In: Electrical Engineering
Macro-Hydropower. A
dam has a height of 220 meters. Total generating capacity for the
power plant...
Macro-Hydropower. A
dam has a height of 220 meters. Total generating capacity for the
power plant at the dam is about 1 GW (1 million kW). Assume an
effective head of 215 meters and generating efficiency of 90%.
- At maximum capacity, what flow is required through the dam’s
turbines to generate its power?
- If the dam operates at 60% of capacity on average, how much
energy does it produce in a year? Express your answer in watts
(e.g., W, kW, MW, GW, etc.).
- How many people should this energy support, assuming average
community consumption of 1000 kWh per year per person?
- How much coal would be required in a coal-burning power plant
to generate the equivalent amount of energy as the Dam generates in
a year? Assume that the dam generates 5 billion kWh hours
(5×109 kWh or 5 terra-watt hours) of energy annually.
How many coal cars would be required to carry this coal? How long
would a train of these cars be?
- The energy content of coal is 8,142 kWh/ton
- The energy efficiency of a typical coal-burning power plant is
about 38%
- A railroad coal car carries about 100 tons of coal and is about
22.86 m in length