Coal Power Plant:

1. Heat is created
Before the coal is burned, it is pulverized to the fineness of talcum powder. It is then mixed with
hot air and blown into the firebox of the boiler. Burning in suspension, the coal/air mixture
provides the most complete combustion and maximum heat possible.
2. Water turns to steam
Highly purified water, pumped through pipes inside the boiler, is turned into steam by the heat.
The steam reaches temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and pressures up to 3,500
pounds per square inch, and is piped to the turbine.
3. Steam turns the turbine
The enormous pressure of the steam pushing against a series of giant turbine blades turns the
turbine shaft. The turbine shaft is connected to the shaft of the generator, where magnets spin
within wire coils to produce electricity.
4. Steam turns back into water
After doing its work in the turbine, the steam is drawn into a condenser, a large chamber in the
basement of the power plant. In this important step, millions of gallons of cool water from a
nearby source (such as a river or lake) are pumped through a network of tubes running through
the condenser. The cool water in the tubes converts the steam back into water that can be used
over and over again in the plant.
The cooling water is returned to its source without any contamination, and the steam water is
returned to the boiler to repeat the cycle.

Hydroelectric Project:
1. The Penstock - WATER FROM A river or reservoir flows into the powerhouse. Commonly a
penstock, a large pipe that can be above or below ground, is used to direct the water flow.
2. Turbine Blades - TURBINE BLADES are pushed by flowing water from the penstock,
causing them to rotate.
THE SHAPE AND ANGLE of the turbine blades transfers the energy of falling water to rotate
the shaft.
3. Turbine Shaft - THE SHAFT connects the turbine to the generator, turning at the same speed
as the turbine.
4. Generator (Rotor) - INSIDE THE GENERATOR the spinning shaft turns magnets inside a
stationary ring of copper, moving electrons to produce electricity.
5. Step Up Transformer - STEP-UP TRANSFORMERS increase the voltage of electricity
produced by the generator.
6. Transmission Lines - TRANSMISSON LINES carry high voltage electricity to substations in
our communities.
7. Substations - AT SUBSTATIONS the voltage is decreased and the power is distributed to
homes and businesses.
8. Homes & Businesses - SUBSTATIONS Before reaching our home or business from
substations, voltage is again decreased at transformers. As shown in the picture, transformers are
often seen at the top of power poles.

Nuclear Power Plant:
Does water in the reactor mix with water in the boiler?
-> No, the water in the reactor never mixes with the water in the boiler.
Does water in this reactor mix with water in the boilet?
-> No the water in the reactor and boiler doesnt mix.

Wind Power Generator:

- Wind turbines are used to generate electricity from the kinetic power of the wind.
- There are two main kinds of wind generators, those with a vertical axis, and those with a
horizontal axis.
- Wind turbines can be used to generate large amounts of electricity in wind farms both onshore
and offshore. The articles on this page are about wind turbines.

Geothermal Power Plant:
- Geothermal power plants use the natural heat of the earth to generate electricity for homes and
businesses. Geothermal power is a renewable source of energy and does not rely on coal or other
fossil fuels to create electricity.
- Crystallizer-reactor clarifier technology: A process for removing silica from geothermal
resources while creating steam used to generate electricity, then returning the heat-depleted
geothermal fluids back into the reservoir for reuse.
- Flash Steam Power Plant: A geothermal power plant that converts or flashes hot water from
a geothermal reservoir below the surface into steam, which is used to generate electricity. This is
the most common type of geothermal power plant.
- Fossil Fuels: Fuels formed millions of years ago from decayed plants and animals. Oil, coal and
natural gas are fossil fuels.
- Generator: A machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
- Geothermal Energy: Heat generated by natural processes within the earth. Primary energy
resources are hot, dry rock; magma (molten rock); and hydrothermal (water/steam from geysers
and fissures).
- Low Pressure Crystallizer: A device that removes silica from geothermal fluids and develops
low-pressure steam.
- Low Pressure Steam: Steam (pure water vapor) that is at 250 degrees Fahrenheit and one
atmosphere of pressure.
- Magma: Molten rock within the earth that can be used as a heat source for geothermal energy.
- Mechanical Energy: Energy created through the use of machines or equipment.
- Production Well: A well that is being used to deliver geothermal resources to a geothermal
power plant.
- Standard Pressure Crystallizer: A device that removes silica from geothermal fluids and
develops standard pressure steam.
- Standard Pressure Steam: Steam (pure water vapor) that is at 340 degrees Fahrenheit and eight
atmospheres of pressure.
- Step-up Transformer: A device used to increase the voltage in an electrical current.
- Superheated Fluid: A fluid, like water, that is heated above its boiling point without turning into
steam.
- Sustainable: The ability to keep in existence for a long period of time.
- Transformer: A device used to change the voltage and current in electricity.
- Turbine: A device for converting the flow of a fluid (air, steam, water or hot gases) into
rotational motion.
- Voltage: The amount of electrical force, measured in volts, which exists between two points.

Similarities: Use turbines for electricity and the turbine spin to make generators work.
Differences:
Coal: Non-renewable, uses stream, pollution, need to be mined for sources.
Hydroelectric: Renewable, uses water, little or no pollution
Nuclear: Renewable, uses stream, pollution, expensive
Wind: Renewable, uses wind, no pollution
Geothermal: Renewable, uses heat/stream, little or no pollution