What is Power station?
[[File:Walchenseekraftwerk-maschinenraum.jpg|thumb|Hydropower station in [[Bavaria]]]] [[File:Taichung Thermal Power Plant.JPG|thumb|Power station in [[Taiwan]]]] A '''power station''' (or '''power plant''') is a place where [[electricity]] is produced. Most do this by a big spinning [[electrical generator]]. In big powers stations the spinning is usually driven by a [[steam turbine]]. The steam may come from: * Burning [[fossil fuel]]s * [[Nuclear power]], using [[radioactivity|radioactive]] sources * Using the earth's heat, called geothermal energy * Using the sun's heat Some do not use steam engines to spin the generator. Rather they use: * [[Hydropower]], which uses the power of moving water to drive turbines * Using the wind to drive [[wind turbine]]s * [[Internal combustion engine]] power A few power stations use the sun's rays to generate solar power without motion. There are many power stations around the world, because many things need electricity to work. Stations may be operated as [[Load following power plant]], [[peaking power plant]], or [[base load power plant]]. == Energy sources == === Renewable energy resources === ;'''Renewable heat energy''' * [[Solar energy|Solar thermal power]] * [[Geothermal energy]] ;'''Renewable flow energy''' * [[Hydroelectricity|Hydro-electric power]] * [[Wind power]] * [[Wave power]] * [[Tidal energy|Tidal power]] === Non-renewable energy resources === These all use heat as a source of energy. * [[Coal]] * [[Oil]] * [[Natural gas]] * [[Nuclear power]] === Solid-state electricity sources === These sources have no moving parts. They are more expensive than generators, and are used where other questions are more important. * [[Solar cell]] * [[Battery]] * [[Thermocouple]] ==Other websites== {{commons category-inline|Power plants}} [[Category:Power plants| ]] [[Category:Electricity]]