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.
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 Ferrybridge power stations were a series of three coal-fired power stations on the River Aire near Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire, England, in operation from 1927 to 2016 on a site next to the junction of the M62 and A1(M) motorways.
The Bell Bay Power Station was a power station located in Bell Bay, on the Tamar River, Tasmania, Australia, adjacent to the Tamar Valley Power Station, with which it was often confused. It was commissioned between 1971 and 1974 as an oil fired thermal power station, and was converted to natural gas in 2003, after the commissioning of the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, a submarine gas pipeline which transports natural gas from Longford, Victoria, under Bass Strait, to Bell Bay, Tasmania. As the power station's primary role was to provide system security in the event of drought for Tasmania's predominantly hydro-electric based generation system it only was rarely called on to operate, resulting in intervals of five to eight years between periods of significant use. After the commissioning of Basslink in 2006, the power station was decommissioned in 2009.
Poolbeg Generating Station, colloquially known as The Poolbeg Stacks, is a power station owned and operated by the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland (ESB). There are two stations on the site, the older thermal station containing units 1, 2, and 3 and the combined cycle gas station containing units CG14, CG15 and ST16, which is located toward the eastern end of the site. The six units have a total installed capacity of 1020 MW.
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 load-following power plant, regarded as producing mid-merit or mid-priced electricity, is a power plant that adjusts its power output as demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day. Load-following plants are typically in between base load and peaking power plants in efficiency, speed of start-up and shut-down, construction cost, cost of electricity and capacity factor.
Peterhead Power Station is a multi-unit station owned and operated by SSE plc, with a capacity of 2,177 MW. It is located near Boddam and the A90, just south of Peterhead, in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. It stands next to Sandford Lodge, a circa-1800-built structure. Initially operating as an oil-fired power station and later transitioning to fossil gas, the plant has also served as a site for experimental hydrogen generation capacity.
Zaporizhzhia thermal power station is a large thermal power plant (DRES) in the purpose-built city of Enerhodar in Ukraine. It is the most powerful thermal power station in Ukraine, with an installed capacity of 2,850 MWe. Its primary fuel is coal. It can also fire natural gas and fuel oil, and has tank storage for these reserve fuels adjacent to the coal bunkers.
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.
Keadby Power Stations are a pair of natural gas-fired power stations near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, built on the site of an older coal power station. The site lies near the B1392 and the River Trent, and the Scunthorpe-Grimsby railway. Also nearby is the Stainforth and Keadby Canal, which is part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. The current stations are operated by SSE Thermal.
The Tilbury power stations were two thermal power stations on the north bank of the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex. The 360 MW dual coal- and oil-fired Tilbury A Power Station operated from 1956 until 1981 when it was mothballed, prior to demolition in 1999. The 1,428 MW Tilbury B Power Station operated between 1968 and 2013 and was fueled by coal, as well as co-firing with oil and, from 2011, biomass. Tilbury B was demolished in 2016–19. Since 2013 three other power stations have been proposed or constructed in Tilbury.
Marchwood Power Station is an 898.1 MW gas-fired power station in Marchwood, near Southampton, England. It is situated beside estuary of the River Test where it meets Southampton Water, opposite the Port of Southampton. It is built on the site of an oil-fired power station, demolished in the 1990s. The station is operated by the Marchwood Power Limited Independent Team.
SSE Thermal is the thermal power generation subsidiary of British company SSE plc.
Tarbert Power Station is an oil fired power station situated on the Shannon Estuary in Tarbert, County Kerry, Ireland. Construction commenced in October 1966 and the first block was commissioned in 1969. The station comprises two 60 MW and two 250 MW oil fired steam turbines. It was the largest station of ESB during the 1980s. The plant was sold to Endesa in 2009, and subsequently to SSE in 2012. Until early 2022 it was scheduled for closure by the end of 2023. However, due to the 2021–2024 global energy crisis, Tarbert station will maintain operation for an indefinite amount of time, until enough low-carbon generating capacity will be available as a replacement.
Great Island Power Station is a gas fired and former heavy fuel oil fired power station situated near Waterford Harbour in Great Island, County Wexford, Ireland, that supplies electricity to more than 500,000 Irish homes. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Barrow and Suir, near Campile. The station opened in 1967 and was operated by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) with three heavy fuel oil units and a total power of 240 MW since 1972. The station was scheduled to close by 2010, until it was sold to Endesa in January 2009. In October 2012, the plant was acquired by SSE Thermal.
Rhode Power Station is a 104 MW gas/oil fired peaker plant situated beside the village of Rhode in County Offaly, Ireland. It replaced a 80 MW peat fueled power station operated by ESB that was decommissioned in 2003.
