Comparison between various power plants

Steam power	Hydro electric	Diesel power	Nuclear power
Located where water and coal and transportation facilities are adequate	Located where large reservoirs or dams can be created like in hilly areas	Located anywhere as very less water is required.	Located in isolated areas away from population.
Initial cost is lower than hydro and nuclear.	Initial cost pretty high due to large dam construction.	Initial cost is the least.	Initial cost is highest as cost of reactor construction is very high.
Running cost is higher than nuclear and hydro due to amount of coal required.	Practically nil as no fuel is required.	Highest running cost due to high price of diesel.	Cost of running is low as very very less amount of fuel is required.
Coal is source of power. So limited quantity is available.	Water is source of power which is not a dependable quantity.	Diesel is source of power which is the least available among all.	Uranium is fuel source along with platinum rods. So sufficient quantity is available.
Cost of fuel transportation is maximum due to large demand for coal.	No cost for fuel transportation	Higher than hydro and nuclear power plants.	Cost of fuel transportation is minimum due to small quantity required.
Least environment friendly	Most environment friendly	A good friend of environment than steam or nuclear.	Better friend of environment than steam power plant.
25% overall efficiency.	Around 85% efficient.	About 35% efficient.	More efficient than steam power.
Maintenance cost is very high.	Maintenance cost is quite low.	Maintenance cost is less.	Maintenance cost is the highest as highly skilled workers are required.
Maximum standby losses as boiler still keeps running even though turbine is not.	No standby losses.	Less standby losses.	Less standby losses.