Types of Power Plants

Primary Energy Resources for Electricity Generation
The primary forms of energy are those which are available in nature.

Primary Energy Resources:

1. Petroleum Fuels: Oil, gas
2. Various types of coal
3. Combustion Fuels: Wood saw dust, biological material like rice hawk, wheat hawk, dried plants(bio-gas)
4. Solar Energy (from sun)
5. Wind energy (from flowing air)
6. Geothermal energy
7. Ocean thermal energy
8. Ocean wave energy
9. Hydro energy in flowing water
10. Chemical energy in liquids and gases
11. Nuclear Fuels like uranium (U₂₃₅), Plutonium (Pu₂₃₈) for nuclear fission
12. Nuclear fusion fuels under development etc.

Power Plants and Basic Energy Conversion Processes:

A) Conventional Power Plants
1.Steam Thermal Power Plant(STPP)
Coal→ Heat→ Steam→ Mechanical→ Electrical
Usually operated as Large (1000MW) central power plant and Base load.

2.Nuclear Steam Power Plant(NSPP)
Nuclear→ Heat→ Steam→ Mechanical→ Electrical Fusion
Usually operated as Large (1000MW) ,base load and near load centers.

3.Hydro Power Plant(HEPP)
Gas→ Heat→ Mechanical→ Electrical
Operated as Large baseload stations (1000MW), Medium Intermediate stations (250MW), Small run-off the river stations (20MW) for local loads or peak loads.

4.Gas Power Plant
Gas→ Heat→ Mechanical→ Electrical
Operated as medium (100MW) central power plant and as base load.

5.Combined Cycle Power Plant(Combination of 4 & 1)
Steam→ Mechanical→ Electrical
Operated as Base load or Intermediate Load.

B) Alternative ( Non-Conventional Power Plants)
1.Solar Power Plant
Solar→ Steam→ Mechanical→ Electrical

2.Wind Power Plant
Wind→ Mechanical→ Electrical

3.Geothermal Power Plant
Geothermal Heat→ Mechanical→ Electrical

4.Ocean Thermal Power Plant
Ocean Heat→ Mechanical→ Electrical

5.Ocean Wave Power Plant
Wave energy→ Mechanical→ Electrical

6.Fuel- Cell Power Plant
Fuel oxygen Heat→ Mechanical→ Electrical

7.Nuclear Fusion Power Plant
Nuclear Fission→ Heat→ Mechanical→ Electrical