Electricity is a universal form of energy. Its advantages include the easy transmission over long distances and the convenience of use by consumers. In order to generate electricity, power plants are used, in which different types of energy are converted into electrical energy. It’s possible to divide all types of power plants can be divided into two unequal groups: traditional, which is the vast majority, and non-traditional. The latter is significantly inferior to the former in terms of power and prevalence, but they have the advantage of being harmless to the environment.
Traditional types of power plants are thermal (TPP), nuclear (NPP), and hydroelectric (HPP). Non-traditional power plants use solar radiation, wind power, tides, sea currents, geothermal heat, and other renewable energy sources to generate electricity. Their share in electricity generation in OECD countries is steadily increasing and will reach 20% in the near future. This new trend, along with energy saving, should make a substantial contribution to the improvement of the environment. 38 countries are OECD members, but it is possible for you to get acquainted with advanced technologies in the field of construction and operation of power plants in any language, if you order the translation of documentation from a translation agency https://translation.center/de that specializes in translations in industrial sectors, including electrical engineering.

Thermal power plants (TPP)
This type of power plant is the most widespread. In developed countries, thermal power plants produce 70-75% of electricity. Thermal power plants got their name due to the primary source − the thermal energy of fuel combustion:
• natural gas;
• coal;
• peat;
• diesel or gasoline fuel.
The generation of electricity at thermal power plants is carried out using gas turbines or steam turbines. In the latter, the heat of the burnt fuel heats up the water vapor, and its jets rotate the turbine, thereby generating an electric current. Waste steam heat can be used to heat water supplied to the heating and hot water supply networks. Such thermal power plants are called CHP − combined heat and power plants.
Unlike other types of thermal power plants − condensing power plants (CPPs), CHPs are built near settlements − closer to heat consumers. This creates some problems for the population, since CHP plants are among the main air pollutants. The location of the thermal power plant, taking into account the wind rose, the use of new technologies to reduce harmful emissions, and energy saving help to solve this problem.

Hydroelectric power plants (HPP)
Their share in the electric power industry of a single country varies from 5 to 35%. The primary source of energy in a hydroelectric power station is the energy of falling water. The pressure of water jets on the turbine blades forces it to rotate; the generator converts this rotation into electric current. The main advantages of hydroelectric power plants are the low cost of electricity, as well as the environmental friendliness of production.
However, this can only be confirmed with reservations. Firstly, the low cost of electricity is obtained only after the cost of building a hydroelectric power station has been repaid. When it comes to hydroelectric power plants on lowland rivers, the cost of building a dam and the damage from flooding the land are often so high that the payback period stretches for decades. Secondly, such gross interference in the environment does not pass without a trace for nature.
Therefore, it makes sense to build new hydroelectric power stations only on fast mountain rivers, and leave the blocking of lowland waterways by dams in the past, as a tribute to the Soviet habit of “giant-mania”. Now the focus is put on economic feasibility, not records. New economic trends are aimed at energy saving and environmental friendliness, and this has largely affected the approach to the construction of hydroelectric power stations. Research and technical documentation will help in studying the experience of advanced countries in this matter. You can order translation of documentation from English, German, and French at a professional translation agency https://translation.center/de-uebersetzungsbuero-hamburg.

Nuclear power plants (NPP)
This type of power plant generates about 10% of the world’s electricity. The primary source for the generation of electricity at nuclear power plants is the thermal energy of a nuclear reaction during the fission of uranium in a nuclear reactor. Attitude towards nuclear power plants over the past decades has changed from the glorification of the “peaceful atom” to a phobia at the state level, as a result of which many nuclear power plants in European countries were closed. This was the result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which caused a large-scale environmental disaster.
If the danger of emergency situations is excluded and the problem of storage of nuclear waste is solved, then nuclear power plants, unlike thermal ones, practically do not pollute the environment and at the same time significantly exceed the latter in terms of power and productivity. These advantages do not allow abandoning this type of power plants, a more rational way is to search for new technologies that can maximize the safety level of nuclear power plants and reduce the risks of accidents. Certain progress has already been achieved in this direction, which makes the prospects for the development of nuclear energy promising.

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Geothermal energy is energy derived from the natural heat of the earth. This heat can be achieved by means of wells. The geothermal gradient in a well increases by 1 0C every 36 meters. This heat is delivered to the surface in the form of steam or hot water. This heat can be used both directly to heat homes and buildings and to generate electricity. There are thermal regions in many parts of the world.

