reasons, nuclear, geothermal, waste-to-energy, coal and biomass are rarely, if
ever, operated as peaker plants.

For Nuclear Power Plant;

Nuclear energy is a rare form of energy. It is the energy stored in the center or the
nucleus of an atom. After we bombard the nucleus into two parts, two different elements
are formed along with the emission of high energy. The process generally followed is
called fission. There is another reaction called fusion, which produces almost one tenth
of the energy as produced during fission. Fission is the chain reaction which needs
uranium-235. The nuclear energy is considered as the worthiest alternative source of
energy after fossil fuels. But it has a few limitations.

Fuel Availability: Unlike fossil fuels which are available to most of the countries,
uranium is very scarce resource and exists in only few of the countries. Permissions of
several international authorities are required before someone can even thought of
building a nuclear power plant. The uranium oxide product of a uranium mill is not
directly usable as a fuel for a nuclear reactor and additional processing is required. Only
0.7% of natural uranium is 'fissile', or capable of undergoing fission, the process by which
energy is produced in a nuclear reactor. The form, or isotope, of uranium which is fissile
is the uranium-235 (U-235) isotope. The remainder is uranium-238 (U-238)*. For most
kinds of reactor, the concentration of the fissile uranium-235 isotope needs to be
increased – typically to between 3.5% and 5% U-235. Isotope separation is a physical
process to concentrate (‘enrich’) one isotope relative to others. The enrichment process
requires the uranium to be in a gaseous form. The uranium oxide concentrate is
therefore first converted to uranium hexafluoride, which is a gas at relatively low
temperatures.

Non Renewable: Nuclear energy uses uranium which is a scarce resource and is not
found in many countries. Most of the countries rely on other countries for the constant
supply of this fuel. It is mined and transported like any other metal. Supply will be
available as long as it is there. Once all extracted, nuclear plants will not be of any use.
Due to its hazardous effects and limited supply, it cannot be termed as renewable.
Nuclear energy is usually considered another non-renewable energy source. Although
nuclear energy itself is a renewable energy source, the material used in nuclear power
plants is not. Nuclear energy harvests the powerful energy in the nucleus, or core, of an
atom. Nuclear energy is released through nuclear fission, the process where the nucleus
of an atom splits. Nuclear power plants are complex machines that can control nuclear
fission to produce electricity. The material most often used in nuclear power plants is
the element uranium. Although uranium is found in rocks all over the world, nuclear
power plants usually use a very rare type of uranium, U-235. Uranium is a non-renewable
resource. Nuclear energy is a popular way of generating electricity around the world.
Nuclear power plants do not pollute the air or emit greenhouse gases. They can be built
in rural or urban areas, and do not destroy the environment around them. However,
nuclear energy is difficult to harvest. Nuclear power plants are very complicated to build
and run. Many communities do not have the scientists and engineers to develop a safe
and reliable nuclear energy program. Nuclear energy also produces radioactive material.
Radioactive waste can be extremely toxic, causing burns and increasing the risk for
cancers, blood diseases, and bone decay among people who are exposed to it.

For Wind Farm;

Wind energy is a clean, renewable energy source and offers many advantages, which
explains why it's one of the fastest-growing energy sources in the world. Research is
aimed at improving technology, lowering costs, and addressing the challenges to greater
use of wind energy. But wind power still has limitations.

Wind Can Never be Predicted: Yet another main disadvantage of wind energy is that
winds can never be predicted. In areas where wind doesn’t blow reliably or winds
strength is too low to support wind turbine, solar or geothermal energy could prove to be
great alternatives. That is one of the reasons why most of the companies study the
whole area and determine wind turbine layout, power curve, thrust curve, long term wind
speed before deploying wind turbines. Moreover strong tornadoes or deadly hurricanes
can prove harmful to the wind turbines. Predicting the wind is similarly dependent on the
initial values you specify in the computer model used to make the prediction. These
initial conditions include temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation rates
everywhere in your model – essentially everywhere in the atmosphere. The values for
these parameters can't be made up; they must come from real data. Today these data
come from the global meteorological network run by countries around the world and
largely coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization. This network includes
surface meteorological stations, balloon measurements, shipboard measurements, and
space-borne platforms. Despite its very impressive size, the network is limited; we can
only make meteorological measurements in so many locations and these
measurements are not perfectly accurate. Thus, the initial conditions input into our
weather models are imperfect, and so our weather predictions are inaccurate -- and
would be even if our understanding of the physics of the weather were perfect. Because
the effects of imperfect initial conditions on weather simulations tend to grow, the longer
the weather model is run into the future, the less accurate the prediction.
4. What is geothermal power plant? What are the advantages and disadvantages of
using geothermal energy to generate electricity?

