Price for the cheapest diesel engine?

[Sven Andersson]

What is the price per kilowatt or hp for the simplest, cheapest diesel engine, such as ones used for powering irrigation pumps? Say one of 1/2 MW or 1 MW.

S.A.

 

[SteamKing]

What is the price per kilowatt or hp for the simplest, cheapest diesel engine, such as ones used for powering irrigation pumps? Say one of 1/2 MW or 1 MW.

S.A.

In that power range, there are few "cheap" diesel engines. You might find some bargains on the second-hand market, but you'll have to do research with vendors who handle used engines.

http://www.wpowerproducts.com/All-Engines-Engines-2-c-23.html

 

[Sven Andersson]

I want this info to compare wind turbines with diesel engines. I'm not going to actually buy one! In what power range do one find the cheapest diesel engines? Is a propane engine cheaper? Or gas turbine?

I e-mailed Scania and a 730 hp diesel engine that powers a truck costs 550,000 crowns=$65,000.

However I suspect that a simple cheap engine that sits on the ground and pumps water or drives a electric generator costs 1/3 of that or less. Am I right?

 

[SteamKing]

I want this info to compare wind turbines with diesel engines. I'm not going to actually buy one! In what power range do one find the cheapest diesel engines? Is a propane engine cheaper? Or gas turbine?

I e-mailed Scania and a 730 hp diesel engine that powers a truck costs 550,000 crowns=$65,000.

However I suspect that a simple cheap engine that sits on the ground and pumps water or drives a electric generator costs 1/3 of that or less. Am I right?

The cost of a diesel engine as a prime mover is only a fraction of the cost of a diesel-generator set. The generator part takes some significant coin to purchase, even if second hand.

The generator part of the typical wind turbine installation is also only a small part of the total price of the installation. The mast, the foundations, the blades, and the connections are all significant cost items.

Even figures for the installation costs of wind turbines in the megawatt range provided by the industry show a significant price premium for the turbine over a conventional diesel-generator:

http://www.windustry.org/how_much_do_wind_turbines_cost

The industry estimates that installations for wind turbines run between $1.3 million and $2.2 million per installed MW. There are a lot of idle wind turbines now, I understand, but they're not very portable.

 

[CWatters]

Perhaps this helps...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source

The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is a measure of a power source which attempts to compare different methods of electricity generation on a comparable basis.

Below is the complete list of LCOEs by source from the investment bank Lazard.[61]

Plant Type ( USD/MWh) Low High
Solar PV-Rooftop Residential 184 300
Solar PV-Rooftop C&I 109 193
Solar PV-Crystalline Utility Scale 58 70
Solar PV-Thin Film Utility Scale 50 60
Solar Thermal with Storage 119 181
Fuel Cell 106 167
Microturbine 79 89
Geothermal 82 117
Biomass Direct 82 110
Wind 32 77
Energy Efficiency 0 50
Battery Storage ** **
Diesel Reciprocating Engine 212 281
Natural Gas Reciprocating Engine 68 101
Gas Peaking 165 218
IGCC 96 183
Nuclear 97 136
Coal 65 150
Gas Combined Cycle 52 78

Dated Nov 2014