Читать книгу Integration of Renewable Energy Sources with Smart Grid - Группа авторов - Страница 33

In India, thermal energy is the major source of power generation. The thermal power plant produces more than 60% of the electrical power in India. India is the fifth largest producer of coal in the world [3]. Generally, bituminous coal is used as a boiler fuel in India. Figure 2.2 shows the schematic diagram of a typical thermal power plant.

Figure 2.1 Installed capacity in India.

Figure 2.2 A typical thermal power plant.

The heat energy from the combustion of fossil fuels is utilized by the boilers to produce steam at high pressure and temperature. The steam produced is used to drive the steam turbines or steam engines coupled to generators, and thus, electrical energy is generated in the thermal power plant. Steam turbines act not only as prime movers but also as drivers for auxiliary equipment such as pumps and stokers fans [4].

The thermal power plant can be classified into two types:

1 (i) Condensing type: In this type, the exhaust steam is discharged into a condenser, which creates suction at very low pressure and allows the expansion of steam in the turbine to very low pressure and thus increases the efficiency. During this process, steam is condensed into the water which can be re-circulated to the boiler with the help of pumps.

2 (ii) Non-condensing type: In this type, the steam exhausted from the turbine is discharged either at atmospheric pressure or pressure greater than atmospheric. In this type of plant, a continuous supply of fresh feed water is required.