Answer:

Geothermal power is considered to be sustainable because the heat extraction is

small compared to the Earth's heat content, but extraction must still be monitored to
avoid local depletion. Although geothermal sites are capable of providing heat for many
decades, individual wells may cool down or run out of water.

Geothermal power is power generated by geothermal energy. Technologies in use

include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power
stations. Most power plants—whether fueled by coal, gas, nuclear power, or geothermal
energy—have one feature in common: they convert heat to electricity. Heat from the
Earth, or geothermal — Geo (Earth) + thermal (heat) — energy is accessed by drilling
water or steam wells in a process similar to drilling for oil.

Geothermal power plants have much in common with traditional power-generating

stations. They use many of the same components, including turbines, generators,
transformers, and other standard power generating equipment.

Geothermal Energy Advantages

✓ Environmentally friendly – There are a few polluting aspects to harnessing

 geothermal energy, and the carbon footprint of a geothermal power plant is seen
as minimal. An average geothermal power plant releases the equivalent of 122
kg CO2 for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity it generates – one-eighth of
the CO2 emissions associated with typical coal power plants.
✓ A renewable resource – Geothermal reservoirs are naturally replenished.
According to some scientists, the energy in our geothermal reservoirs will last
billions of years. While fossil fuels have an expiry date, renewable sources like
geothermal energy is not going to expire anytime soon.
✓ Potential capacity – Estimates for the potential of geothermal power plants vary
between 0.035 to 2 TW.
✓ A stable resource – The power output of a geothermal plant can be accurately
predicted. Not subject to the same low-energy fluctuations as with solar or wind.
✓ Great for Heating/Cooling – There is significant growth in the number of
homeowners utilizing geothermal heating/cooling over the last couple of years.
✓ No fuel required – After installation, no mining or transportation activity is
necessary.
✓ Small land footprint – Smallest land footprint of any major power source.
✓ Stable resource – Can provide base load or peak power.
✓ Economic factors – Cost-competitive in some areas.
✓ Accessibility – Some level of geothermal energy available most places.
✓ Renewable – Geothermal energy is extracted from earth’s core and will be
available as long as earth exists. It is therefore renewable and can be used for
roughly another 4-5 billion years.
✓ Abundant Supply – With geothermal energy, there are no shortages or other sorts
of problems which sometimes occur with other types of power.
✓ Significant Savings for Home Owners – There has been a tremendous increase in
the number of homeowners who want to utilize geothermal energy for heating
and cooling purposes. The result is that less energy is used for heating homes
and offices which results in significant savings for home owners. After the initial
expense, a 30-60% savings on heating and 25-50% savings on cooling can cover
that cost within few years.

Geothermal Energy Disadvantages

 ❖ Potential emissions – Greenhouse gas below Earth’s surface can potentially
migrate to the surface and into the atmosphere. Such emissions tend to be
higher near geothermal power plants, which are associated with sulfur dioxide
and silica emissions. Also, and the reservoirs can contain traces of toxic heavy
metals including mercury, arsenic and boron.
❖ Surface Instability – Construction of geothermal power plants can affect the
stability of land. In January 1997, the construction of a geothermal power plant in
Switzerland triggered an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.4 on the Richter scale.
❖ High cost for electricity – Total costs usually end up somewhere between $2 – 7
million for a 1 MW geothermal power plant.
❖ High up-front costs for heating and cooling systems – While there is a
predictable ROI, it will not happen quickly.For an average sized home, installation
of geothermal heat pumps costs between $10,000 – $20,000 which can pay off
itself in another 5-10 years down the line
❖ Location Specific – Good geothermal reservoirs are hard to come by. Iceland and
Philippines meet nearly one-third of their electricity demand with geothermal
energy. Prime sites are often far from population centers.
❖ Distribution costs – If geothermal energy is transported long distances, cost can
become prohibitive.
❖ Sustainability questions – Some studies show that reservoirs can be depleted if
the fluid is removed faster than replaced. This is not an issue for residential
geothermal heating and cooling, where geothermal energy is being used
differently than in geothermal power plants.
❖ Cost of Powering the Pump – Geothermal heat pumps need a power source.
❖ May Run Out of Steam: You have to be incredibly careful when you are trying to
check everything that is related to geothermal energy. Mind must be taken to
watch the heat and not to abuse it, because if the heat is not taken care of
properly, it can cause a meltdown or other issues where the energy is not
properly distributed or used.

