Question

A solar plant that has a capacity of 200 MW and a utilization rate of 80% will have what annual output in terms of billion kWh?

a) 1.6 billion kWh
b) 1.8 billion kWh
c) 2.0 billion kWh
d) 2.2 billion kWh

Answer 1

The annual output of a solar plant with a capacity of 200 MW and an 80% utilization rate is 1.4 billion kWh (TWh/year), which does not match the given options, suggesting a discrepancy in the question's details.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the annual output of a solar plant with a rated capacity of 200 MW (megawatts) and a utilization rate of 80%, the following steps must be taken:

1. First, ascertain the maximum possible output over a year, which is the capacity (200 MW) multiplied by the total hours in a year (8760 hours). This gives the total megawatt-hours (MWh).
2. Next, apply the utilization rate (80%) to this figure to account for the actual production achievable given efficiency losses and other factors.
3. Finally, convert the result from MWh to billion kWh (terawatt-hour or TWh), as 1 MWh is 0.001 TWh.

Carrying out the math:

• 200 MW * 8760 hours/year = 1,752,000 MWh/year
• 1,752,000 MWh/year * 80% = 1,401,600 MWh/year
• 1,401,600 MWh/year * 0.001 = 1.4 TWh/year

So, the annual output in terms of billion kWh is 1.4, which is not an option in the given list. There might be a typo in the question or the assumptions, as the result calculated is off from the provided choices.