GENERAL ELECTRIC

The Amazing Journey from the Power Plant to

Your Doorstep
You know how important electricity is to your daily life, but you may not quite know
how power is produced and delivered.
Discover how a power plant produces electricity and distributes it to you and your
community.
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How Fuel Is Transformed into Electricity

Fuel generates energy.

Electric power generation starts with a source of fuel that can be harnessed to

create energy.
Fuel types include fossil (coal, oil, natural gas), nuclear, and renewable (such as

solar power, wind power, falling water for hydro generation, and even garbage and
agricultural waste products). Renewables also reduce emissions during power
generation.
1.

Turbine and generator convert energy.

In a power plant, the turbine and generator convert mechanical energy
into electrical energy.

First the fuel produces steam, gas, or fluid that moves the blades of a
turbine, so it revolves fastmore than 3,000 times a minute.

The spinning turbine is connected to the rod in a generator that turns a

large magnet surrounded by coils of copper wire.

2.

Generator magnet causes electrons to move and creates electricity

The fast-revolving generator magnet causes electrons around the
copper coils to move

3.

The movement of these electrons through a wire is electricity

Transformer increases power voltage.
Thick wires carry the electric current from the generator to a transformer,
which increases the voltage of the electric current to 500,000 volts or more, before
electricity can be sent to the power grid

4.

High-voltage lines carry the current to substations on the power grid.

From the power plant, the electric current travels on high-voltage
transmission lines to an interconnected network of substations throughout your
nation, called the grid.

At each substation, transformers decrease the electric current voltage to

levels that can be used by factories, shopping malls, and other customers.
5.

Power lines distribute to local transformers.

Buried or mounted on poles, distribution lines from the grid carry

electricity from substations to smaller, local transformers.

Local transformers, mounted on poles or on concrete pads, further

reduce the electric voltage to 110220 volts, which can be used safely in businesses
and homes.
6.

Meters and controls for customer power.

Electricity typically enters your business or home through a meter that

measures the amount of electricity you use. There, a control panel distributes power
through wires in the walls and then to wall switches and outlets.
When you switch on or plug in equipment or an appliance, you complete

the circuit from the power plant, and electricity operates your appliances and lights.
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What is a Gas Turbine and How

Does It Work?
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What Is a Gas Turbine?

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The gas turbine is the engine at the heart of the power plant that produces electric
current.
A gas turbine is a combustion engine that can convert natural gas or other liquid fuels
to mechanical energy. This energy then drives a generator that
produces electrical energy. It is electrical energy that moves along power lines to
homes and businesses.
Fast Fact: The GE 7F.05 gas turbine generates 225 MW, equivalent to 644,000
horsepower, or the power of 644 Formula One cars.

How the Gas Generator Produces Electricity

To generate electricity, the gas turbine heats a mixture of air and fuel at very high
temperatures, causing the turbine blades to spin. The spinning turbine drives a
generator that converts the energy into electricity.

The gas turbine can be used in combination with a steam turbinein a combined-cycle
power plantto create power extremely efficiently.
1.

Air-fuel mixture ignites.

The gas turbine compresses air and mixes it with fuel that is then burned

at extremely high temperatures, creating a hot gas.

2.

Hot gas spins turbine blades.

The hot air-and-fuel mixture moves through blades in the turbine,

causing them to spin quickly.

3.

Spinning blades turn the drive shaft.

The fast-spinning turbine blades rotate the turbine drive shaft.

4.

Turbine rotation powers the generator.

The spinning turbine is connected to the rod in a generator that turns a

large magnet surrounded by coils of copper wire.

5.

Generator magnet causes electrons to move and creates electricity.

The fast-revolving generator magnet creates a powerful magnetic field
that lines up the electrons around the copper coils and causes them to move.

The movement of these electrons through a wire is electricity.

Gas Turbine Overview

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Combined-Cycle Power Plant - How

It Works
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Inner Workings of a Combined-Cycle Power

Plant
A combined-cycle power plant uses both a gas and a steam turbine together to
produce up to 50 percent more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simplecycle plant. The waste heat from the gas turbine is routed to the nearby steam turbine,
which generates extra power.
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GE Combined Cycle technology can reduce startup emissions of NOx and CO by 90 percent and
provide a CO2 reduction of 19,000 tons per year. That's equivalent to taking 3,800 cars off the road.

How a Combined-Cycle Power Plant Produces

Electricity
This is how a combined-cycle plant works to produce electricity and captures waste
heat from the gas turbine to increase efficiency and electrical output.
1.

Gas turbine burns fuel.

The gas turbine compresses air and mixes it with fuel that is heated to a
very high temperature. The hot air-fuel mixture moves through the gas turbine
blades, making them spin.

The fast-spinning turbine drives a generator that converts a portion of

the spinning energy into electricity.

2.

Heat recovery system captures exhaust.

A Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) captures exhaust heat from

the gas turbine that would otherwise escape through the exhaust stack.
The HRSG creates steam from the gas turbine exhaust heat and

delivers it to the steam turbine.

3.

Steam turbine delivers additional electricity.

The steam turbine sends its energy to the generator drive shaft, where it
is converted into additional electricity.

Combined Cycle Power Plant

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