Hydroelectric Power Plant

Hydroelectric power, or hydroelectricity, is generated by the force of falling water. (Hydro comes from the Greek word for water.) It s one of the cleanest sources of energy, and it s also the most reliable and costs the least. Water is needed to run a hydroelectric power-generating unit. The water is held behind a dam, forming an artificial lake, or reservoir. The force of the water being released from the reservoir through the dam spins the blades of a giant turbine. The turbine is connected to the generator that makes electricity as it spins. After passing through the turbine, the water flows back into the river on the other side of the dam. Electricity is produced by spinning electromagnets within a generator s wire coil that creates a flow of electrons. To keep the electromagnets spinning, hydroelectric stations use falling water. Hydroelectric power plants convert the kinetic energy contained in falling water into electricity. The energy in flowing water is ultimately derived from the sun, and is therefore constantly being renewed. Energy contained in sunlight evaporates water from the oceans and deposits it on land in the form of rain. Differences in land elevation result in rainfall runoff, allowing some of the original solar energy to be captured as hydroelectric power. Most hydroelectric stations use either the natural drop of the river or build a dam across the river to raise the water level and provide the drop needed to create a driving force. Water at the higher level (the forebay,) goes through the intake into a pipe, called a penstock, which carries it down to the turbine. The turbine is a type of water wheel that converts the water's energy into mechanical power. The turbine is connected to a generator, and (4) when the turbine is set in motion it causes the generator to rotate, producing electricity. The falling water, having served its purpose, exits the generating station through the draft tube and the tailrace where it rejoins the river. At Ontario Power Generation (OPG), hydroelectric generation is their lowest-cost power source, producing approximately 34 terawatt-hours in 2002. OPG operates 36 hydroelectric stations, as well as 29 small hydroelectric plants and 240 dams on 26 river systems. The smallest station has a generating capacity of just 1 megawatt; the largest more than 1,300 megawatts.

Geothermal Power Plant

Geothermal Energy
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The upper layer of Earth is called the crust. It is only a few miles thick, and floats on a giant pool of liquid rock called the mantle. Over years, water can seep down deep below the surface of the earth. When this water comes into contact with magma welling up from the mantle, it heats to extremely high temperatures. Geothermal power plants use this hot water to produce electricity. Geothermal Plants

Geothermal power plants use steam to drive a turbine, which turns a generator to produce electricity. The turbine is like a large propeller. When the steam flows through it, it creates lift along the edge of the blades, spinning the turbine. The turbine is attached to an electric generator, which is basically a spinning magnet surrounded by coils of wire. When the magnet spins, its magnetic field moves through the wire. This creates a moving electric current in the wire called alternating current, or AC. That electric current is then sent out to power homes, businesses and other buildings. Dry and Flash Steam Power Plants

The oldest design in geothermal power plants is the dry steam plant, in which steam from deep underground runs up a tube to spin the turbine. Then the steam is either cooled and pumped back underground or released. Flash steam power plants are a newer and more sophisticated design. Deep underground where the water is heated, the pressure is much higher. The water can remain liquid at temperatures well above the normal boiling point. Dry steam plants pump this pressurized water directly to the surface. Right before it gets to the turbine, however, the pressure is reduced. The superheated water instantly turns to steam, creating a huge burst of pressure to drive the turbine. The water is then cooled and sent back into the ground to start the process over again. Binary Plants

In binary geothermal plants, the subterranean water doesn't actually drive the turbines. It is pressurized and pumped up through a tube, as in a flash steam plant, to where it meets a secondary tube. The secondary tube also has water in it, but at a lower pressure. Heat from the first tube flows into the second tube, boiling the water to drive the turbine. The water in the first tube is then pumped back down into the earth to gather more heat.

Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear power plants are essentially steam power plants. Turbines, turned by intense steam pressure, generate usable electricity which is created from the heat resulting from nuclear fission reactions in the core. That same water used to power the turbines also serves as a coolant for the radioactive material, preventing it from overheating and melting down. The core of a plant the part that generates heat contains 200 or so 12 foot long rods that are packed with uranium 235 pellets. These rods are then added to a fuel assembly. The fuel rods are then bombarded with neutrons which break apart the uranium 235 atoms. A process known as nuclear fission. The nuclear fission taking place in the rods creates large amounts of energy. This heat energy is used to pressurize steam to move the turbines which creates electricity. A large downside to nuclear power is the radioactive waste. It s not a substantial amount, but it does pose some some interesting challenges. This waste needs to be isolated from our ecosystem for at least 100,000 years before it deteriorates due to natural radioactivity. The spent fuel (which is a small pellet roughly the size of your fingertip) is first placed in a pool of water and allowed to cool down. Due to radioactivity, they remain hot for 20 to 40 years. Once they cool, it s off to long term storage. This waste is then moved hundreds of meters underground in concrete bunkers for radioactivity containment and for further isolation from the environment. Being stored underground safely for 100,000 years sounds risky, humans have never undertook anything that long term before. But there are examples of radioactive containment happening naturally on earth. Earth s own naturally formed nuclear reactors have been chugging along for at least 1.7 billion years.

Windmills
How wind turbines work is this: each system consists of a rotor ( blades ) which convert the wind's energy into rotational shaft energy, a nacelle ( enclosure ) containing a drive train and a generator. So you can easily visualize how wind turbines work. The energy that moves the wind ( kinetic energy ) moves the blades. This energy in turn moves the drive train ( mechanical energy ). This energy is then turned into electricity ( electrical energy ) in the generators and then stored in batteries or transferred to home power grids or utility companies for use in the usual way. The tower of a wind turbine is the most dominant thing you see of a wind turbine and yet it is not the main component of how wind turbines work. It is there simply to hold the rotors at a height sufficient to make optimal use of the available wind. It also holds the electronic equipment associated with transferring electricity but these could be housed anywhere if there was no tower involved. Another visible difference which may lead to confusion as to how wind turbines work is the style of the rotors. There are two basic designs used commercially: the vertical axis or egg beater type which looks something like the top sails of old sailing clippers, and the horizontal axis or propeller type. These modern windmills look a lot different from the old water-mill type of turbine. They look more like airplane propellers. Most of the utility scale turbines in the market today are the horizontal type. There is also experimentation under way to use other types of rotors. For instance, a Hong Kong company is producing electricity from a wind turbines the rotors of which are a string of little propeller wheels mounted on a rooftop. These look like children s party windmills in little circles, all joined together. Although the shape is innovative, the underlying principles concerning wind generation is exactly the same. When asking how do wind turbines work and receiving this simple explanation, it is hard to imagine why they are not less expensive. The good news is that due to how wind turbines work there are great opportunities to make them cheaper once critical mass is reached and more people opt for wind power generated electricity. Mass production will bring down costs. But at the moment the material and installation costs are making them prohibitive to the average consumer who paradoxically needs cheap electricity the most.