Thermal power plants are significant process industries for engineering specialists. The power sector has been facing several crucial issues over the past few years. The primary challenge is to meet the increasing power demand in a sustainable and efficient manner. Practicing power plant engineers not only look after the maintenance and operations of the plant, but also look after a variety of activities like research and development, starting from power generation to the environmental evaluation of the power plants. This book discusses features, operational matters, advantages and limitations of power plants, as well as the benefits of renewable power generation. It also elucidates thermal performance evaluation, fuel combustion matters, performance monitoring and modeling, component fault diagnosis and prognosis, functional analysis, economics of plant operation and maintenance, and environmental facets. This book discusses numerous issues related to both coal fired and gas turbine power plants. It will be beneficial for undergraduate and research oriented students, and for engineers working in power plants.