5. How does geothermal heat get up to the earth’s surface? Relate it to how it can
produce electricity.

Geothermal Power Plant works with the following procedure: hot water is pumped from
deep underground through a well under high pressure. When the water reaches the
surface, the pressure is dropped, which causes the water to turn into steam. The steam
spins a turbine, which is connected to a generator that produces electricity. The steam
cools off in a cooling tower and condenses back to water. The cooled water is pumped
back into the Earth to begin the process again.

Geothermal power is considered to be a sustainable, renewable source of energy

because the heat extraction is small compared with the Earth's heat content. The
greenhouse gas emissions of geothermal electric stations are on average 45 grams of
carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of electricity, or less than 5 percent of that of
conventional coal-fired plants.

Water or working fluid is heated, and then sent through a steam turbine where the
thermal energy (heat) is converted to electricity with a generator through a phenomenon
called electromagnetic induction. The next step in the cycle is cooling the fluid and
sending it back to the heat source.

Water that has been seeping into the underground over time has gained heat
energy from the geothermal reservoirs. There no need for additional heating, as you
would expect with other thermal power plants. Heating boilers are not present in
geothermal steam power plants and no heating fuel is used.

Geothermal power is power generated by geothermal energy. Technologies in

use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle
power stations. Most power plants—whether fueled by coal, gas, nuclear power, or
geothermal energy—have one feature in common: they convert heat to electricity. Heat
from the Earth, or geothermal — Geo (Earth) + thermal (heat) — energy is accessed by
drilling water or steam wells in a process similar to drilling for oil.

Geothermal power plants have much in common with traditional power-generating

stations. They use many of the same components, including turbines, generators,
transformers, and other standard power generating equipment.
 The earth’s heat content is about 1031 joules. This heat naturally flows to the surface
by conduction at a rate of 44.2 terawatts (TW) and is replenished by radioactive decay at
a rate of 30 TW. These power rates are more than double humanity’s current energy
consumption from primary sources, but most of this power is too diffuse (approximately
0.1 W/m2 on average) to be recoverable. The Earth's crust effectively acts as a thick
insulating blanket which must be pierced by fluid conduits (of magma, water or other) to
release the heat underneath.

Electricity generation requires high temperature resources that can only come from
deep underground. The heat must be carried to the surface by fluid circulation, either
through magma conduits, hot springs, hydrothermal circulation, oil wells, drilled water
wells, or a combination of these. This circulation sometimes exists naturally where the
crust is thin: magma conduits bring heat close to the surface, and hot springs bring the
heat to the surface. If no hot spring is available, a well must be drilled into a hot aquifer.
Away from tectonic plate boundaries the geothermal gradient is 25–30 °C per kilometre
(km) of depth in most of the world, and wells would have to be several kilometres deep
to permit electricity generation. The quantity and quality of recoverable resources
improves with drilling depth and proximity to tectonic plate boundaries.

In ground that is hot but dry, or where water pressure is inadequate, injected fluid can
stimulate production. Developers bore two holes into a candidate site, and fracture the
rock between them with explosives or high pressure water. Then they pump water or
liquefied carbon dioxide down one borehole, and it comes up the other borehole as a
gas. This approach is called hot dry rock geothermal energy in Europe, or enhanced
geothermal systems in North America. Much greater potential may be available from this
approach than from conventional tapping of natural aquifers.

The Earth's internal thermal energy flows to the surface by conduction at a rate of
44.2 terawatts (TW), and is replenished by radioactive decay of minerals at a rate of 30
TW. These power rates are more than double humanity’s current energy consumption
from all primary sources, but most of this energy flow is not recoverable. In addition to
the internal heat flows, the top layer of the surface to a depth of 10 meters (33 ft) is
heated by solar energy during the summer, and releases that energy and cools during the
winter.
 Outside of the seasonal variations, the geothermal gradient of temperatures through
the crust is 25–30 °C (77–86 °F) per kilometer of depth in most of the world. The
conductive heat flux averages 0.1 MW/km2. These values are much higher near tectonic
plate boundaries where the crust is thinner. They may be further augmented by fluid
circulation, either through magma conduits, hot springs, hydrothermal circulation or a
combination of these.

A geothermal heat pump can extract enough heat from shallow ground anywhere in
the world to provide home heating, but industrial applications need the higher
temperatures of deep resources. The thermal efficiency and profitability of electricity
generation is particularly sensitive to temperature. The most demanding applications
receive the greatest benefit from a high natural heat flux, ideally from using a hot spring.
The next best option is to drill a well into a hot aquifer. If no adequate aquifer is
available, an artificial one may be built by injecting water to hydraulically fracture the
bedrock. This last approach is called hot dry rock geothermal energy in Europe, or
enhanced geothermal systems in North America. Much greater potential may be
available from this approach than from conventional tapping of natural aquifers.

