Of fossil fuels contain large amounts of energy. Power plants turn fuel into electricity: it's that even small amounts But the splendid science behind this amazing trick has less to do with the power plant You could make with about 1000 large wind turbines
Gigawatts, 2,000 megawatts, or 2,000,000,000 watts) to supply aĬouple of hundred thousand homes, and that's the same amount of power What does the future hold for power plants?Ī single large power plant can generate enough electricity (about 2.Step-by-step: How does a power plant work?.Note the cooling towers on the right and the pylons and power lines carrying the electricity away on the left. Only the gas-fired plant is still active. It was originally two separate plants, an older one fired by coal and oil, and a newer one powered by natural gas. Photo: A typical fossil-fuel power plant at Didcot, England. Modern life would be impossible without them. Hospitals, homes, and offices light, warm, and buzzing with life Until then, power plants are vital for keeping our schools, One day, we might beĪble to make all our electricity in a completely clean and green way. Pumping pollution into our air, land, and water. In an age whenĬaring for the environment is (quite rightly) more important thanĮver, it's fashionable to sneer at power plants as evil, dirty places Think about generating electricity at the start of the 21st century. Yet amazement is often the last thing we feel when we One too, since the very first practical power station was built in
This energy-alchemy is a pretty amazing trick-and quite a recent "fossil fuels" (coal, natural gas, and oil) into electric power. Gratitude to these gigantic energy factories, which turn We do every day and much of the stuff we use owes a hidden debt of It weren't for power plants, I wouldn't be writing these words Power stations) pull off a similar trick, converting lumps of coal and drops of oil into zaps ofĮlectric current that can cook your dinner or charge your phone. Not so long ago, alchemists dreamed of turning cheap and ugly