In a coal or oil-fired power station, the
burning fuel heats water in a boiler to
produce steam. The steam drives a
turbine that turns an electricity
generator
In a gas-fired power station, we burn
natural gas directly in a gas turbine
engine. This produces a powerful jet
of hot gases and air that drives the
turbine
We use nuclear fission
to obtain electricity
from a nuclear power
station
Nuclear fission works by
the following process:
- The fuel in a nuclear power station is
uranium
- The uranium fuel is contained in
sealed cans in the core of the reactor
- The nucleus of the uranium atom is
unstable and can split in two
- When this does happen, energy is
released
After nuclear fission has taken place, thermal energy of the
core is taken away by coolant that is pumped through the
core. The coolant is very hot when it leaves the core. It flows
through a pipe to a heat exchanger, then back to the reactor
core. The thermal energy of the coolant is used to turn water
into steam in the heat exchanger. The steam drives the
turbines which generates electricity
Energy from wind and water sources
A wind turbine is an electricity generator at the top of
a narrow tower. The force of the wind drives the
turbine’s blades around, turning a generator. The
power generated increases as the wind speed
increases
We can also use waves to generate
electricity, as well as hydroelectric power
and tidal power
With wave power, the waves cause a floating material attached to
a generator to move up and down, moving the turbine delivering
power to the grid system
Hydroelectricity is water kept in reservoirs which flows
downhill turning turbines at the foot of the hill, which
generate electricity
Tidal power involves barraging coastal water and releasing
it through turbines
Power from the sun and inside the earth
Solar radiation transfers energy from the Sun,
using solar cells, or by using the Sun’s radiation to
heat water directly using solar heating panels
Solar cells only generate <10% of the energy they absorb into
electricity, and are expensive and require the right weather to use
A solar heating panel heats water that flows through it
Geothermal energy comes from energy released by radioactive
substances deep within the Earth. The energy released by
these radioactive substances heats the surrounding rock, and
as a result, heat is transferred towards the Earth’s surface .