A Complete Review on Types of Power Station
The global demand for energy rose by 2.3 percent in the previous years, using different types of electricity production to fulfill the increasing quota of global resources. This review will give you insight into the types of power stations and all its details.
Natural gas accounted for 45% of the previous year’s growth in energy usage, with fossil fuels accounting for 70% in total as solar and wind generation increased 31%, according to an International Energy Agency survey. Global coal consumption increased by 0.7%, powered mainly by Asian countries like China and India, almost exclusively.
Read: A Complete Review of Hydroelectricity
Meanwhile, nuclear power met 9 percent of the world’s power demand and rose 3.3 percent a previous year as the global generation surpassed pre-Fukushima levels off the back of China and Japan’s new additions. Here we profile the various types of power plants needed to produce energy by each of the power sources.
For power demand growth across the world, we are looking more closely at the types of power plants used to produce the various sources of energy in the world. The following below denote the types of power stations in the world.
Read: All You Should Know About Electricity
List of power plants in the world today:
Nuclear Power Station
The nuclear power plants produce high quantities of energy using a nuclear fission reaction and uranium as fuel. The energy is considered environmentally friendly because nuclear power plants emit low greenhouse gas emissions. The power generation from nuclear power plants is also considered more reliable compared with renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind.
Although the investments needed to establish nuclear power plants are enormous, the costs involved in operating them are low. Nuclear sources are also denser than fossil fuels and release massive amounts of energy. Because of this, nuclear power plants require low fuel quantities but produce huge amounts of power, making them particularly efficient once they are up and running.
Read: A Complete Review On Electric Generator
Hydroelectric Power Plant
Hydroelectric also is known as Hydro-power stations or Hydroelectricity is created by harnessing flowing water’s gravitational power. Hydroelectric power plants emit fewer greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuel power plants. Building hydroelectric power plants and dams however need massive investment.
An additional 31.5 GW of hydropower capacity was placed into service in 2016, taking the total installed capacity worldwide to 1,246 GW, according to the 2017 Hydropower Status Report of the International Hydropower Association. China alone accounted for nearly one-third of global hydropower output, adding a new output of about 11.74 GW that year.
Read: A Review Of Water Turbine Generator Set
Coal-Fired Power Station
Coal-fired power plants currently account for 41 percent of global electricity, with almost half of that coming from China alone, according to the World Coal Association. Coal-fired power plants use steam coal as a fuel for electricity production and thus release large quantities of toxic emissions into the atmosphere.
Several developed nations have also announced plans to phase out coal-fired power plants in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Government of Canada announced plans to phase out its coal-fired power plants by 2030, in November 2016. In the same month, the UK Government outlined plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2025, following suit by a plethora of other European countries.
Diesel-Fired Power Plants
Power plants at diesel fire are a type of power plant that is used with diesel as fuel for small-scale electric power production. These are installed in areas where alternative power sources are not readily available and are primarily used as a replacement to the uninterrupted power supply if outages occur.
Diesel plants only need a limited construction area and deliver higher thermal efficiency compared to coal-fired power plants. The power plants have not gained popularity at the same pace as other forms of power generation plants such as steam and hydro because of the high maintenance costs and diesel prices.
Read: A Comprehensive Review of Diesel Generators
Geothermal Power Generating Stations
The three main types of geothermal plants include dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants, and binary cycle power plants, all using steam turbines to generate electricity. Read about the Gas Turbine
As of May 2015, according to a report by Geothermal Energy Association, 24 countries had a combined geothermal power capacity of 12.8GW. Geothermal power plants are considered environmentally friendly and in comparison with coal-fired power plants emit lower levels of the harmful gas.
Combined-Cycle Power Stations
Combined-cycle power plants generate higher amounts of electricity from a single source of fuel as compared to a traditional power plant using both gas and steam turbines. To increase power production, they capture heat from gas turbines and are also found to release low amounts of harmful gases into the atmosphere.
Solar Power Stations
Solar power plants utilize one of the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy sources to convert energy from the sun into thermal or electric energy. They do not generally require high maintenance and last around 20-25 years before developing any serious problem.
In 2014, the International Energy Agency ( IEA) projected that by 2050 solar photovoltaic and solar thermal would contribute approximately 16 and 11 percent, respectively, to global electricity consumption and solar would be the world’s largest electricity source.
Read: A Comprehensive Review On Solar Generators
However, the initial costs involved in setting up solar power plants are high, and a lot of space is needed to build solar power systems.
Solar Thermal Power Plants
Solar thermal is a network of giant mirrors arranged in such a way as to focus the rays of the sun on a very small area to produce significant amount of heat, thereby generating steam to drive a turbine that produces electricity.
Wind Power Station (Also Known as Wind Turbines)
In recent years, the number of wind farms worldwide has been growing rapidly, underpinned by technological advances. Given that wind is a natural source of energy, there are no limitations to harnessing its power.
Since the installation of wind turbines, operating costs involved in the construction of wind power plants are small and are usually considered cost effective. Wind farms can also be built on agricultural land, without the cultivation activities being interrupted.
Maintenance of wind turbines, however, may vary, as some need frequent inspections, and wind power projects typically require huge capital spending.
Tidal (Meadow) Power Stations
Tidal energy is generated by converting energy from the tides of force into power, and its production is considered more predictable compared with wind and solar energy. Given this, even as the world’s first large-scale tidal power plant became operational in 1966, tidal power is still not being used widely.
Nonetheless, it is expected that increased emphasis on generating power from renewable sources would accelerate the creation of new ways of exploiting the tidal energy. While the tidal power technology is at its nascent stage, it is estimated to have enormous potential worldwide.
Conclusively, we have ended all power plant types. Some of this power plant in some countries may be healthy, and may also have negative impacts on others. Our advice is to make sure you get to know the negative and positive impact to the environment before installing a power plant anywhere before performing such a process. You are also welcome to bring any questions about this issue to us.
