Coal Required for 1 MW Power Plant

Many customers are trying to get the answer: how much coal is required to generate 1MW power. Well, the answer is not sure. The amount of fuel used to generate electricity depends on the efficiency or heat rate of the generator (or power plant) and the heat content of the fuel. Power plant efficiencies (heat rates) vary by types of generators, power plant emission controls, and other factors. Fuel heat contents also vary.

When searching the internet, I found one expert gave an answer to calculate the amount of fuel as followings:
“Two formulas can be used to calculate the amount of fuel used to generate a kilowatthour (kWh) of electricity:

Amount of fuel used per kWh = Heat rate (in Btu per kWh) / Fuel heat content (in Btu per physical unit)
Kilowatthour generated per unit of fuel used = Fuel heat content (in Btu per physical unit) / Heat rate (in Btu per kWh)

Calculation examples using these two formulas and the assumptions below:

Amount of fuel used to generate 1 kWh:Coal = 0.00052 short tons or 1.04 poundsNatural gas = 0.01011 Mcf (an Mcf equals 1,000 cubic feet)Petroleum = 0.00173 barrels (or 0.07 gallons)
Kilowatthour generated per unit of fuel used:1,927 kWh per ton, or 0.96 kWh per pound, of coal99 kWh per Mcf (1,000 cubic feet) of natural gas578 kWh per barrel, or 13.76 kWh per gallon, of petroleum.”

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