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Annual Capacity Factor Calculator

Formula

The formula to calculate the Annual Capacity Factor (CF) is:

$\text{CF} = \frac{E}{P \times 8760} \times 100$

Where:

$\text{CF}$ is the capacity factor (%)
$E$ is the annual energy output (MWh)
$P$ is the installed capacity (MW)
8760 is the number of hours in a year

What is an Annual Capacity Factor?

The annual capacity factor is a measure of how effectively a power plant or energy-producing installation is utilized over the course of a year. It is expressed as a percentage and represents the ratio of the actual output of the plant to its potential output if it were operating at full capacity all the time. A higher capacity factor indicates a more efficient and consistently utilized power plant.

Example Calculation

Let's assume the following values:

Annual Energy Output (E) = 4,000,000 MWh
Installed Capacity (P) = 500 MW

Using the formula to calculate the Annual Capacity Factor:

$\text{CF} = \frac{4,000,000}{500 \times 8760} \times 100 \approx 91.32 \%$

The Annual Capacity Factor is approximately 91.32%.