Economies of Scale in Generator Efficiency

[DieselGenerator]

Hello,

Can anybody help me out??? Im looking at efficiency and cost effectiveness in large diesel generation. Example being a 12 MW project. Are savings seen in two 6 MW diesel generators (such as efficency in the larger generator or fuel efficiency of the larger engine) versus Block Units such as 5, 600KW generators to form a 3 MW block and having 4 blocks to get the 12 MW??? Reliability and maintenance are factors as well...

If you can't help but can point me in the right direction for research, that would be great as well!

Thank you

[merryengineer]

Hi!

As a general rule, if they are for standby use, then more units around the 500kW - 800kW mark will be best. Normally 650kVA is a good spot.
From a practical point of view generators at this size compared to a 2MW plant may welll give very similar fuel consumption, as they would use a load demand system.

As for if you are actually generating, then probably one big unit is the way to go in terms of fuel consumption, which may be the most important thing. 6 x 2MW units may well be cheaper though. If you are going for one big unit you will also go for slower speed units, which will again improve your fuel consumption if you are running at baseload.