Differentiate between direct costs and indirect costs when analyzing the overall capital costs of a power plant construction project.

Direct costs are expenses that can be directly attributed to the construction of the power plant. These include costs of materials (steel, concrete, piping, wiring), equipment (turbines, generators, boilers, pumps), labor (wages for construction workers, electricians, plumbers), and land acquisition. These costs are easily traceable to specific activities within the construction project. Indirect costs, on the other hand, are expenses that cannot be directly linked to a specific construction activity, but are necessary for the overall project. These costs include project management salaries, engineering and design fees, construction permits, insurance, security, temporary facilities (offices, storage), and legal fees. Indirect costs are often allocated across the entire project based on a predetermined formula. Direct costs are the costs of things "in the plant", indirect costs are the cost of "making the plant".