TABLE OF CONTENTS Electricity is one of the key energy sources for industry and commerce. It is normally provided by the electricity supply companies, being generated from large fossil-fuelled, gas or nuclear central power stations and distributed throughout the country via high-voltage transmission systems. It can be fair to say that the electricity supply companies play a very important part in meeting the demands of the consumer efficiently, reliably and at an economic cost. However, there will always be a role for the private generation of electrical power, either to meet the needs for security of supply or to provide the electricity more economically. For the latter this is particularly the case for the concept of combined heat and power (CHP), where the local use of a heat demand can make private generation of electricity more competitive when compared with purchase from the local grid.
This chapter aims to convey the basic technical principles involved in electricity generation for industrial and commercial applications, with supporting technical data giving examples of the performance and efficiency of various schemes. A general guide is provided on the factors which have a major bearing on choice of an electricity-generating scheme with further details of the plant, its layout and descriptions of actual installations.
Diesels, gas turbines and steam turbines are the more commonly used prime movers for the...
