Power play

Warning: This is likely to be a boring post, especially if you are not that into cricket. Or funding power projects.

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I have been looking for shortcuts to understand and remember salient features of my area of work. Reading about load factors, calorific value, heat rates, HRT and TRT, photovoltaic effect etc is not much fun, especially if you harbour a deep hatred for engineers.

And then, while watching a cricket match during a work break, I get a brainwave! And out comes this piece of inspired genius...


So, here goes... SRK's ready reckoner for understanding power plants:

Hydro power is like Sachin. Vast reserves, sitting still, and you don't realize its power till you turn it on. Once it is turned on, nothing comes in its away. Or rather, whatever comes is swept away by ruthless force. Very clean, very efficient, and of course, long long life.


Wind power is like Sehwag. Highly unpredictable, it can blow fast and feed lots of power into the grid, or not blow at all and become a liability to the grid instead. Really exciting to watch, high and mighty, but all the advance studies still don't allow for predicting the final outcome as to how much power will actually be generated.


Coal thermal power is like Dravid. The one which caters to the base load, around which all the other exciting technologies survive. The one source you can rely upon, the one which performs non-stop, 24 hours a day, 365 days a week. Maximum efficiency, but still never respected because it is not exciting, it is not new-age and it is not really fashionable. And people are always calling for it to be curtailed.


Gas power is like VVS. More efficient than coal, much cleaner than coal, but lying idle for years now. Proven potential, but lack of resources hampered its growth. And oh, coincidentally, based in Andhra Pradesh.


Nuclear power is like Saurav. Very volatile, dangerous and highly controversial. With a half-life that lingers on long after the plant ceases to operate. Which makes it extremely difficult to dispose of. But, but, but... when it actually works, there is nothing better.


Solar power is like Yuvraj. Everybody's talking about it. For years and years now. Everybody thinks it is the panacea for power shortage. Everybody's excited about its potential. No one has seen actual on the ground performance. Yet, half the world is betting on it. And hoping... if only...

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It is said that the things you dream about are the ones that are constantly on your mind. Well, for the last few days, the only things that have been on my mind are work (thanks to my boss) and cricket (thanks to Modi).