Power station

facility generating electric power

A power station (or power plant) is a place where electricity is produced. Most do this by a big spinning electrical generator. In big powers stations the spinning is usually driven by a steam turbine. The steam may come from:

Hydropower station in Bavaria
Power station in Taiwan

Some do not use steam engines to spin the generator. Rather they use:

A few power stations use the sun's rays to generate solar power without motion. There are many power stations around the world, because many things need electricity to work.

Stations may be operated as Load following power plant, peaking power plant, or base load power plant.

Energy sources

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Renewable energy resources

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Renewable heat energy
Renewable flow energy

Non-renewable energy resources

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These all use heat as a source of energy.

Solid-state electricity sources

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These sources have no moving parts. They are more expensive than generators, and are used where other questions are more important.

Other websites

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  Media related to Power plants at Wikimedia Commons