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Power station facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Walchenseekraftwerk-maschinenraum
Hydropower station in Bavaria
Taichung Thermal Power Plant
Power station in Taiwan

A power station (or power plant) is a place where electricity is produced. Many power stations contain one or more generators, a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into three-phase electric power. The relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor creates an electric current.

In big power stations the spinning is usually driven by a steam turbine. The steam may come from:

Some do not use steam engines to spin the generator. Rather they use:

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
Renewable flow energy

Non-renewable energy resources

These all use heat as a source of energy.

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.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Central de generación eléctrica para niños

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