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Power Plant Costs by Type

A table comparing construction and on-going costs of all major power types as well as land requirements using a 125MW plant as an example.
Power Plant TypeLand Area (acres)Acres per MWTotal Construction CostConstruction Cost per MWAnnual Fuel CostFuel Cost per kWh
Oil-Fired30–500.24–0.40$150M – $312M$1.2M – $2.5M$66,596,000.00$0.14
Natural Gas-Fired20–400.16–0.32$112M – $187M$0.9M – $1.5M$8,130,000.00$0.02
Coal-Fired30–600.24–0.48$250M – $437M$2.0M – $3.5M$15,657,000.00$0.03
Nuclear Power5004$750M$6.0M$4,928.00$0.00
USP (Universal Solar Power)10.008$56.25M$0.45M$0.00$0.00

Power Capacity Factor

Different types of power plant are available to generate power different percentages of the time.
Power SourceCapacity Factor (%)Why?
Oil-Fired~45%High fuel costs and maintenance lead to limited operation.
Natural Gas-Fired~55%Used for both baseload (continuous) and peak (on-demand) power.
Coal-Fired~60%Runs consistently but requires downtime for maintenance.
Nuclear Power~90%Designed for continuous operation with minimal downtime.
USP (Universal Solar Power)100.00%24-hour energy storage & diffuse light collection ensure continuous generation.
Traditional Solar PV~25%Only generates when the sun is shining, no storage.
Wind Power~35%Dependent on wind availability, intermittent.

Waste by Power Type

The waste products of a power plant are more than an environmental issue. The waste must be removed and, if needed, processed or stored. Plant waste is an economic issue and a labor issue.
Power Plant TypeAnnual Carbon Produced per MW (tons CO2)Annual Waste TypeAnnual Waste Produced per MW
Oil-Fired3153.6Ash, Sludge0.5 tons of toxic sludge
Natural Gas-Fired1927.2Minimal WasteSome pipeline contaminants, negligible solid waste
Coal-Fired5256.0Coal Ash4.5 tons of coal ash
Nuclear Power0.0Spent Nuclear Fuel20 kg of high-level radioactive waste
USP (Universal Solar Power)0.0NoneNo waste produced

USP Plant Profitability

Using very conservative operating costs and energy sales prices, monthly profit is calculated including Renewable Energy Certificate sales price. The final column is a calculation of annual profit.
Capacity (MW)Operating Cost per kWhExpensesSales Price per kWhRevenueRECs GeneratedREC RevenueProfitAnnual Profit
50$0.010$360,000$0.02$720,00036,000$720,000$1,440,000$17,280,000
100$0.008$576,000$0.02$1,440,00072,000$1,440,000$2,880,000$34,560,000
500$0.006$2,160,000$0.02$7,200,000360,000$7,200,000$14,400,000$172,800,000
1000$0.004$2,880,000$0.02$14,400,000720,000$14,400,000$28,800,000$345,600,000

Savings and Return On Investment

What it means for a business to own a USP plant in terms of savings and return on investment.
Electric Rate (per kWh)Cost Per MW Per MonthCost Per MW Per YearROI (months)
$0.09$64,800$788,4006.9
$0.12$86,400$1,051,2005.2
$0.15$108,000$1,314,0004.2

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