1. ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
Daniel Fernandez & Miguel Haro 3ºA 2011-12

2. INDEX
CONVENTIONAL ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
● Nuclear power plants
● Fossil fuels thermal power plants
● Hydroelectric power plants
NON-CONVENTIONAL ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
● Wind power plants & wind farms
● Solar power plants
● Geothermal power plants
● Biomass thermal power plants
● Ocean power palnts
● Fresh water produced by wind turbine

3. CONVENTIONAL ELECTRIC POWER
PLANTS

4. NUCLEAR ENERGY
Nuclear energy is carry out thanks to the spliting of
uranium atoms. In the fussion proces a lot of heat is
relased, this heat is transformed in vapour steam wich moves
a turbine, this movement produces electricity.

5. NUCLEAR ENERGY- POWER PLANTS PARTS

6. NUCLEAR ENERGY- POWER
PLANTS PARTS
 Containment building: It contains the nuclear reactor, where
nuclear fission takes place. It is a very safety building beacause
it is made of concrete.
 Transformer: It is not in the nuclear power plant, but it is an
important part.
 Cooling tower: In this part of the plant the steam is cooled
falling to the bottom of the tower in liquid form.

7. NUCLEAR ENERGY-ADVANTAGES
● They do not release contamining gases into the
atmosphere, this means they do not contribute to the
greenhouse effect.
● They are very powerful plants; uranium release a lot of
heat, consequently turbines move faster and more
electricity is produced.

8. NUCLEAR ENERGY-DISADVANTAGES
● When a nuclear accident is produced results are
catastrophics. Examples: Fukushima, Japan and
Chernobil, Russia.
● They are very expensive plants to build.
● Uranium radioactivity released remains thousands of
years.

9. THERMAL ENERGY

10. THERMAL ENERGY
Thermal power is carried out by heating fossil fuels in a
boiler, where a water tank is. The heat produced turn
the water into gas state, this gas moves a turbine
connected to a generator. The kinetic energy of the
turbine is transformed into energy by the generator

11. THERMAL ENERGY- POWER PLANTS PARTS
● Boiler: it is a concrete building where the water
container is located and where the fossil fuels are
burned and transform the water into steam.
● Transformer: It is not in the nuclear power plant, but
it is an important part.
● Cooling tower: In this part of the plant the steam is
cooled falling to the bottom of the tower in liquid

12. THERMAL POWER PLANTS-ADVANTAGES
● The fuel used is quite cheap.
● It can be installed at any place refering to the
existence of coal. The coal can be transported where
the plant is by rail or road.
● It requires less space compared to other types of
power plants

13. THERMAL POWER PLANTS-DISADVANTAGES
● It pollutes the atmosphere due to production of large amount
of smoke and fumes.
● If an accident in this plant occurs the consequenses will be
catastrophics due to great fires.

14. HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY
This type of energy uses the huge power produced by
the water stored in dams and reservoirs, converting the
movement of turbines, moved by the water, into
electricity.

15. HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY-ADVANTAGES
● Inexhaustible fuel source.
● Minimal environmental impact.
● Viable source, high energy levels.
● Completely clean type of energy.

16. HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY-DISADVANTAGES
● Smaller models depend on availability of fast flowing
streams or rivers.
● The construction of these plants can impact in the
mobility of the biodiversity of the ecosystem (fishes,
aquatic invertebrates...).

17. NON-CONVENTIONAL ELECTRIC
POWER PLANTS

18. WIND ENERGY

19. WIND ENERGY
This type of energy uses the kinetic energy produced by
the wind to make the blades of a rotor move, which are
located at the top of a tower, the wind turbine. This
turbine transforms the movement of the turbine into
electricity.

20. WIND ENERGY-ADVANTAGES
Once the wind turbine is built the energy it produces
does not cause greenhouse gases or other pollutants.
 Although wind turbines can be very tall each takes up
only a small plot of land.
 Wind turbines can be established in both developed
and developing countries.

21. WIND ENERGY-DISADVANTAGES
Wind farms are a clean form of generating electricity,
but they can only be installed in places with appropriate
wind conditions.
The strength of the wind is not constant.
When wind turbines are manufactured some pollution is
produced.

22. SOLAR ENERGY

23. SOLAR ENERGY
Solar power is energy from the sun and without its
presence all life on earth would end. Solar energy has
been an important source of energy for many years
because of the vast amounts of energy that are made
freely available.

