How do power plants work?

Answer 1

A diesel engine converts the energy contained in the diesel fuel into mechanical energy in the form of rotation of a shaft. The shaft turns a generator which is essentially a magnet contained within a coil of wire. The generator converts the rotational energy into a voltage across the coil - electrical energy.

Diesel plants are used primarily in two applications:

1. There is a need for an emergency source of backup electrical power, and the relatively low 'first cost' of diesel generation combined with its ability to start up rather rapidly (often in 10 sec or less) are attractive features.

Incidentally, there is a special case of this 'emergency' application - in the entertainment industry, it is common for diesel gensets to be used to power lights and sound for special events. For example, rock musicians often bring in special diesel power plants to support their performances rather than relying on the available commercial supplier.

Another special case is that for the past several cycles, NBC's broadcasts of the Olympics have been powered by diesel gensets. Olympics venues are often in remote areas where the existing power infrastructure is limited and it doesn't make economic sense to expand those facilities for games lasting only two-three weeks. Also, that has allowed NBC to design one set of broadcast equipment so that they don't have to deal with the fact that the frequency of indigenous power infrastructure varies from one host country to the next.

2. There is a need for a base-load source of modest size and low first cost. This is most often the case in areas where there is no commercial power supplier, and the amount of capacity that is needed is relatively small.

The downside of diesel plants include:

1. They are very noisy.

2. They are not very efficient - diesel engines produce a lot of waste heat. Practical economies exist only if there are no local sources of fuel, and the cost of transporting diesel fuel is favorable compared with the cost of bringing in the fuels required for alternative technologies.

3. Diesel fuel has to be transported to and stored on the site. Diesel power plants that have operated for a number of years in developing areas are typically horrible examples of environmental contamination.

4. The airborn effluent from diesel plants is noxious.

5. Diesel engines require a lot of maintenance.

Answer 2

Simply put, fuel produces heat to generate steam, this in turn moves an engine which turns a generator that produces electricity.

More in depth, the fuel can be, biosolids, waste fuel, oil, gas, coal, agricultural waste, trash, peat, lignite, nuclear fission, or geothermal energy among other things. The first nine are combustible fuels, meaning they are burned to produce heat. Nuclear fission heats a medium fluid (control medium) which can be water, sodium or other liquid medium that slows the fission process and absorbs heat. Geothermal uses fluid that is pumped deep underground to use the heat of the Earth. This heat is then used to generate steam in a boiler or steam generator, or in the nuclear or geothermal power plant, a heat exchanger. This steam is then piped to a steam engine or turbine (radial steam engine), which rotates a generator that produces electricity.

In a gas turbine, or diesel electric power plant, or reciprocating internal combustion engine, fuel is burned in an internal combustion engine which turns a generator directly.

In a hydro-electric power plant, dammed water falls into a water turbine (modern water-wheel) which turns a generator.

In a solar power plant sunlight is absorbed and converted to electricity.

In a wind power plant a wind turbine (large propeller driven generator) generates electricity.

In a wave/current power plant the natural action of tides move paddles that convert the wave action to a mechanical power source which then can turn a generator.

There are as many types of power plants as there are ideas for generating electricity, but the same basic principles of turning heat or motion into electricity is how most power plants work.

Answer 3

There are different sorts of plants; in many cases water is heated, and the steam gets out at high pressure, producing movement. In other cases, the movement may be caused by moving water for example. In any case, this movement is later converted to electricity through a generator, which uses interactions between electrical and magnetic fields to generate the electricity.

Answer 4

Hydroelectric from water turning a turbine, coal fired steam turbine, natural gas fired steam turbine, & wind powered turbine.