first and up to the present time the tremendous potential resources of the larger rivers have offered blocks of power so large compared to the needs of the systems as to be unfeasible economically. The rapid growth of power demands has now reached a point where the larger developments are economically feasible with the result that such projects as the Rock Island on the Columbia River, the Ariel on the Lewis River, and Diablo on the Skagit River are being undertaken. By the time the initial installation at the proposed Columbia River dam is placed in service most of the hydro developments which are now being constructed by the various power companies and municipalities will be completed and the Columbia River power will have to compete in price with power from additional developments which will be more costly than those now under construction and which are located farther from the market and consequently will involve more costly transmission facilities and also with power produced in large modern steam generating stations located near the load centers and using the cheapest fuel obtainable. Under present conditions in the Northwest hydro power can be delivered at load centers at somewhat less cost than steam power as evidenced by the fact that the new developments planned for the immediate future are all hydro, but as the distances that the hydro power must be transmitted become greater and as the cost of construction of the hydro plants becomes greater due to the more difficult and expensive projects being left for later development, coupled with the downward trend of steam plant costs and the steady improvement in steam plant efficiencies, the present narrow margin between the cost of hydro and steam power is constantly becoming smaller and it seems probable that by the time power from the proposed development on the Columbia River at the head of Grand Coulee becomes available the cost of steam power rather than the cost of hydro power from other sources will determine the value of the Columbia River power. Value of power as determined by the cost of steam-electric power.During recent years there has been a very marked improvement in the efficiency of steam generating stations and it is to be expected that this trend will continue in the future. Large modern steam plants are now capable of producing 480 kilowatt-hours per barrel of fuel oil when operating at 60 per cent load factor which corresponds to a thermal efficiency of about 13,000 British thermal units per kilowatthour. It seems probable that the thermal efficiency may be improved in the near future so that a kilowatt-hour will require not more than 12,000 British thermal units. There is an ample supply of coal available in the Northwest and several of the smaller steam plants are operating on refuse from the lumber industry. The available supply of natural gas is too limited to make this fuel a factor in determining the cost of steam power. The Shuffleton steam plant of the Puget Sound Power & Light Co. located on Lake Washington, which is the largest and most modern plant in the Northwest, and which is designed so that it can be readily converted to utilize hogged fuel (lumber refuse) or pulverized coal, is now burning fuel oil which, under present conditions, is the cheapest fuel obtainable in sufficient quantities for large central station use. The price of fuel is the most important single factor affecting the cost of steam power and the question of future price of fuel oil is impossible of determination for any period of time. At present the average price of fuel oil in southern California fields is 70 to 80 cents per barrel. The cost of transporting fuel oil in tankers from southern California to Puget Sound ports amounts to about 25 cents per barrel and the cost delivered is about $1 per barrel or slightly Ïess. This is less than the present cost of the equivalent quantity of coal. The California conservation law which went into effect during the summer of 1929 requires the beneficial use of natural gas as a -condition to the production of oil and this has resulted in marked reductions in the price of gas, in some instances down to the equivalent of oil at about 50 cents per barrel. Naturally this low price for natural gas has had considerable effect on the price of fuel oil. It seems fair to assume that the condition of over production and consequent low price of fuel oil will prove to be temporary and it is the general consensus of opinion that over a long period of time the price of fuel oil will increase rather than decrease. The depletion of nearby oil fields and natural gas supplies, improvements in the processes for obtaining gasoline from fuel oil which will have a tendency to decrease the fuel oil residue, together with the general governmental policy of conservation and restriction of production, will all tend toward this end. Considering the present price of fuel oil and that as noted above, these prices are more likely to increase rather than decrease; a price of $1 per barrel delivered at Puget Sound ports has been used as a basis for determining the cost of steam power. The largest and most efficient steam power plant on the west coast is the Long Beach No. 3 plant of the Southern California Edison Co., which is designed for an ultimate installation of four units of 100,000 kilowatts capacity each. This plant is equipped for using either natural gas or fuel oil and is arranged so that coal-burning equipment can be installed later if it should develop that such fuel is more economical. The steam pressure is 400 pounds and the temperature of the steam is 700° F. At 100 per cent load factor this plant produces a little better than 490 kilowatt-hours net per barrel of fuel-oil, corresponding to a fuel economy of 12,674 British thermal units per kilowatt-hour. The cost of this power plant will be $77.50 per kilowatt of installed capacity when the ultimate