According to various calculations, the temperature at the center of the Earth is at least 6 650 0C. The Earth’s rate of cooling is about 300-350 0C per billion years. The Earth contains 42 x 1012 W of heat, of which 2% is in the crust and 98% in the mantle and core. Current technology cannot reach the heat that is too deep, but the 840,000,000,000,000 W (2%) of available geothermal energy can provide the needs of mankind for a long time. The areas around the edges of continental plates are the best places to build geothermal plants because the crust in such areas is much thinner.

The deeper the well, the higher the temperature, but in some places the geothermal temperature rises faster. Such places are usually in areas of high seismic activity, where tectonic plates collide or rupture. This is why the most promising geothermal resources are in areas of volcanic activity. The higher the geothermal gradient, the cheaper it is to produce heat, due to lower drilling and pumping costs. In the most favorable cases, the gradient can be so high that surface waters are heated to the desired temperature. Geysers and hot springs are examples of such cases.

Below the earth’s crust is a layer of hot and molten rock called magma. Heat arises there primarily from the decay of naturally occurring radioactive elements such as uranium and potassium. The energy potential of heat at a depth of 10,000 meters is 50,000 times more energy than all of the world’s oil and gas reserves.

Zones of the highest underground temperatures are in regions with active and young volcanoes. Such “hot spots” are at the boundaries of tectonic plates or in places where the crust is so thin that it lets magma heat through. There are many hotspots in the Pacific Rim, also called the “ring of fire” because of the large number of volcanoes.

There are two main ways to use geothermal energy: direct use of heat and electricity generation. Direct use of heat is the simplest and therefore the most common method. The practice of direct use of heat is widespread in high latitudes at the borders of tectonic plates, for example in Iceland and Japan. The water pipeline in such cases is mounted directly into deep wells. The resulting hot water is used to heat roads, dry clothes and heat greenhouses and residential buildings. The way of producing electricity from geothermal energy is very similar to the way of direct use. The only difference is the need for higher temperatures (over 150 0C).

In California, Nevada and some other places geothermal energy is used in large power plants, e.g. in California about 5% of the electricity is produced by geothermal energy and in El Salvador about 1/3 of the electricity is produced by geothermal energy. Idaho and Iceland use geothermal heat in a variety of applications, including home heating. Thousands of homes use geothermal heat pumps to provide clean and affordable heat.

Geothermal power plants are sources of geothermal energy.
Dry heated rock – In order to harness the energy in geothermal power plants contained in dry rock, water is pumped into the rock at high pressure. This expands existing fractures in the rock and creates an underground reservoir of steam or hot water.

Magma is a molten mass formed under the Earth’s crust. The temperature of magma reaches 1,200 0C. Although small amounts of magma are found at accessible depths, practical methods of generating energy from magma are still under development.

Hot, pressurized groundwater containing dissolved methane. Both heat and gas are used in power generation.

There are currently three hydrothermal power generation schemes: direct with dry steam, indirect with water steam, and a mixed production scheme (binary cycle). The type of conversion depends on the state of the medium (steam or water) and its temperature. Dry steam power plants were the first to be developed.

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A solar power plant is an engineering structure that is used to convert solar energy (radiation, radiation, light) into useful electrical energy. Modern ways of converting solar energy are very different and depend on the design of a particular solar power plant.

The main element of the solar power plant is a photovoltaic panel (PV – photovoltaic panel), which consists of a chain of photovoltaic cells – semiconductor devices that convert solar energy directly into electrical current. The process of converting solar energy into electric current is called the photovoltaic effect.

A semiconductor is a material that either has extra electrons in its atoms (n-type) or, conversely, lacks them (p-type). Accordingly, a semiconductor photocell consists of two layers with different conductivities. The n-layer is used as the cathode and the p-layer as the anode.

Excess electrons from the n-layer can leave their atoms, while the p-layer captures these electrons. It is the rays of light that “knock out” electrons from the atoms of the n-layer, after which they fly into the p-layer to occupy the empty spaces. In this way, the electrons run in a circle, leaving the p-layer, passing through the load (in this case the battery) and returning to the n-layer.

There are three possible uses for solar power plants:

SES for own use
grid-connected solar power plants
Combined solar power plants

SES for own use are designed to reduce the consumption of electricity from the grid and provide for the transformation of solar radiation into electrical energy, in order to use it only for the needs of a particular facility. These SPSs do not provide the possibility of selling (transferring) the generated electricity to other users or to the network of the local power company, as well as the accumulation of generated electricity with the help of batteries (Batteries).

Network solar plants are designed to reduce consumption of electric power from the grid or to generate electric power to the grid and then sell the excess of generated electric power to the local power company’s grid at the “green tariff”. A grid-connected solar power plant does not have the option of storing the generated electricity and is not equipped with a battery.

