How much would a 50MW coal fired plant cost to build?

Question

How much would a 50MW coal fired plant cost to build?

Answer 1

The cost estimate is quite  a tedious work. You will need a million dollars or more depending on your materials and steam turbine and alternator make.

Answer 2

50 MW is pretty small for a coal fired plant.

Duke Energy is building an 800 MW plant that is estimated to cost $1.53B.  That works out to be around $2M per MW.  Duke already owned the land and there are some economies of scale with a plant that large.

In Vietnam, State-owned Vietnam Coal & Minerals Corp., or Vinacomin, has signed a contract with U.S.-based AES Corp. to build a 2000 MW coal-fired power plant at a cost of US$1.4 billion.  That's $700K per MW.

Using the Vietnam cost per MW, your "best case" estimate would be around $35M US.  The Duke example would cost you $100M US for a 50 MW plant.  

Where the plant is being built (country) will play a major factor in your cost.  To be safe, I'd add another 20 to 30% to your final estimate.

Other factors include:

- Regulatory requirements

- Environmental requirements

- Transmission line extensions and interconnections