Estimates of the potential for electricity generation from geothermal energy vary six
fold, from .035 to 2 TW depending on the scale of investments. Upper estimates of
geothermal resources assume enhanced geothermal wells as deep as 10 kilometers (6
mi), whereas existing geothermal wells are rarely more than 3 kilometers (2 mi) deep.
Wells of this depth are now common in the petroleum industry.

Water or working fluid is heated (or used directly in case of geothermal dry steam
power plants), and then sent through a steam turbine where the thermal energy (heat) is
converted to electricity with a generator through a phenomenon called electromagnetic
induction. The next step in the cycle is cooling the fluid and sending it back to the heat
source.

Water that has been seeping into the underground over time has gained heat energy
from the geothermal reservoirs. There no need for additional heating, as you would
expect with other thermal power plants. Heating boilers are not present in geothermal
steam power plants and no heating fuel is used.
 Production wells are used to lead hot water/steam from the reservoirs and into the
power plant. Rock catchers are in place to make sure that only hot fluids are sent to the
turbine. Rocks can cause great damage to steam turbines. Injection wells ensure that
the water that is drawn up from the production wells returns to the geothermal reservoir
where it regains the thermal energy (heat) that we have used to generate electricity.
Depending on the state of the water (liquid or vapor) and its temperature, different types
of power plants are used for different geothermal reservoirs. Most geothermal power
plants extract water, in its vapor or liquid form, from the reservoirs somewhere in the
temperature-range 100-320°C (220-600°F).

Depending on what type of geothermal power plant, location and various other
factors, the thermal efficiency rate is not more than 10-23%. Technically, low efficiency
rates do not affect operational costs of a geothermal power plant, as it would with power
plants that are reliant on fuels to heat a working fluid.

6. What are the safety practices that are being implemented in the industry/plant
visited? Enumerate the plants/industries and discuss their safety procedures.

Answer: These are some of the safety practices that are being implemented in the
industry/plants visited. But some practices may not apply to other plants.

• No filming equipment, including cameras and cellular phones with cameras are
permitted. Do not take video or photo, using mobile phones for taking photo is not
allowed.

• Wearing of hard hats in assigned areas. Hard hats are designed to protect the
head against falling objects and the side of the head, eyes, and neck from any impacts,
bumps, scrapes, and electrical exposure.

• Wearing of PPEs. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is anything used or worn

by a person to minimize risk to the person’s health or safety and includes a wide range of
clothing and safety equipment.

• No crossing the yellow line. Yellow signals caution and marks physical hazards
(including striking against, stumbling, falling, tripping, and “caught in between”).
• No crossing the red line. Red identifies fire-related hazards (including fire
protection equipment and containers of flammable liquids), as well as emergency
switches, bars, and buttons on hazardous machines.

• No open-toe sandals or high heels are permitted. Wear closed shoes. This is for
cleanliness and safety.

And these are some safety procedure most of the plants/industries use.

Exit routes and Emergency Planning

Emergency action plans

(a) Application. An employer must have an emergency action plan whenever an OSHA
standard in this part requires one. The requirements in this section apply to each such
emergency action plan.

(b) Written and oral emergency action plans. An emergency action plan must be in
writing, kept in the workplace, and available to employees for review. However, an
employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally to employees.

(c) Minimum elements of an emergency action plan. An emergency action plan must
include at a minimum:

(1) Procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency;

(2) Procedures for emergency evacuation, including type of evacuation and exit route
assignments; Procedures to be followed by employees who remain to operate critical
plant operations before they evacuate;

(4) Procedures to account for all employees after evacuation;

(5) Procedures to be followed by employees performing rescue or medical duties; and

(6) The name or job title of every employee who may be contacted by employees who
need more information about the plan or an explanation of their duties under the plan.

(d) Employee alarm system. An employer must have and maintain an employee alarm
system. The employee alarm system must use a distinctive signal for each purpose and
comply with the requirements.

(e) Training. An employer must designate and train employees to assist in a safe and
orderly evacuation of other employees.

(f) Review of emergency action plan. An employer must review the emergency action
plan with each employee covered by the plan:

(1)When the plan is developed or the employee is assigned initially to a job;

(2)When the employee’s responsibilities under the plan change; and

(3)When the plan is changed

Fire prevention plans

(a) Application. An employer must have a fire prevention plan when an OSHA standard in
this part requires one. The requirements in this section apply to each such fire prevention
plan.

