Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery to end users or its storage, using for example, the pumped-storage method.
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, which is a kind of gas-fired power plant. The same principle is also used for marine propulsion, where it is called a combined gas and steam (COGAS) plant. Combining two or more thermodynamic cycles improves overall efficiency, which reduces fuel costs.
A fossil fuel power station is a thermal power station which burns a fossil fuel, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power stations have machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy, which then operates an electrical generator. The prime mover may be a steam turbine, a gas turbine or, in small plants, a reciprocating gas engine. All plants use the energy extracted from the expansion of a hot gas, either steam or combustion gases. Although different energy conversion methods exist, all thermal power station conversion methods have their efficiency limited by the Carnot efficiency and therefore produce waste heat.
Peaking power plants, also known as peaker plants, and occasionally just "peakers", are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity. Because they supply power only occasionally, the power supplied commands a much higher price per kilowatt hour than base load power. Peak load power plants are dispatched in combination with base load power plants, which supply a dependable and consistent amount of electricity, to meet the minimum demand.
A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources is converted to electrical energy. The heat from the source is converted into mechanical energy using a thermodynamic power cycle. The most common cycle involves a working fluid heated and boiled under high pressure in a pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam. This high pressure-steam is then directed to a turbine, where it rotates the turbine's blades. The rotating turbine is mechanically connected to an electric generator which converts rotary motion into electricity. Fuels such as natural gas or oil can also be burnt directly in gas turbines, skipping the steam generation step. These plants can be of the open cycle or the more efficient combined cycle type.
The Huntly Power Station is the largest thermal power station in New Zealand and is located in the town of Huntly in the Waikato. It is operated by Genesis Energy Limited, a publicly listed company. The station has five operational generating units – three 250 MW coal-and-gas-fired steam turbine units, a 50 MW gas peaking plant, and a 403 MW combined cycle gas turbine plant. The station also plays an important role in voltage support for the Northland, Auckland and Waikato regions.
A gas-fired power plant, sometimes referred to as gas-fired power station, natural gas power plant, or methane gas power plant, is a thermal power station that burns natural gas to generate electricity. Gas-fired power plants generate almost a quarter of world electricity and are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, they can provide seasonal, dispatchable energy generation to compensate for variable renewable energy deficits, where hydropower or interconnectors are not available. In the early 2020s batteries became competitive with gas peaker plants.
Grain Power Station is a 1,275 megawatts (1,710,000 hp) operational CCGT power station in Kent, England, owned by Uniper. It was also the name of an oil-fired, now demolished, 1,320MW power station in operation from 1979 to 2012.
Edwardsport Power Station is a 618 MW Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) coal based power plant in Vigo Township, Knox County, near the town of Edwardsport, Indiana. The integrated gasification combined cycle power plant construction started in June 2008 by Duke Energy near the site of an older 160 MW coal-fired electrical power plant, which was decommissioned in 2010.
Rock River Generating Station was an electrical power station located north of Beloit, Wisconsin in the town of Beloit at 827 W. B. R. Townline Road on the west bank of the Rock River. The facility was owned and operated by Wisconsin Power and Light, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliant Energy.
Kilroot power station is a fossil fuel power plant on the north shore of Belfast Lough at Kilroot near Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The plant currently has a 141 megawatt (MW) capacity from four standby gas turbines and a 10 MW battery energy storage capacity from the Kilroot Advancion Energy Storage Array.
Belle River Power Plant is a major coal-and-natural gas-fired power plant owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It is located in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the peninsula formed by the St. Clair and Belle rivers. The plant was built across M-29 from the St. Clair Power Plant in East China, Michigan, and shares the coal delivery terminal with it. The Belle River plant also shares cooling water from the St. Clair River with its sister plant. Five oil-fueled internal combustion generators were built in 1981, with a total output 13.75 megawatts. Coal-fired unit 1 of the Belle River plant was completed in 1984, followed by a similar unit 2 in 1985. Each unit has a nameplate capacity of 697.5 MWe, however the coal-fired plant as a whole generates 1260 MWe all year around. In 1999, three peaker natural-gas fired turbines were added, with a total name-plate capacity of 256 MWe.
Carrington Power Station is a combined cycle gas turbine power station, which was completed in Autumn 2016 and began commercial operation on 18 September 2016. It is located on the site of a former coal-fired power station, close to the villages of Carrington and Partington in the Greater Manchester Area and 12 km (7.5 mi) southwest of Manchester City Centre. The Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey run alongside the site, in Trafford, Greater Manchester, in North West England.
The West Springfield Generating Station, also known by its corporate name EP Energy Massachusetts, LLC, was a fossil-fuel-fired power plant located in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The station was a "peaking" facility, meaning that it primarily operates during peak electrical demand. The facility consisted of two 49-megawatt (MW) combustion turbine generators fueled by natural gas or ultra low-sulphur diesel fuel, one 18 MW jet turbine that was fueled by kerosene, and one 107 MW simple-cycle steam boiler unit burning no. 6 fuel oil, ULSD or natural gas. The station also had a small auxiliary boiler for process and building heat and an emergency back-up generator.
The Sherburne County Generating Station, also known as Sherco, is a large coal-fired power plant on the banks of the Mississippi River in Becker, Minnesota, which is in Sherburne County. Its three units have a combined capacity of 2,238 megawatts, making it the largest power plant in the state. In comparison, the single-unit Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant located less than four miles away has an output of 671 MW. The state's other nuclear power plant, the 2-unit Prairie Island facility, is rated at 1,096 MW, so Sherco has a larger peak output than those plants put together. The station uses 20,000 to 30,000 tons of coal per day. The BNSF Railway delivers up to three 115-car trains per day from mines in the Powder River Basin.
The Harry Allen Generating Station is a 628-megawatt (842,000 hp) natural gas fired combined cycle power plant located in Clark County, Nevada about 30 miles north of Las Vegas. Electricity is generated by two GE Frame 7EA combustion turbines, two GE Frame 7FA+e combustion turbines, and a D11 steam turbine.
Yerevan Thermal Power Plant, is a thermal power plant located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Yerevan, Armenia. An older, obsolete plant was fueled by natural gas and fuel oil, while the new combined-cycle plant is powered by natural gas and has a capacity of 242 megawatts. It produces a quarter of the country's electricity and is responsible for seasonal electricity swaps with Iran. The director general of the power plant is Hovakim Hovhannisyan.
The E. F. Barrett Power Station is a power plant in Nassau County, New York, United States. The main plant is in Barnum Island, with outlying facilities in neighboring Island Park and Oceanside. It is operated by National Grid USA.
