Types of power plant and Their working principles

Introduction

A power plant is an industrial facility that generates electricity

from primary energy. Most power plants use one or more
generators that convert mechanical energy into electrical
energy in order to supply power to the electrical grid for
society's electrical needs. The exception is solar power plants,
which use photovoltaic cells (instead of a turbine) to generate
this electricity.
The are different power plants for energy generation.
From them the most popular are;-
1 Hydroelectric power plant
2 Geothermal power plant
3 Solar power plant
4 Wind farm
5 Nuclear power plant
 1 Hydroelectric power plant
Hydropower plant capture the energy of falling water to
generate electricity. A turbine convert the kinetic energy of
falling water into mechanical energy. Then a generator converts
the mechanical energy from the turbine into electrical energy.

The above image shows the typical layout of a Hydroelectric

power plant and its basic components.

Dam and Reservoir: The dam is constructed on a large river

in hilly areas to ensure sufficient water storage at height. The
dam forms a large reservoir determining how much of
potential energy is stored in it.
Water intakes: they let in the impounded water towards the
turbines through a penstock. Water intakes have gates to
control the amount of water that reaches the turbines and
grids to filter out any debris such as trunks, branches, etc.

Control Gate: Water from the reservoir is allowed to flow

through the penstock to the turbine. The amount of water
which is to be released in the penstock can be controlled by a
control gate. When the control gate is fully opened, maximum
amount of water is released through the penstock.

Penstock: A penstock is a huge steel pipe which carries water

from the reservoir to the turbine. Potential energy of the water
is converted into kinetic energy as it flows down through the
penstock due to gravity.

Water Turbine: Water from the penstock is taken into the

water turbine. The turbine is mechanically coupled to an
electric generator. Kinetic energy of the water drives the
turbine and consequently the generator gets driven. There are
two main types of water turbine; (i) Impulse turbine and (ii)
Reaction turbine. Impulse turbines are used for large heads and
reaction turbines are used for low and medium heads

Generator: A generator is mounted in the power house and it

is mechanically coupled to the turbine shaft. When the turbine
blades are rotated, it drives the generator and electricity is
generated which is then stepped up with the help of a
transformer for the transmission purpose.

Transformer :The electricity generated inside the generator is

not of sufficient voltage. The transformer converts the
alternating current produced from within the generator to the
high voltage current

2 Geothermal power plant

Geothermal power plant uses hydrothermal energy of the earth
for heating as well as electricity production. Hydrothermal
energy resource is an energy source which has both water and
heat, the heat beneath the earth (magma) is used to heat the
water present inside the earth. The hydrothermal resources are
bring to the surface of the earth by dry wells and hot water
wells. The temperature that is required for the working of GTPP
is 149 to 371 C (300 to 700 F). The hot water first brought to
the surface and then it is converted into steam; the steam is
then strikes on the turbine blades and rotates it. The generator
is coupled with the turbine shaft, so it also rotates with the
turbine and produces electricity.
Working of Geothermal Power Plant
The hot magma present inside the earth heats the water
present in the earth. The temperature of the water increases
up to 182 degree Celsius and even more.
The hot high pressure water, due to its own pressure moves
upward in the hot water well. As the water reaches to the
surface of the earth, its temperature increases, and some of the
hot water changes to steam.
This hot water is collected in the steam separator. The steam
separator is a container of low pressure where most of the hot
water gets converted into steam and rest will be separate out
as water.
The steam produced in the steam separator is allowed to strike
on the blades of the turbine. As this high pressures steam
strikes the blades of the turbine, it starts rotating. The
generator coupled with the turbine also rotates and electricity
is produced.
The exhaust steam from the turbine which has low pressure
sent to the low pressure turbine where it is further used to
produce electricity.
The exhaust steam is than enters into the condenser where it
gets converted into water.
Finally, the water from the steam separator and condenser is
collected together and sent back to the ground through the
injection well to reuse it again for power generation

