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Technical evaluation of a project
Managing the design and construction of an electrical power station for a community of 20,000 resident
Abstract
In any project, it is imperative that proper planning is done before designing and construction of an electrical power station. The stakeholders in this project are diverse and all of them should participate in the whole project in order to ensure that it is given support. This project is based on three fundamental factors that need to be considered in evaluating the authenticity and appropriateness of a project.
These include technical, economic and environment. It is imperative that evaluations on these is conducted and even put into consideration in the designing and construction of this project to ensure that it is successful. The literature review covered demonstrated the importance of ensuring that these three issues are well investigated in designing and construction of the power station. The research design used to solicit views included use of questionnaires and interviews that enabled success of the project.
Outline
- Introduction
- Problem identification
- Objectives and aims
- Literature Review
- Economic evaluation
- Technical evaluation
- Environmental evaluation
- Research Methodology
- Assumptions and limitations
- Results
- Findings
- Potential for future direction
- Conclusion
- Reference list
Managing the design and construction of an electrical power station for a community of 20,000 resident
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Introduction
Before designing and carrying out any construction work, it is imperative that proper planning is done to ensure that the project meets the objective set. Designing and construction of an electrical power station for a community of 20,000 residents should be carried out with precision and proper planning. In such project, the three major factors that need to be considered include technical, economic and environmental factors. These three are crucial in determining whether the project will be set up and be able to provide or meet the intended goals and objectives. This project report is analyzed in four major areas, introduction, literature review, research methodology, and the results of the study.
Technical evaluation of a project
Problem identification
Designing and construction of an electrical power station not only requires enough skills, and expertise of the constructors but it requires consideration of various factors. For the project to be viable there is need to ensure that factors such as economic, technical and environmental are factored in the whole process of designing to ensure that the project is able to meet the set standards.
Many projects may be viable in one area but not in another area. For instance, setting up of an electrical power station in one location may improve the economic status of the people in the area but due to environmental factors such as poor weather conditions the project may not be viable. It is therefore important that all three factors, which interrelate, are considered to ensure viability of a project. Many projects fail to achieve their objectives and goals because of the lack of proper management in term of design and construction hence the need for more research to find out the best ways to alleviate such problems.
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Objectives and aims
The objectives and the aims that the project seeks to achieve include:
- To investigate on the need for considering economic factors in designing and actual construction of a an electrical power station that supports 20,000 residents
- To establish the significance of considering technical capabilities in the construction of electrical power station
- To investigate why environmental factors are important factor in designing and constructing of an electric power station
- To find out appropriate ways to ensure that an electrical power station is designed and constructed to meet the objectives and goals of the residents
Literature review
Under this review, various, issues will be discussed relating to the management and construction of the electrical power station that is able to serve a population of 20,000 residents. The variables to guide the literature review include; technical, economic, and environmental factors when designing and constructing an electrical power station. Evaluation of a project on these three attributes makes the designers to incorporate all of them to ensure that the project upon its completion satisfies all the stakeholders concerned.
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Economic evaluation
In these modern days, availability of electricity is one of the preconditions of ensuring that society functions and thrives forward. Electricity is used in various areas, including, household use, running of information and communication technologies, and even in industries.
According to Wagner & Antonio (2012),availability of electricity is important in facilitating industrialization, which provides employment to many people (p. 20). Electricity also stirs development in a given area because it contributes to the sprouting up of informal sectors such as blacksmiths that plays a pivotal role in the general economy of the country.
Various forms of energy provide electricity to the locals and industries. These electricity may be generated from, water, wave and tidal, wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear power energy just to name but a few. These different forms of energy are then converted to electricity at a central location from where distribution is done. The cost of every kind of designing and constructing the station varies due to the logistics involved.
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According to El-Kordy et al. (2002), it is important to evaluate the economics of energy systems basing on the four forms of cost; maintenance costs, capital costs, fuel costs and external cost (p. 319). In deigning the electricity power station, the cost of maintenance should be considered to ensure that the project is sustained over a considerable duration of time. This cost includes repair, human capital to ensure that the station is well manned to protect it from external distractions and costs that are related to proper functioning of the station.
Capital cost is the initial costs that require the station to be set up in a given area. The company or the contractors should put in priority or budget sufficiently for the start up costs to ensure that the project is initiated and completed within the required period. External costs involve any other costs incurred during the process of setting up and operating the electricity power station.