(b) Written and oral fire prevention plans .A fire prevention plan must be in writing, be
kept in the workplace, and be made available to employees for review. However, an
employer with 10 or fewer employees may communicate the plan orally to employees.

(c) Minimum elements of a fire prevention plan .A fire prevention plan must include:

(1) A list of all major fire hazards, proper handling and storage procedures for hazardous
materials, potential ignition sources and their control, and the type of fire protection
equipment necessary to control each major hazard;

(2) Procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials;

(3) Procedures for regular maintenance of safeguards installed on heat-producing

equipment to prevent the accidental ignition of combustible materials;

(4) The name or job title of employees responsible for maintaining equipment to prevent
or control sources of ignition or fires; and

(5) The name or job title of employees responsible for the control of fuel source hazards.
(d) Employee information. An employer must inform employees upon initial assignment
to a job of the fire hazards to which they are exposed. An employer must also review
with each employee those parts of the fire prevention plan necessary for self-protection.

Personal Protective Equipment

General requirements

Training

(1) The employer shall provide training to each employee who is required by this
section to use PPE. Each such employee shall be trained to know at least the following:

(i) When PPE is necessary;

(ii) What PPE is necessary;

(iii) How to properly don, doff, adjust and wear PPE;

(iv) The limitations of the PPE; and,

(v) The proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the PPE.

(2) Each affected employee shall demonstrate an understanding of the training

specified in paragraph (f) (1) of this section and the ability to use PPE properly before
being allowed to perform work requiring the use of PPE.

(3) When the employer has reason to believe that any affected employee who has
already been trained does not have the understanding and skill required by paragraph (f)
(2) of this section, the employer shall retrain each such employee. Circumstances where
retraining is required include, but are not limited to, situations where:

(i) Changes in the workplace render previous training obsolete, or

(ii) Changes in the types of PPE to be used render previous training obsolete; or

(iii) Inadequacies in an affected employee’s knowledge or use of assigned PPE indicate

that the employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill

Respiratory protection
Training and information .This paragraph requires the employer to provide effective
training to employees who are required to use respirators. The training must be
comprehensive, understandable, and recur annually, and more often if necessary. This
paragraph also requires the employer to provide the basic information on respirators in
Appendix D of this section to employees who wear respirators when not required by this
section or by the employer to do so.

1) The employer shall ensure that each employee can demonstrate knowledge of at
least the following:

(i) Why the respirator is necessary and how improper fit, usage, or maintenance can
compromise the protective effect of the respirator;

(ii) What the limitations and capabilities of the respirator are;

(iii) How to use the respirator effectively in emergency situations, including situations in
which the respirator malfunctions;

(iv) How to inspect, put on and remove, use, and check the seals of the respirator;

(v) What the procedures are for maintenance and storage of the respirator;

(vi) How to recognize medical signs and symptoms that may limit or prevent the
effective use of respirators; and

(vii) The general requirements of this section.

(2) Training shall be conducted in a manner that is understandable to the employee.

(3) The employer shall provide the training prior to requiring the employee to use a
respirator in the workplace.

(4) An employer who is able to demonstrate that a new employee has received training
within the last 12 months that addresses the elements specified in paragraph (k)(1)(i)
through (vii) is not required to repeat such training provided that, as required by
paragraph (k)(1), the employee can demonstrate knowledge of those element(s).
Previous training not repeated initially by the employer must be provided no later than 12
months from the date of the previous training
(5) Retraining shall be administered annually and when the following situations occur:

(i) Changes in the workplace or the type of respirator render previous training obsolete;

(ii) Inadequacies in the employee’s knowledge or use of the respirator indicate that the
employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill; or

(iii) Any other situation arises in which retraining appears necessary to ensure safe
respirator use.

(6) The basic advisory information on respirators, as presented in Appendix D of this

section, shall be provided by the employer in any written or oral format, to employees
who wear respirators when such use is not required by this section or by the employer.

7. How does the electricity grid operate? What is their role in the electric power
industry?

Answer: Electrical grids vary in size from covering a single building through national
grids which cover whole countries.

Grids are designed to supply voltages at largely constant amplitudes. This has to be
achieved with varying demand, variable reactive loads, and even nonlinear loads, with
electricity provided by generators and distribution and transmission equipment that are
not perfectly reliable.

In a synchronous grid all the generators are connected in parallel and run not only at
the same frequency but also at the same phase. For steam powered generators, each
generator is maintained in this state by a local governor that regulates the driving torque
by controlling the steam supply to the turbine driving it. Generation and consumption
must be balanced across the entire grid, because energy is consumed almost
instantaneously as it is produced. Energy is stored in the immediate short term by the
rotational kinetic energy of the generators.