installation of four units is completed. The Los Angeles Gas & Electric Corporation has a smaller steam plant located at Seal Beach near Los Angeles which is reported to have cost $78.20 per kilowatt of installed capacity. The Shuffleton steam plant recently constructed by the Puget Sound Power & Light Co. is reported to have cost $105 per horsepower or $140 per kilowatt of installed capacity. For the purposes of this study the following assumptions have been used to determine the cost of competitive steam power based on the cost and performance of the Long Beach No. 3 plant of the Southern California Edison Co.: 125965-32- -9 STEAM GENERATING STATION DATA Capital cost, $77.50 per kilowatt of installed capacity. Fuel consumption, 0.002 barrel per kilowatt-hour generated plus 0.55 barrel per kilowatt of installed capacity per year. Operation and maintenance, $2.25 per kilowatt of required capacity. Required capacity=peak load. Installed capacity=110 per cent of required capacity. Tables 8 and 9 show the cost of steam generated energy under the above assumptions for public and privately owned steam plants, with the price of fuel oil varying from 75 cents to $1.50 per barrel delivered and for various load factors from 40 to 80 per cent. Drawing No. 222-D-7 shows graphically the cost of steam generated energy for both public and privately owned and operated steam plants with various prices of fuel oil and various load factors. TABLE NO. 8.-Estimated cost of steam-generated energy, public development Load factor, 40 per cent; kilowatt-hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 3,504; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 7.613; kilowatt-hours per barrel of fuel oil, 460. Interest, depreciation, amortization, and operation and maintenance... $8.968 $8.968 $8.968 $8.968 Cost of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity. 5.710 .269 .269 .269 .269 11.419 Load factor, 50 per cent; kilowatt-hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 4,380; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 9.365; kilowatt-hours per barrel of fuel oil, 468. Interest, depreciation, amortization, and operation and maintenance.. Cost of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity. Load factor, 60 per cent; kilowatt-hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 5,256; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 11.117; kilowatt-hours per barrel of fuel oil, 473. Interest, depreciation, amortization, and operation and maintenance.... Cost of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity. Load factor, 70 per cent; kilowatt-hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 6,132; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 12.869; kilowatt-hours per barrel of fuel oil, 476. Interest, depreciation, amortization, and operation and maintenance.. Cost of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity. TABLE No. 8.—Estimated cost of steam-generated energy, public development— Continued Load factor, 80 per cent; kilowatt-hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 7,008; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 14.621; kilowatt-hours per barrel of fuel oil, 479. Interest, depreciation, amortization, and operation and maintenance... Cost of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity. TABLE NO. 9.-Estimated cost of steam generated energy, private development Load factor, 40 per cent; kilowatt hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 3,504; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 7.613; kilowatt hours per barrel of fuel oil, 460. $10. 136 Depreciation, return on investment and operation and maintenance.... $10. 136 Taxes. Cost of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity. Total annual cost per kilowatt required.. $10. 136 $10. 136 1.279 .304 1.279 5. 710 1.279 7.613 9. 516 .304 1.279 11. 419 Load factor, 50 per cent; kilowatt hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 4,380; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 9.365; kilowatt hours per barrel of fuel oil, 468. Depreciation, return on investment and operation and maintenance....... Load factor, 60 per cent; kilowatt hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 5,256; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 11.117; kilowatt hours per barrel of fuel oil, 473. Depreciation, return on investment, and operation and maintenance. Taxes. Cost of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity. Total annual cost per kilowatt required. Cost per kilowatt hour, mills... Load factor, 70 per cent; kilowatt hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 6,132; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 12.869; kilowatt hours per barrel of fuel oil, 476. Depreciation, return on investment, and operation and maintenance. Load factor, 80 per cent; kilowatt hours generated per year per kilowatt capacity, 7,008; barrels of fuel oil per year per kilowatt capacity, 14.621; kilowatt hours per barrel of fuel oil, 479. 21.371 Depreciation, return on investment, and operation and maintenance.. TRANSMISSION OF COLUMBIA RIVER POWER Cost of transmission facilities. At present 220,000 volts is the practical limit for high-voltage, high-power, long-distance transmission. Higher voltages are being investigated but considering the greater first cost of transmission lines designed and built for such higher voltages, it seems doubtful if any marked reduction in the cost of transmitting energy would be affected and at the present TOTAL COST OF GENERATING STEAM POWER AT DIFFERENT PRICE FOR FUEL OIL. state of the art it would not be conservative to assume that power from the proposed Columbia River development would be transmitted at a voltage of more than 220,000. The area in the vicinity of Puget Sound offers the largest market for Columbia River power within economic transmission distance |