A power plant has a rated capacity of 200 MW and operates for 10 hours per day throughout the year, generating 365,000 MWh. What is the Plant Use Factor?

Plant Use Factor (PUF):

Definition: The Plant Use Factor (PUF) is a performance metric used to evaluate the utilization of a power plant's capacity. It represents the ratio of the actual energy generated by the power plant over a specific period of time to the maximum possible energy that could have been generated if the plant operated continuously at its rated capacity during the same period.

Mathematical Formula:

The Plant Use Factor (PUF) can be calculated using the following formula:

PUF = (Actual Energy Generated) ÷ (Maximum Possible Energy)

Where:

• Actual Energy Generated: The total energy generated by the plant over the given period (in MWh).
• Maximum Possible Energy: The energy that the plant could have generated if it operated at its rated capacity for the total time period (in MWh).

Given Data:

• Rated Capacity of the Power Plant = 200 MW
• Daily Operating Hours = 10 hours
• Number of Days in a Year = 365 days
• Actual Energy Generated = 365,000 MWh

Step-by-Step Solution:

Step 1: Calculate the Maximum Possible Energy

The maximum possible energy is calculated based on the rated capacity and the actual operating hours of the power plant over the year:

Maximum Possible Energy = Rated Capacity × Daily Operating Hours × Number of Days in a Year

Substitute the given values:

Maximum Possible Energy = 200 MW × 10 hours/day × 365 days

Maximum Possible Energy = 730,000 MWh

Step 2: Calculate the Plant Use Factor (PUF)

Using the formula for PUF:

PUF = (Actual Energy Generated) ÷ (Maximum Possible Energy)

Substitute the values:

PUF = 365,000 MWh ÷ 730,000 MWh

PUF = 0.5

Step 3: Convert to Percentage (if necessary)

The Plant Use Factor is often expressed as a decimal or percentage. In this case, the result is already in decimal form, and the PUF is 0.5, or 50%.

Final Answer:

The Plant Use Factor is 0.5. Therefore, the correct option is Option 2.

Important Information:

To further understand the analysis, let’s evaluate the other options:

Option 1: PUF = 0.85

This option is incorrect. A Plant Use Factor of 0.85 would imply that the power plant is operating at 85% of its maximum possible energy generation. However, based on the calculations, the actual PUF is 0.5, which is significantly lower than 0.85.

Option 3: PUF = 0.7

This option is also incorrect. A Plant Use Factor of 0.7 suggests that the plant is utilizing 70% of its maximum possible capacity. However, the calculations clearly show that the actual PUF is 0.5, not 0.7.

Option 4: PUF = 0.9

This option is incorrect as well. A PUF of 0.9 would mean that the power plant is operating at 90% of its maximum possible capacity. This is much higher than the actual calculated PUF of 0.5.

Option 5: No value provided.

This option is irrelevant as it does not provide any specific value for the PUF, and it is not the correct answer.

Conclusion:

The Plant Use Factor is an essential metric for assessing the efficiency and utilization of a power plant. In this case, the PUF was calculated to be 0.5, indicating that the plant generates half of the energy it could potentially generate if operated at full capacity for its operating hours. This value highlights the importance of analyzing operational patterns and identifying potential areas for efficiency improvement in power plant management.