Although an entire grid runs at the same frequency, normally only in very small grids
is the frequency fixed. More typically, the frequency of the grid is designed to vary
slightly (by 1 percent or so) depending on the load on the grid. When the grid is very
heavily loaded, the frequency slows, and governors adjust their generators so that more
power is output (droop speed control). When the grid is lightly loaded the grid frequency
runs above the nominal frequency, and this is taken as an indication by Automatic
Generation Control systems across the network that generators should reduce their
output.

In addition, there's often central control, which can change the parameters of the
AGC systems over timescales of a minute or longer to further adjust the regional
network flows and the operating frequency of the grid.

The grid is quite public — if you live in a suburban or rural area, chances are it is right
out in the open for all to see. It is so public, in fact, that you probably don't even notice it
anymore. Your brain likely ignores all of the power lines because it has seen them so
often.

Although most of us take the power grid for granted, it's anything but simple. There
are 450,000 miles (724,205 kilometers) of high-voltage power lines and 160,000 miles
(257,500 kilometers) of overhead transmission lines in the United States connecting
electrical power plants to homes and businesses. Since large amounts of energy cannot
be stored, electricity must be produced as it is used. The power distribution grid must
respond quickly to shifting demand and continuously generate and route electricity to
where it's needed the most.

The power grid is also evolving. Upgrades in technology now let us connect our own
home-generated electricity to the grid — using solar panels or wind generators — and get
paid back by utilities. The U.S. federal government is also investing in a so-called smart
grid that employs digital technology to more efficiently manage energy resources. The
smart grid project also will extend the reach of the grid to access remote sources of
renewable energy like geothermal power and wind farms.

The electricity grid is a complex and incredibly important system, and one of the
most impressive engineering feats of the modern era. It transmits power generated at a
variety of facilities and distributes it to end users, often over long distances. It provides
electricity to buildings, industrial facilities, schools, and homes. And it does so every
minute of every day, year-round.

Transmission lines are necessary to carry high-voltage electricity over long distances
and connect electricity generators with electricity consumers.

Transmission lines are either overhead power lines or underground power cables.
Overhead cables are not insulated and are vulnerable to the weather, but can be less
expensive to install than underground power cables. Overhead and underground
transmission lines are made of aluminum alloy and reinforced with steel; underground
lines are typically insulated.

Transmission lines carry high voltages because it reduces the fraction of electricity
that is lost in transit. As electricity flows through the wires, some of it dissipates as heat
through a process called resistance. The higher the voltage is on a transmission line, the
less electricity it loses. (Most of the electric current flows close to the surface of the
transmission line; using thicker wires would have minimal impact on transmission
losses.)

Transmission-level voltages are typically at or above 110,000 volts or 110 kV, with
some transmission lines carrying voltages as high as 765 kV. Power generators,
however, produce electricity at low voltages. In order to make high-voltage electricity
transport possible, the electricity must first be converted to higher voltages with a
transformer.

These high voltages are also significantly greater than what you need in your home,
so once the electricity gets close to end users; another transformer converts it back to a
lower voltage before it enters the distribution network.

The interconnected and complex nature of the electricity grid delivers several
benefits, including:
• Reliability: Since the grid is an enormous network, electricity can be deployed to the
right places across large regions of the country. The large transmission network
allows grid operators to deal with anticipated and unanticipated losses, while still
meeting electricity demand.
• Flexibility: The electricity grid allows a power system to use a diversity of resources,
even if they are located far away from where the power is needed. For example, wind
turbines must be built where the wind is the strongest; the grid allows for this
electricity to be transmitted to distant cities.
• Economic competition: Because the grid allows multiple generators and power
plants to provide electricity to consumers, different generators compete with each
other to provide electricity at the cheapest price. The grid also serves as a form of
insurance – competition on the grid protects customers against fluctuations in fuel
prices.

The electricity power plants generate is delivered to customers over transmission

and distribution power lines. High-voltage transmission lines, like those that hang
between tall metal towers, carry electricity over long distances to where it is needed.
Higher voltage electricity is more efficient and less expensive for long distance electricity
transmission. Lower voltage electricity is safer for use in homes and businesses.
Transformers at substations increase (step up) or reduce (step down) voltages to adjust
to the different stages of the journey from the power plant on long distance transmission
lines to distribution lines that carry electricity to homes and businesses.

In short, the power grid is the system of producers and consumers of electricity. It
includes power generators, the users of electricity, switches that control the electricity
and the system of substations, power lines, and transformers that deliver the electricity.
A community might have a generator to provide its power. Electrical power travels from
the power plant to your house through an amazing system called the power distribution
grid.

An electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from

suppliers to consumers. It consists of generating stations that produce electrical power,
high voltage transmission lines that carry power from distant sources to demand
centers, and distribution lines that connect individual customers.
 An example of this is NGCP. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
(NGCP) has the crucial task of delivering safe and reliable electricity throughout the
archipelago. It all started in 2008 when the consortium of Monte Oro Grid Resources
Corporation, Calaca High Power Corporation, and State Grid Corporation of China won
the franchise to operate, maintain, and further expand the power grid in the biggest
government auction conducted in efforts to reform the local power sector.
As system operator of the Philippine power grid, NGCP balances the supply and
demand of electricity to efficiently serve all of its customers—power generators, private
distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, government-owned utilities, eco-zones,
industries, as well as directly-connected companies. It is responsible for putting online
the right mix of power plants that generate high-voltage electricity and transmitting this
to the various distribution utilities which, in turn, deliver the electricity at a lower voltage
rating to households and other end-users. NGCP also operates and maintains metering
facilities and provides technical services, particularly system studies, and operation and
maintenance of customer facilities.
On arrival at a substation, the power will be stepped down from a transmission level
voltage to a distribution level voltage. As it exits the substation, it enters the distribution
wiring. Finally, upon arrival at the service location, the power is stepped down again from
the distribution voltage to the required service voltage(s).