Combined solar plants are designed to reduce the consumption of electricity from the grid or to generate electricity to the grid and then sell the excess generated electricity to the local utility grid at the “green tariff” or accumulate generated electricity with the help of storage batteries (Batteries).

Converting solar energy into heat, work and electricity
The Sun is a giant luminary with a diameter of 1,392,000 km. Its mass (2*10 30 kg) is 333 thousand times the mass of the Earth and its volume is 1.3 million times the volume of the Earth. The chemical composition of the Sun is 81.76% hydrogen, 18.14% helium and 0.1% nitrogen. The average density of the Sun is 1400 kg/m3. Inside the sun there are thermonuclear reactions of the conversion of hydrogen into helium, and every second 4 billion kilograms of matter are converted into energy, which is emitted by the sun into space in the form of electromagnetic waves of different lengths.

People have been using solar energy since ancient times. As early as 212 A.D. concentrated sunlight was used to light a sacred fire near the temples. According to legend Around the same time, the Greek scientist Archimedes set fire to the sails of the Roman navy while defending his hometown.

Solar energy can be converted into thermal, mechanical and electrical energy, used in chemical and biological processes. Solar plants are used in heating and cooling systems in residential and public buildings, in technological processes at low, medium and high temperatures. They are used for hot water production, desalination of seawater or mineralized water, drying of materials and agricultural products, etc. Solar energy enables photosynthesis, plant growth and various photochemical processes.

Solar energy is converted into electrical energy at solar power plants (SPPs) with equipment designed to capture solar energy and its sequential conversion into heat and electricity. Efficient operation of solar power plants (SPPs) requires a heat accumulator and an automatic control system.

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Wind, unlike burning fuel, is a source of renewable, affordable and clean energy, the use of which does not result in the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Thus, wind energy creates far fewer environmental problems compared to traditional non-renewable energy sources.

The average annual power generated by a wind generator appears to be approximately constant. However, the power level in shorter time intervals can fluctuate greatly. To ensure a stable power supply, wind turbines must be used in combination with other energy sources. Increasing the share of energy generated by wind power plants requires the modernization of the power line network, and leads to a consistent displacement of traditional generating capacity.

Wind farms consist of many individual wind turbines interconnected into a single grid. Onshore wind farms are an inexpensive source of electricity, and often provide a viable alternative to coal or gas-fired CHP. Offshore wind tends to be more stable and stronger than onshore, but the construction and maintenance costs of offshore wind farms are much higher. Small onshore wind farms can provide power to remote and isolated facilities and settlements.

The principle of wind turbine operation is quite simple. The wind makes the two or three-bladed turbines rotate, driving the main shaft, to which the generator rotor is connected. The rotation of the rotor leads to the generation of electricity.

A typical electrical scheme of a wind turbine generator contains a generator, batteries and a charge controller. The generated alternating voltage usually goes to the local transformer station (which collects energy from all turbines), where it is converted to higher voltage and transmitted through a cable or overhead line to another transformer station, where simple consumers are already connected. Transformer stations are needed to match the voltage of wind turbines with the grid.

If you dig deeper, it turns out that wind is actually a form of solar energy and is the result of uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun. The map of wind direction and strength is highly heterogeneous and depends on the terrain, the presence of vegetation and bodies of water. Wind energy is used for various purposes: navigation, flying kites and hang-gliders, electricity generation.

Turbines of horizontal wind turbines usually have two or three blades. These blades are driven in rotation by frontal air currents.

Industrial wind turbines range in capacity from 100 kilowatts to several megawatts. Large capacity wind turbines prove to be more economical and are combined into wind farms that deliver electricity to the grid. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of large offshore and onshore wind farms in the United States. This has been done to maximize the wind energy potential of coastal regions.

Individual wind turbines of less than 100 kilowatts are used to power homes, telecommunications towers, pumping stations, etc. Small wind turbines are sometimes used in combination with diesel generators, batteries and solar panels. Such solutions are called hybrid solutions and are usually placed in remote locations that do not have their own power lines.

Currently, most turbines use variable speed generators combined with an intermediate power converter between the generator and the power collection system, which is the most suitable option for interconnection and provides the ability to shut down when the output voltage is low. Modern systems use either dual-powered machines or squirrel cage generators or synchronous generators.

Modern power systems face many problems, including the problem of excess capacity, which can be solved by implementing special measures: exporting and importing electricity to neighboring areas, changing water levels in the reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants, conversion of electric power into mechanical energy, limiting consumption, etc. With local wind turbines, this problem can be smoothed out.