Electrical power station
It is also important that economic parameters such as inflation and escalation of rates, discounts and taxes be considered when designing and constructing power station for the 20,000 residents. Inflation may affect the progressive of a project causing a stall due to lose of value of the funds that reserved for the project. It is therefore important that such considerations are put in the mind of the designers especially if the project is going to take long time before its completion. Therefore, future sums of money should be discounted based on the inherent risks of future events not turning out to be as planned (Zati & Toosi, 2011, p. 22)
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. It is also important that electrical energy generation costs are calculated, plus all other installments of the power plant to be known during the designing of a power station to serve a certain population. The cash flow of such project includes expenditures in relation to acquisition of land, fuel and maintenance costs and the construction costs.
This costs should be broken into units to enable the constructors know the estimated amount of money required. Some of the cost analysis tools that can be used include cost benefit ratio, total-life cycle cost, levelized electricity generation cost, net present cost and unitary present average cost among many others (Gokcek & Genc, 2009, p. 2732)
When it comes to economic evaluation, it is also important to consider the economic impacts that project will have on the residents or the consumers of the electricity. Economic benefits should surpass the negative aspects that the project brings to the users or the clients (Wagner & Antonio, 2012, p. 22). When the project is designed, it should be able to improve the living standards of the people by enabling them to develop and grow in terms of their level of developments.
The benefits associated with setting up an electricity station in a given locality or a community should be to benefit the locals economically. Electricity is a cheap source of energy compared to other sources of energy at home and even in industries. Furthermore, the station should be able to serve all the residents with adequate supply of energy to enable them carry out their duties well.
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Technical evaluation of a project
Therefore, in designing the project, all these issues need to be factored to ensure that the residents as well as the company benefits from the station. The company will accrue some benefits from the charges they levy on the consumption of power, but they should also provide enough power to serve the entire target population.
Technical evaluation of a project
Electrical power station
Technical evaluation of a project ensures that all the necessary details that can ensure successful completion of the project are put into consideration. In technical evaluation, it is important for the designers and the constructing company to take note of all the issues that surrounds the project (Zati & Toosi, 2011, p. 23)
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Technical evaluation encompasses many areas of considerations in the designing and construction of an electricity power station. The team should evaluate its capability and expertise to know if they have the required skills and competence to finish the project successful. This is a very important factor in the project. The availability of work force to carry out the project is vital.
Technical evaluation should also be carried out to determine the durability of the equipments and the long life of the assets, their performance and price stability to find out whether the project is sustainable or no (Zati & Toosi, 2011, p. 22). Other technical evaluation include, finding out whether the area has enough rivers or dams to be exploited for power production during emergencies.
Technical evaluation is therefore important in ensuring the success of a project of this nature. The costs and logistics of setting up and constructing an electricity power station must be well defined and known to enable the construction team to finish the project successful. For the project to be sustainable, maintenance costs should be provided to ensure that in case of any problem immediate action is taken to remedy the solution. For instance, vandalism of electric equipments should be controlled through installation of CCTV to ensure that those involved are pursued and persecuted (Gokcek & Genc, 2009, p 2732).
Technical evaluation of a project
Environmental evaluation
According to Zati & Toosi (2011) environmental evaluation or assessment, if paramount before any project is undertaken (p. 24). This is not exclusion to the electricity power station. The station, even though, is important to the survival of the people in the area, it is necessary for the effects it has to the environment be accessed. The location of the station will have to be assessed before construction work begins to ensure that there are no future environmental effects to the resident (El-Kordy et al. 2002, p. 318)
Some of the environmental concerns associated with projects of setting up and constructing an electricity power station includes, effects of the exposed cable to the people in the area, power shocks and outages, rugged landscape that poses threats to the stability of the electricity lines and re-channeling or overuse of water depriving the local residents water to carryout their farming activities. These are environmental concerns that should be investigated and assessed to determine the magnitude or impact that they have on the residents before constructing the power station.
Summary of the Literature Review
Various stakeholders need to be consulted in the designing and construction of an electricity power station. These stakeholders include the government, the construction company, the residents and any other important party. This ensures that consensus is reached as well as it ensures that all the logistics concerning project are put into consideration. The three factors; technical, economic and environmental are important and should be scrutinized to allow the successful completion of any project.
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Research Methodology
Research methodology is the procedure and processes that the researcher uses to gather information, analyze and present data. The nature of the project required use of survey descriptive method. This method allowed the study to gather information through questionnaires, interviews and observations from the relevant stakeholders that the project affected.
The residents or the population where the project was to be set up were sampled through simple random sampling method to give a sample size that was representational of the entire population. 100 respondents responded to the questionnaires and interview questions.
The research design was descriptive survey method, which allowed questionnaires and interviews that sort to know how the residents viewed the project in terms of economic, technical and environment implications. This method was used because it can be repeated for verification. The information gathered was then analyzed and presented in the pie charts, graphs and table for ease of interpretations.
