Capacity Factor - Typical Capacity Factors

Typical Capacity Factors

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2007 the capacity factors were as follows:

Combined Cycle Natural Gas Plant–11.4% Oil–13.4% Hydroelectric–36.3% Renewables (Wind/Solar/Biomass)–40% Coal–73.6% Nuclear–91.8%

However they do tend to vary.

  • Wind farms 20-40%.
  • Photovoltaic solar in Massachusetts 12-15%.
  • Photovoltaic solar in Arizona 19%.
  • CSP solar in California 33%.
  • Hydroelectricity, worldwide average 44%, range of 10% - 99% depending on design (small plant in big river will always have enough water to operate and vice versa), water availability (with or without regulation via storage dam, where a storage dam is designed to store at least enough water to operate the plant at full capacity for around half a year to allow full regulation of the annual flow of the river).
  • Nuclear energy 70% (1971-2009 average of USA's plants).
  • Nuclear energy 91.2% (2010 average of USA's plants).

Read more about this topic:  Capacity Factor

Famous quotes containing the words typical, capacity and/or factors:

    “Compare the history of the novel to that of rock ‘n’ roll. Both started out a minority taste, became a mass taste, and then splintered into several subgenres. Both have been the typical cultural expressions of classes and epochs. Both started out aggressively fighting for their share of attention, novels attacking the drama, the tract, and the poem, rock attacking jazz and pop and rolling over classical music.”
    —W. T. Lhamon, U.S. educator, critic. “Material Differences,” Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s, Smithsonian (1990)

    “The capacity to give one’s attention to a sufferer is a very rare and difficult thing; it is almost a miracle; it is a miracle. Nearly all those who think they have this capacity do not possess it. Warmth of heart, impulsiveness, pity are not enough.”
    —Simone Weil (1909–1943)

    “Girls tend to attribute their failures to factors such as lack of ability, while boys tend to attribute failure to specific factors, including teachers’ attitudes. Moreover, girls avoid situations in which failure is likely, whereas boys approach such situations as a challenge, indicating that failure differentially affects self-esteem.”
    —Michael Lewis (late–20th-century)