{{Short description|Registered sustainable power output of an industrial facility}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
'''Nameplate capacity''', also known as the '''rated capacity''', '''nominal capacity''', '''installed capacity''', '''maximum effect'''{{cn|date=December 2025}} or '''gross capacity''',<ref>[https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/Glossary.aspx Glossary of Terms in PRIS Reports.] IAEA-PRIS</ref> is the intended full-load sustained output of a facility such as a power station,<ref name="nceia">[http://www.eia.doe.gov/glossary/index.cfm?id=G#gen_nameplate Energy glossary] ''Energy Information Administration''. Retrieved: 23 September 2010.</ref><ref name="ncnrc">[https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/generator-nameplate-capacity.html Glossary]. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2 August 2010. Retrieved: 23 September 2010.</ref> electric generator, a chemical plant,<ref name="ncchem">[http://www.icis.com/StaticPages/Plant_Performance_Data.htm Plant Performance Data (PPD)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910124539/http://www.icis.com/StaticPages/Plant_Performance_Data.htm |date=2010-09-10 }} ''ICIS''. Retrieved: 23 September 2010.</ref> fuel plant, mine,<ref name="ncmine">[http://www.mining-technology.com/features/feature74139/ The Future of Tantalum and Niobium] ''Mining-Technology'', 14 Jan 2010. Retrieved: 23 September 2010.</ref> metal refinery,<ref name="ncalcoa">[http://www.alcoa.com/alumina/en/info_page/refineries.asp Refining Capacity] ''Alcoa'', December 31, 2009.</ref> and many others. Nameplate capacity is the theoretical output registered with authorities for classifying the unit. For intermittent power sources, such as wind and solar, nameplate power is the source's output under ideal conditions, such as maximum usable wind or high sun on a clear summer day.
Capacity factor measures the ratio of actual output over an extended period to nameplate capacity. Power plants with an output consistently near their nameplate capacity have a high capacity factor.
For electric power stations, the power output is expressed in megawatt electrical (MW<small>e</small>). For fuel plants, it is the refinery capacity in barrels per day.<ref name="nccan">[http://nrcan.gc.ca/eneene/sources/petpet/refraf-eng.php Refinery Economics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228032528/http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/eneene/sources/petpet/refraf-eng.php |date=2010-12-28 }} ''Natural Resources Canada'', 5 january 2009.</ref><ref name="ncrefine">[http://www.arabianbusiness.com/522168-magnificent-seven Magnificent seven] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905211557/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/522168-magnificent-seven |date=2008-09-05 }} ''Arabian Business'', 17 June 2008.</ref>
== Power stations == ===Dispatchable power=== For dispatchable power, this capacity depends on the internal technical capability of the plant to maintain output for a reasonable amount of time (for example, a day), neither momentarily nor permanently, and without considering external events such as lack of fuel or internal events such as maintenance.<ref name="ncbelow"/> Actual output can be different from nameplate capacity for a number of reasons depending on equipment and circumstances.<ref name="ncbelow">Kleiser, Thomas. [http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/DB/DNV-CUK1130160031.78/iProcess/TUEV-SUED1227777806.56/ReviewInitialComments/LI99J7QWQ8LUOWOBOK67F6CA1JEKFH Response to CDM] page 2-4 by ''TÜV'', 4 March 2009. Retrieved: 23 September 2010.</ref><ref name="ncabove">Swain, Bibb. [http://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=2463 Designed to go above Nameplate Capacity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027081639/http://ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=2463 |date=27 October 2007 }} ''Ethanol Producer'', November 2006. Retrieved: 23 September 2010.</ref>
=== Non-dispatchable power ===
For non-dispatchable power, particularly renewable energy, nameplate capacity refers to generation under ideal conditions. Output is generally limited by weather conditions, hydroelectric dam water levels, tidal variations and other outside forces. Equipment failures and maintenance usually contribute less to capacity factor reduction than the innate variation of the power source. In photovoltaics, capacity is rated under ''Standard Test Conditions'' usually expressed as watt-peak (W<sub>p</sub>). In addition, a PV system's nameplate capacity is sometimes denoted by a subindex, for example, MW<sub>DC</sub> or MW<sub>AC</sub>, to identify the raw DC power or converted AC power output. {{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}
===Generator capacity=== <!--insert image of generator nameplate--> [[File:COGES diagram.svg|thumb|Diagram of a turbo-electric COGES power-plant, with power-consuming pump]] The term is connected with nameplates on electrical generators as these plates describing the model name and manufacturer usually also contain the rated output,<ref name="nc">Reitze, Arnold W. [https://books.google.com/books?id=M8w5yJbNTD0C&dq=%22Nameplate+capacity%22&pg=PA260 Air pollution control law: compliance and enforcement] page 260 ''George Washington University Law School'', 2001. {{ISBN|1-58576-027-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-58576-027-5}} Retrieved: 23 September 2010.</ref> but the rated output of a power station to the electrical grid is invariably less than the generator nameplate capacity, because the components connecting the actual generator to the grid also use power. Thus there is a distinction between component capacity and facility capacity.
==See also== {{portal|Energy}}
*Availability factor *Declared net capacity (power plants) *Electricity generation *{{section link|Intermittent power source|Terminology}} *List of energy storage projects
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
{{Electricity generation}}
Category:Power station technology Category:Electric power Category:Electrical generators Category:Energy conversion