Assumptions and limitations
During the study, it was assumed that the respondents came for the areas where the project was to be set. The information that was collected was taken with a lot of confidentially and was assumed to be true and to the best knowledge of the respondents
During the study, there were a number of limitations that the researcher faced. One of the limitations was inadequate time to carryout an extensive research on how the residents felt about the setting up of the power station in the area. Furthermore, the fact that, the population was very large, the sample size was not enough to elicit the views of the larger population hence a limitation to the study.
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Technical evaluation of a project
Results
The study findings helped the researcher to make decisive decision on the appropriate ways to design and constructing the electricity power station in the area. Results of the study were presented in the form of tables, and graphs.
Findings
From the study, it was revealed that, economic factors were important in designing and construction of the electricity power station in the area. Most respondents said that, the establishment of the station was welcome because it could spur economic growth in the area. It was also going to improve their living standards since they were going to use the power to do their domestic chores and other works at a low rate.
| Yes | No | Percentage | |
| Important of evaluating economic factors | 80 | 20 | 100 |
| Percentage | 80 | 20 | 100 |
Table 1.1: Economic evaluation
Figure 1.1: Economic Evaluation
The table illustrates the importance of evaluating the economic factors before designing and constructing an electrical power station. Form the table, 80 percentage agreed that evaluation was important while 20 percent were of the contrary opinion.
Furthermore, the findings showed that, those projects that were designed and constructed after enough economic evaluation were carried out were sustainable and provided economies of scale to both the resident and the company. Most of the respondents supported the notion that, economic evaluation was essential because it was through such information that sufficient data on the viability of the project was to be determined.
When it comes to technical evaluation, the study finding showed that indeed it was paramount for an assessment to be carried out during designing and construction of the power station to know the logistic and the issues that pertained to the projects.
Technical evaluation ensured that the project was completed at the time set because it allowed the project designers and constructors to understand the issues they needed to handle first before embarking on others.
On environmental evaluation, many of the respondents said that, this was a very important area to consider because, their health and environment was important than anything that could put it at stake. However, they were in support of the project because, it had minimal effect on the environment.
Therefore, by gathering this information, and getting the views of the residents, the designers and constructors were at liberty to begin their project. This is because they got support from the stakeholders and from their visibility and surveys, the area was suitable since it could impact on economic, and had less implications on the environment.
A table showing the total cost of setting up an electrical power station
| Item/Material | Quantity | Price per unity | Total Price in US dollars |
| Survey | 2000 | ||
| Land | 2 acres | 20000 | 40000 |
| Equipments | 100000 | ||
| Human capital | 100 | 500 | 50000 |
| Maintenance costs | 100000 | ||
Table 1.2: Cost of setting up a power station
Instruments that is required to support the residents and the costs
| Instruments | Number | Total cost in US dollars |
| Transformers | 3 | 600000 |
| Lightning protectors | 50 | 100000 |
| Vehicles | 4 | 400000 |
| Cables | 100metre | 500000 |
| Reading Metres | 1000 | 200000 |
Table 1.3: Instruments required
Figure 1.3: Instruments required
Cost of setting up the power station
| Section of the station | Cost in US Dollars |
| Walls | 200000 |
| Signs | 15000 |
| Foundation | 200000 |
| Fences | 50000 |
| Alarm system | 10000 |
| Total | 475000 |
Table 1.4: Cost of setting up the power station
Figure 1.4: Cost of setting up the power station
The total amount of power that will be consumed
The station expects to produce 40kWhz of electricity in the year that will be enough for every homestead and the local industries in the area.
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Potential for future direction
From the study, it is important for any individual or organization to carryout a survey on their project before designing and carrying out the project. Not all projects are suitable in certain areas and therefore, these factors should be put into consideration. Therefore, further investigation need to be carried out on how communities influence the design and construction of a project.
Conclusion
It is imperative for any company or individual to carryout a survey before designing any carrying out a project. Planning is vital as it allows an individual to assess the benefits and the costs of the project. This allows for proper planning and implementation of the project.
References
El-Kordy, M. N., Badr, M. A., Abed, K. A., & Ibrahim, S, 2002, “Economical evaluation of Electricity generation considering externalities.” Renewable Energy, 25(2), 317-328.
Gokçek, M., & Genç, M. S, 2009, “Evaluation of electricity generation and energy cost of wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) in Central Turkey.” Applied Energy, 86(12), 2731-2739.
Wagner, S. & Antonio, J. 2012. “Optimization model for economic evaluation of wind farms- How to optimize a wind energy project economically and technically.”International Journal of energy economics and policy, 2(1):10-20.
Zati, A, & Toosi, E, 2011, “Technical evaluation-economic execution of hydroelectric project at micro scale.”America journal of scientific research, Issue. 16, pp. 20-25.
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