Comparison of Steam, Hydro-electric power plant, Gas turbine power plant and Diesel power plant

Comparison of Steam, Hydro-electric power plant, Gas turbine power plant and Diesel power plant

Sr. No.	Particulars	Steam Power Plant	Hydro-electric Power Plant	Gas Turbine Power Plant	Diesel Power Plant
(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)	(e)	(f)
1.	Site	Located near load centre having cheap and large land, water supply, transportation facilities etc.	Located where large land, huge quantity of water at sufficient head is available. Land should have high bearing capacity, rocky ate cheap rate. Area located away from load centre	Can be located anywhere	Can be located anywhere
2.	Initial Cost	Low compared to hydro power plants	High due to building of dam and transportation cost of plant and machinery	Low	Low
3.	Fuel cost including transportation cost	High compared to hydro power plants if located away from coal mines	Nil as no fuel is required	Lower than steam power plant	Lower than steam power plants
4.	Operating cost	Very high compared to hydro power plants but low compared to diesel and gas power plants	Low compared to steam power plant	High compared to steam and hydro power plants	Very high compared to other power planrs
5.	Maintenance cost	Very high compared to hydro power plants because of operating staff requirements	Low compared to steam power plant	Low as fuel operating staff is required	Low as fuel operating staff is required
6.	Space	High	Very high	Low	Low
7.	Cooling water requirement	Very High	Nil	Very low	High compared to gas turbine plants and low compared to steam turbine power plants
8.	Transmission and Distribution	Low compared to hydro power plants	Very High	Very High	Very Low
9.	Reliability	Less reliable compared to hydro power plants	Reliable	Less reliable	Less reliable
10.	Pollution	Highly polluting	Nil	Less	High compared gas turbine power plants but less compare to steam power plant
11.	Time of installation	High	Very high	Low	Low
12.	Life of plant	25-30 Years	50 Years	2-5 Years	5 Years