24. SOLAR ENERGY-POWER PLANTS

25. SOLAR ENERGY-POWER PLANTS
There are two main types of solar power plants:
Photo-thermal power plant: in this type of power plant, the
heat generated by solar radiation produces steam that is
used to move the rotor in the generator.
Photovoltaic power plant: in these power plants, solar
radiation is transformed directly into electricity by panels of
photovoltaic cells.

26. SOLAR ENERGY-ADVANTAGES
Solar energy is free although there is a cost in the
building of ‘collectors’ and other equipment.
Solar energy does not cause pollution.
It is estimated that the world´s oil reserves will last for 30
to 40 years. On the other hand, solar energy is infinite.

27. SOLAR ENERGY-DISADVANTAGES
Solar energy can only be used when it is daytime and
sunny.
 Large areas of land are required to capture the sun
energy.
Solar collectors, panels and cells are relatively expensive
to manufacture.

28. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

29. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Geothermal energy is energy derived from the heat of the
earth. The earth’s centre is a distance of approximately
4500 kilometres and is so hot that it is molten.
Temperatures are around 5000 degrees centigrade.
Geothermal energy may be used for hot water and heating
or for the heat which generates steam, which produces
electricity.

30. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-ADVANTAGES
 Geothermal energy generally involves low costs because it saves
80% costs over fossil fuels and no fuel is used to generate the
power.
 Geothermal energy has helped in reducing global warming and
pollution.
 On the other hand geothermal energy has created many jobs
for the local people.

31. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-DISADVANTAGES
 This type of energy is not very used becuase of the
unavailability of equipment, staff, infrastructure...
 To get geothermal energy, it requires installation of power
plants, to get steam from deep of the earth and this requires huge
investments.
 Geothermal sites can run out of steam over a period of time due
to drop in temperature.

32. BIOMASS ENERGY
uses.

33. BIOMASS ENERGY
Biomass consists of all organic compounds that are produced through
natural processes which come from forestry and agricultural waste and
waste from agri-food industries. It is subjected to different physical and
chemical processes in order to produce fuel such as charcoal, alcohol
and biogas.
This type of fuel is burnt at biomass power plants. The steam that is
generated moves the turbine.
The waste used in these types of plants has no other potential.

34. BIOMASS ENERGY-ADVANTAGES
 Theoretically, it is an inexhaustible fuel source.
 Alcohols and other fuels produced by biomass are
efficient, viable, and relatively clean-burning.
 Available throughout the world.

35. BIOMASS ENERGY-DISADVANTAGES
 It contributes to the global warming and particulate
pollution because of burning fuels.
 It is an expensive type of energy, in terms of producing
the biomass and converting it to alcohols.
In the process some energy is lost.

36. OCEAN ENERGY

37. OCEAN ENERGY
This type of energy uses the energy from the seas and the oceans. It
uses three types of energy from the sea:
 The mechanical energy from the tides.
 The mechanical energy from the waves.
 The energy from the ocean´s thermal gradient.
This type of energy is still in the experimental phase and their level of
production is still very low, however in recent years is being a world
leader in innovative renewable energy.

38. OCEAN ENERGY-ADVANTAGES
 Apart from the initial installation cost, tidal power is
free.
 Tidal energy doesn´t produce greenhouse gases or any
other kind of pollution.
 It doesn´t require any types of fuels.
Electricity is produced easily.

39. OCEAN ENERGY-DISADVANTAGES
 The environment is changed for many kilometres
upstream and downstream.
 Tides provide power for only 10 hours each day, when
the tide is actually moving in or out.
 There are only a few suitable sites for tidal barrages.

40. Fresh water produced by wind turbine-
summary
A company called Eole Water have created a new revolutionary type of wind
turbine, the WMS1000.
It is an appliance that can produce drinking water from humid air. You will
think, and how can a wind turbine produce fresh water from the air? It ´s quite
easy. There are only some steps to follow: First, you have to introduce into
the turbine air by a device known as an "air blower". Then, all air picked
during this process is collected through an electric cooling compressor. This
apparatus extracts humidity from the air, creating moisture which is
condensed and collected, producing water.

41. Fresh water produced by wind turbine-our
opinion
From our point of view, it could be a fabulous form to create drink water because
it favors the climate and the environment. The most important fact is that, it will
permit poor, arid regions, where water is scarce, to obtain drink water easily and
in abundance. It can produce 1000 liters of water every day, which means that
can satisfy over 3000 thousands of people a day, so it will permit small villages to
have water for all the population. It isn´t very expensive when you compare it with
the solutions that it gives. Thanks to social organizations which help the economy
of poor regions, it won´t be difficult to install one of these turbines in some
countries.
We think that is the perfect solution to solve the problems that have poor
countries.