How is Electricity Made?
An Overview of Power Generation
How is Electricity Made?
An Overview of Power Generation
Electricity generation is the process of converting non-electrical energy to electricity. It is
the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers, followed by electric
transmission and distribution, which is managed by the electric delivery company.
Electricity is most often generated by electromechanical generators, primarily driven by
heat engines fueled by fossil fuel chemical combustion or nuclear fission. These are the
most common ways of generating electricity, but more environmental friendly
alternatives such as the kinetic energy of flowing water and blowing wind continue to
grow in popularity.
Coal fired power plants provide half of the consumed
electricity in the United States. Cleaner burning
technologies continue to make coal fired power one of
the cheapest ways to generate electricity.
Coal supplies in the United States are far more plentiful
than domestic oil or natural gas; they account for 95
percent of the country's fossil fuel reserves and more
than 60 percent of the world's fuel reserves. The United
States has about 275 billion tons of recoverable coal,
which could last us more than 250 years if we continue
using coal at the same rate we use it today. In addition,
the United States has more than 25 percent of the
world's estimated coal reserves.
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How is Electricity Made?
An Overview of Power Generation
A gas fired power plant burns natural gas or oil to
produce electricity.
These types of power plants are designed on a large
scale for continuous operation.
Gas power plants have rotating machinery to convert
the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy,
which then operates an electrical generator.
Gas power plants produce the least amount of carbon
emissions of all the fossil fuel type plants. Byproducts
of power plant operation must be considered in the
design and operation. Waste heat due to the finite
efficiency of the turbines must be released to the
atmosphere, often using a cooling tower, or river or lake
water as a cooling medium.
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How is Electricity Made?
An Overview of Power Generation
Nuclear energy is produced by a controlled
nuclear chain reaction. The reaction creates
heat to boil water, which produces steam to
drive steam turbines to generate electricity.
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy
electricity, using wind turbines. Wind power is
produced in large scale wind farms connected to
electrical grids, as well as in individual turbines for
providing electricity to isolated locations. Wind
energy is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed,
clean and reduces greenhouse gas emissions when
it displaces fossil fuel derived electricity.
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