A fossil fuel power plant (FFPP) (also known as steam electric power plant in the US http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usa, thermal power plant in Asia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASIA, or power station in the United Kingdom (UK) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_kingdom is an energy conversion center designed on a large scale for continuous operation. Just as a battery converts relatively small amounts of chemical energy into electricity for temporary or intermittent use, the FFPP converts the energy stored in fossil fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas successively into thermal energy, mechanical energy, and finally electric energy for continuous use and distribution across a wide geographic area. Each FFPP is a highly complex, custom-designed system. Present construction costs (as of 2