- 2072 Asoj · 2+3 marks
Power sources and hydro versus thermal
Short answer
Major sources: hydro, thermal, nuclear, solar, wind, etc. Hydro has free water, high efficiency, no emissions, but high capital cost and seasonality. Thermal offers lower initial cost and steadier output but burns costly fuel and pollutant.
What are the major sources of electric power generation? Discuss the relative merits and demerits of hydropower as compared to thermal power.
Major sources of electric power generation
- Conventional: hydropower, thermal (coal, oil, diesel), gas turbine and combined cycle, nuclear.
- Non-conventional (renewable): solar (photovoltaic and solar thermal), wind, biomass and biogas, geothermal, tidal and wave energy, fuel cells.
Hydropower compared with thermal power
| Point | Hydropower | Thermal power |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Water, free and renewable | Coal/oil/gas, costly and finite |
| Initial cost | High (dam, tunnel) | Lower |
| Running cost | Very low | High (fuel) |
| Efficiency | 80–90% | 30–40% |
| Starting time | Few minutes; good for peak load | Hours; better for base load |
| Pollution | None in operation | Smoke, ash, CO₂, SO₂ |
| Life | 50–100 years | 25–40 years |
| Location | Fixed by site, often remote | Near load centre or fuel source |
| Construction time | Long | Shorter |
| Output | Depends on rainfall | Steady, independent of weather |
Merits of hydropower: no fuel cost, clean, high efficiency, long life, quick start, multipurpose use.
Demerits of hydropower: high capital cost and long construction time, output varies with season, remote sites need long transmission lines, and dams cause submergence and resettlement.
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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