What is the advantage of thermal power station?

Answer 1

By definition, a thermal power station generates electricity utilising some form of heat source to produce steam. Steam provides the energy to drive turbines that,in turn, power the generators that produce electricity. In some cases, turbines and generators are built as integral units.

What provides the necessary heat? The answer is any form of raw material that is combustible, and that the amount of heat produced is sufficient to raise the quantity of steam required to run the turbines.

Coal was one of the earliest raw materials for generating electricity. Some countries were lucky enough to have their own coalfields. which meant that, being locally available, it was cheap to use. Countries without coalfields were obliged to import coal supplies in order to run power stations. So their electricity cost more to produce.

It is also possible to use large diesel engines to drive the generators. A diesel engine is a compression/ignition engine that utilises basic oil raw material that is refined to a suitable quality. Countries with oil fields within their borders are able to use this instead of coal and also are able to keep raw material costs low for their electricity.

Both of the raw materials mentioned so far are materials having a definite supply life. They are also both capable of developing huge quantities of greenhouse gases and other atmospheric contaminants unless expensive filtration methods are used.

So, in answer to the question, a major benefit of thermal power stations is one of raw material cost. In countries with no supply fields within their borders, both materials are relatively cheap to transport.

It would not be impossible to to use timber as a raw material, which is a renewable energy source but its efficiency would be less than that of a coal burning station.

Another way to generate the power needed to produce electricity on an industrial scale is to use atomic power. This offers tremendous advantages in regard to raw material transportation on a power to weight ratio basis.

Because nuclear power is capable of being developed on a modular basis, it means that as an area grows in its demand for electricity, additional modules can be developed alongside the original. Also it offers a number of other advantages regarding location.

Consider a coastal town that suffers a shortage of potable water. Here it wold be entirely possible to build a nuclear facility that would have two products - electricity and water. By using sea water for cooling purposes, sufficient could be desalinated for municipal distribution. The combined cost of both electricity and potable water would be less than the present alternative. In fact, one such development installation was seen to be operating 1967/68.

So there is still a big future for thermal electricity generation, but not, perhaps as the uninformed would be able to foresee. Like the song says, "There'll be some changes made."