8. What are the basic parts of a nuclear power plant? How does it operate? How does it
produce electricity?
In a nuclear power plant, many of the components are similar to those in a fossil-fueled
plant, except that the steam boiler is replaced by a Nuclear Steam Supply System
(NSSS). The NSSS consists of a nuclear reactor and all of the components necessary to
produce high pressure steam, which will be used to turn the turbine for the electrical
generator.
Like a fossil-fueled plant, a nuclear power plant boils water to produce electricity. Unlike
a fossil-fueled plant, the nuclear plant’s energy does not come from the combustion of
fuel, but from the fissioning (splitting) of fuel atoms.
The most common fuel for the electrical producing reactor plants in the United States is
uranium. The uranium starts out as ore, and contains a very low percentage (or low
enrichment) of the desired atoms (U-235). The U-235 is a more desirable atom for fuel,
because it is easier to cause the U-235 atoms to fission (split) than the much more
abundant U-238 atoms. Therefore, the fuel fabrication process includes steps to
increase the number of U-235 atoms in relation to the number of U-238 atoms
(enrichment process). Once the fuel has been enriched, it is fabricated into ceramic
pellets. The pellets are stacked into 12-foot long, slender metal tubes, generally made of
a zirconium alloy. The tube is called the “fuel cladding.” When a tube is filled with the
uranium pellets, it is pressurized with helium gas, and plugs are installed and welded to
seal the tube. The filled rod is called a “fuel rod.” The fuel rods are bundled together into
“fuel assemblies” or “fuel elements.” The completed assemblies are now ready to be
shipped to the plant for installation into the reactor vessel.
REACTOR FUEL ASSEMBLIES
Both boiling water reactor and pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies consist of the
same major components. These major components are the fuel rods, the spacer grids,
and the upper and lower end fittings. The fuel rods contain the ceramic fuel pellets. The
fuel rods are approximately 12 feet long and contain a space at the top for the collection
of any gases that are produced by the fission process. These rods are arranged in a
square matrix ranging from 17 x 17 for pressurized water reactors to 8 x 8 for boiling
water
reactors. The spacer grids separate the individual rods with pieces of sprung metal. This
provides the rigidity of the assemblies and allows the coolant to flow freely up through
the assemblies and around the fuel rods. Some spacer grids may have flow mixing
vanes that are used to promote mixing of the coolant as it flows around and though the
fuel assembly. The upper and lower end fittings serve as the upper and lower structural
elements of the assemblies. The lower fitting (or bottom nozzle) will direct the coolant
flow to the assembly through several small holes machined into the fitting. There are
also holes drilled in the upper fitting to allow the coolant flow to exit the fuel assembly.
The upper end fitting will also have a connecting point for the refueling equipment to
attach for the moving of the fuel with a crane.
For pressurized water reactor fuel, there will also be guide tubes in which the control
rods travel. The guide tubes will be welded to the spacer grids and attached to the upper
and lower end fittings. The guide tubes provide a channel for the movement of the
control rods and provide for support of the rods.
There are two basic types of reactor plants being used in the to produce electricity, the
boiling water reactor (BWR) and the pressurized water reactor (PWR). The boiling water
reactor operates in essentially the same way as a fossil-fueled generating plant. Inside
the reactor vessel, a steam/water mixture is produced when very pure water (reactor
coolant) moves upward through the core absorbing heat. The major difference in the
operation of a boiling water reactor as compared to other nuclear systems is the steam
void formation in the core. The steam/water mixture leaves the top of the core and
enters two stages of moisture separation, where water droplets are removed before the
steam is allowed to enter the steam line. The steam line, in turn, directs the steam to the
main turbine, causing it to turn the turbine and the attached electrical generator. The
unused steam is exhausted to the condenser where it is condensed into water. The
resulting water (condensate) is pumped out of the condenser with a series of pumps and
back to the reactor vessel. The recirculation pumps and the jet pumps allow the operator
to vary coolant flow through the core and to change reactor power.
Boiling water reactors are manufactured from a manufacturer. Boiling water reactors
comprise about one-third of the power reactors in the United States for example.
The upper end of the control rod will be attached to a drive shaft, which will be used to
position the rod during operations.
The pressurized water reactor (PWR) differs from the boiling water reactor in that steam
is produced in the steam generator rather than in the reactor vessel. The pressurizer
keeps the water that is flowing through the reactor vessel under very high pressure
(more than 2,200 pounds per square inch) to prevent it from boiling, even at operating
temperatures of more than 600°F.
High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR)
Another type of reactor uses helium gas instead of water as its media for removing heat
from the core. The only high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) in the United States
was the Fort St. Vrain plant in Colorado. The plant was manufactured by General Atomic
Company of La Jolla, California. High temperature gas-cooled reactors are widely used
in other countries. To operate properly, all steam plants, whether nuclear or fossil-fueled,
need a circulating water system to remove excess heat from the steam system in order
to condense the steam, and transfer that heat to the environment. The circulating water
system pumps water from the environment (river, lake, ocean) through thousands of
metal tubes in the plant’s condenser. Steam exiting the plant’s turbine is very rapidly
cooled and condensed into water when it comes in contact with the much cooler tubes.
Since the tubes provide a barrier between the steam and the environment, there is no
physical contact between the plant’s steam and the cooling water. Because a condenser
operates at a vacuum, any tube leakage in this system will produce an “inflow” of water
into the condenser rather than an “outflow” of water to the environment.
Power plants located on the ocean (or other large bodies of water) will often discharge
their circulating water directly back to the ocean under strict environmental protection
regulations. Water is taken from the ocean, pumped through the thousands of small
tubes in the condenser to remove the excess heat, and is then discharged back into the
ocean. The expected temperature increase from circulating water inlet to outlet is about
5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Most nuclear power plants not located on the ocean needs
cooling towers to remove the excess heat from the circulating water system. One type of
cooling tower is the forced draft cooling tower. The circulating water is pumped into the
tower, after passing through the condenser, and allowed to splash downward through
the tower, transferring some of its heat to the air. Several large electrical fans, located at
the top of the cooling tower, provide forced air circulation for more efficient cooling. The
taller hourglass shaped, natural convection cooling towers do not require fans to transfer
the excess heat from the circulating water system into the air. Rather, the natural
tendency of hot air to rise removes the excess heat as the circulating water splashes
down inside the cooling tower. These towers are typically several hundred feet tall. The
“steam” vented from the top of a cooling tower is really lukewarm water vapor. IT IS NOT
RADIOACTIVE. As the warm, wet air from inside the cooling tower contacts the cooler,
dryer air above the cooling tower, the water vapor which cannot be held by the cooler air
forms a visible cloud. This is because the colder the air is, the lower its ability to hold
water. The released cloud of vapor will only be visible until it is dispersed and absorbed
by the air. The graph above shows air’s ability to hold water as air temperature
increases.
The major structures at a pressurized water reactor plant are:
• The containment building, which houses the reactor and its high pressure steam
generating equipment;
• The turbine building, which houses the steam turbines, condensers, and the
electrical generator; and
 • The auxiliary building, which houses normal and emergency support systems
(such as the residual heat removal (RHR) system, fuel handling and storage
equipment, laboratories, maintenance areas, and the control room).
Depending upon the plant location and environmental regulations, there may or may not
be a cooling tower to remove the excess heat from the facility.
The major structures at a boiling water reactor plant are:
• The primary containment, which includes the suppression chamber, and houses
the reactor and recirculation pumps;
• The reactor building (secondary containment), which surrounds the primary
containment and serves many of the same functions as a pressurized water
reactor’s auxiliary building; and
• The turbine building.
Depending upon the plant location, there may or may not be a cooling tower to remove
excess heat from the facility.