Overview of Power Plant Management A power plant is an industrial facility for the generation of electricity or electric power, using the easily available fuels like fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, oil or renewable resources such as wind, water, wave and solar. At the center of most power stations, there is a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power, called as generator. A power plant is a very huge project and need experts to manage every step of the process. The Power plant management is divided into three phases: 1. Pre-Development Phase 2. Development Phase 3. Operational Phase These phases are further divided into the sub-phases: The pre-development phase needs management on the following things: •
Site Evaluation and qualifications to fulfill the necessities of a power station
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Project economic and feasibility assessment.
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Assessment of fuel and alternative resources
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Planning for thermal and alternative energy power program
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Evaluation of power equipment technology
After completing the pre-development assessments and finding the feasibility for the project, the project gets into the development phase. In this phase, the management is needed on the following things: •
Site specific project evaluations
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Business model development for the project
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Cost assessment for the development and operational phase of the project
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Project design evaluations
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Taking care of: construction contract, power purchase and power generation equipment supply agreements and negotiations
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Project engineering and construction evaluations
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Managing and commissioning startup plans, services and the entire project
The next and the final phase is when everything is developed and the power generates. The operations phase has to be managed the following manner: •
Power Maintenance mobilizations, operations and management
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Evaluation of operations and asset management
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Project acquisition analysis and support services
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Power Plant Contract operations and maintenance services
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Project valuation analysis
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Asset Value improvement, divesture and support services
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Generation equipment preservation and layup services
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Project stockholding, repowering and other planning processes