3 Solar power plant

A solar power plant is any type of facility that converts sunlight
either directly, like photovoltaics , or indirectly, like solar
thermal plants, into electricity.
Working of Solar Power Plant
As sunlight falls over a solar cells, a large number of photons
strike the p-type region of silicon. Electron and hole pair will get
separated after absorbing the energy of photon. The electron
travels from p-type region to n-type region due to the action of
electric field at p-n junction. Further the diode is reversed
biased to increase this electric
field. So this current starts
flowing in the circuit for
individual solar cell. We
combine the current of all the
solar cells of a solar panel, to
get a significant output.
Solar power plant have a large number of solar panels
connected to each other to get a large voltage output. The
electrical energy coming from the combined effort of solar
panels is stored in the Lithium ion batteries to be supplied at
night time, when there is no sunlight

4 Wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or
wind power plant ,is a group of wind turbines in the same
location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size
from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind
turbines covering an extensive area. When the wind strikes the
rotor blades, blades start rotating. The turbine rotor is
connected to a high-speed gearbox. Gearbox transforms the
rotor rotation from low speed to high speed. The high-speed
shaft from the gearbox is coupled with the rotor of the
generator and hence the electrical generator runs at a higher
speed. An exciter is needed to give the required excitation to
the magnetic coil of the generator field system so that it can
generate the required electricity.
The generated voltage at
output terminals of the
alternator is proportional to
both the speed and field flux
of the alternator. The speed is governed by wind power which
is out of control. Hence to maintain uniformity of the output
power from the alternator, excitation must be controlled
according to the availability of natural wind power. The exciter
current is controlled by a turbine controller which senses the
wind speed. Then output voltage of electrical
generator(alternator) is given to a rectifier where the alternator
output gets rectified to DC. Then this rectified DC output is
given to line converter unit to convert it into stabilized AC
output which is ultimately fed to either electrical transmission
network or transmission grid with the help of step up
transformer. An extra units is used to give the power to internal
auxiliaries of wind turbine (like motor, battery etc.), this is
called Internal Supply Unit.

5 coal power plant

Coal-fired plants produce electricity by burning coal in a boiler
to produce steam. The steam produced, under tremendous
pressure, flows into a turbine, which spins a generator to create
electricity. The steam is then cooled, condensed back into
water and returned to the boiler to start the process over.
Working principles
The work of the coal power plant begins with the arrival of coal
from the coal mines via trains. This coal is then transported to
the power plant to be converted into a powder form. The main
reason behind converting it into powders is to increase the
efficiency of burning by increasing its contact area exposed to
fire in the burner as compared to solid coal.

This coal dust is fed through a blower in the boiler; The thermal
energy released from this fuel is used to boil water up to 1000
degrees Fahrenheit, thus converting it into high-pressure steam
that is transferred to turbines. This energy is used to generate
electricity through a generator.

Due to such high RPM, the voltage output of the generator is

approximately 24000 volts, which can be transferred to about
40,000 volts via transmission cables. The steam is expanded
one by one in 3 consecutive turbines to take full advantage of
the pressure energy.
Main Components of Coal Power Plant:

1. Conveyor Belt
Coals from the coal storage area are transported to the plant
through a large conveyor belt. The load-carrying capacity of this
belt is very high because very large quantities of coal are

required every day.

2. Pulverizing Plant
The coal transported by conveyor cannot be used in the same
way as previously converted to powder, also known as inflated
coal. It is designed to rotate in a cylindrical tank at high speed
with several spherical steel balls and is thus converted into
powder. The pulverizing plant also has un-pulse enhanced coal
storage and can store up to 30 hours of coal reserves.
3. Boiler
The inflated coal is fed into the boiler through large fans
flowing hot air. The boiler consists of several water-filled taps,
and these tubes boil water up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and
the flames in the boiler go up to 50 meters.
4. Turbine
High-pressure steam at a thousand degrees Fahrenheit from
the boiler and 3500 pounds per square inch of pressure is then
fed to the steam turbine, which converts its pressurized energy
into mechanical energy.
5. Generator
A generator uses the mechanical energy generated by the
turbines to generate electricity at significantly higher voltages.
6. Condenser
The steam leaving the turbines is condensed into a condenser,
which is pumped back into the boiler. Coldwater from a water
source (river) or expansion process is used to cool steam into
water