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One measure of the efficiency of a generator or power plant that converts a fuel into heat and into electricity is the heat rate. The heat rate is the amount of energy used by an electrical generator or power plant to generate one kilowatthour (kWh) of electricity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expresses heat rates in British thermal units (Btu) per net kWh generated. Net generation is the amount of electricity a power plant (or generator) supplies to the power transmission line connected to the power plant. Net generation accounts for all the electricity that the plant itself consumes to operate the generator(s) and other equipment, such as fuel feeding systems, boiler water pumps, cooling equipment, and pollution control devices.
To express the efficiency of a generator or power plant as a percentage, divide the equivalent Btu content of a kWh of electricity (which is3, Btu) by the heat rate. For example, if the heat rate is, Btu, the efficiency is%. If the heat rate is7, Btu, the efficiency is%.
EIA only publishes heat rates for fossil fuel-fired generators and nuclear power plants. There is a discussion of the method that EIA uses to estimate the amount of energy consumed to generate electricity with renewable energy sources in Alternatives for Estimating Energy Consumption, which includes a table with estimates for the conversion efficiencies of noncombustible renewable energy sources (geothermal, hydro, solar, and wind energy).
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