In a wind farm, individual turbines are combined into a single complex with the help of a power collection system and information communication channels. The average output voltage for wind turbines is usually 34.5 kV. At the transformer station, this voltage is further increased for further transmission via high-voltage power lines.

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Geothermal power plants operating on dry steam
Steam power plants run primarily on hydrothermal steam. The steam goes directly to the turbine, which feeds the generator that produces electricity. The use of steam eliminates the burning of fossil fuels (it also eliminates the need to transport and store fuel). These are the oldest geothermal power plants. The first such power plant was built in Larderello (Italy) in 1904 and is still in operation today. Steam technology is used at the Geysers power plant in Northern California, the largest geothermal power plant in the world.

Geothermal power plants powered by steam-hydrotherms
Such plants use superheated hydrotherms (temperatures above 182 °C) to produce electricity. The hydrothermal solution is pressurized in an evaporator to reduce the pressure, so that part of the solution evaporates very quickly. The resulting steam drives a turbine. If there is liquid left in the tank, it can be evaporated in the next evaporator to produce even more power.

Geothermal power plants with a binary power generation cycle.
Most geothermal areas contain water of moderate temperatures (below 200 0C). Binary cycle power plants use this water to produce power. The hot geothermal water and a second, additional liquid with a lower boiling point than water are passed through a heat exchanger. The heat of the geothermal water evaporates the second liquid, whose vapors drive turbines. Because it is a closed system, there are virtually no emissions to the atmosphere. Temperate water is the most common geothermal resource, so most geothermal power plants of the future will run on this principle.

Steam and hot water reservoirs are only a small part of geothermal resources. Earth’s magma and dry solid rock will provide cheap, clean, virtually inexhaustible energy once the proper technologies are developed to harness them. Until then, the most common producers of geothermal electricity will be binary-cycle power plants.

For geothermal electricity to become a key part of the U.S. energy infrastructure, methods must be developed to reduce the cost of generating it. The U.S. Department of Energy is working with the geothermal industry to reduce the cost per kilowatt hour to $0.03-0.05. New geothermal power plants with a capacity of 15,000 MW are projected to emerge in the next decade.

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The share of wind power in the total generation volume is an important characteristic of the power system. This indicator is neither standardized nor limited. It depends on many features of a particular power grid: existing generating facilities, pricing mechanisms, energy storage capacity, demand management, and other factors. Typically, power grids have their own backup generation and transmission capacity used to ensure trouble-free operation in case of emergencies. These reserve capacities can also serve to compensate for fluctuations in energy generated by wind farms. Studies have shown that the optimal share of wind power is 20%. These studies were conducted for areas with geographically dispersed wind farms, with the ability to control capacity (e.g., hydroelectric power plants) and a developed transmission network that allows for the redistribution of power when necessary. When the share of 20% is exceeded, technical difficulties arise, but even more significant are the economic costs of modernization. It is worth noting that the impact of large-scale implementation of wind power plants on the stability and profitability of the energy system is currently being studied.

To achieve the share of wind power at 100% it is necessary to have a large amount of energy storage or to connect with other energy systems that have their own storage. On short time intervals (month, week, day, hour or less) wind can provide up to 100% of current consumption, and the excess energy must be stored or exported. Industry can take advantage of strong wind, for example, at night when the amount of power output exceeds demand. This applies to industries such as silicon, aluminum, steel, or natural gas and hydrogen. All of these will achieve a substitution rate of 100 percent

Fluctuations in generated power
As mentioned above, the instantaneous power generated by a wind turbine is not constant and can fluctuate rapidly and significantly. Fluctuations in annual averages also exist, but they are not as significant. Power fluctuations can cause an imbalance between electricity production and consumption, which limits the share of wind power in the energy system. The intermittent and uncontrollable nature of wind power generation leads to negative consequences, including increased costs for power conversion, the need to maintain significant backup power sources, the complexity of the control system, etc.

The power produced by a wind generator fluctuates and must be replaced by other energy sources when the airflow is weak. Modern power systems are able to cope with emergency outages of generating capacity, as well as with daily fluctuations in consumption. At the same time, traditional power plants are able to deliver maximum power during 95% of the operating time. The same cannot be said for wind power plants.

Currently, power systems with a large number of wind farms require frequent activation of backup natural gas-fired generating capacity to maintain a stable power supply when conditions are not favorable for wind power generation. With a lower share of wind farms, power fluctuations are not a big problem. However, even with a 16% share on windy days, wind power can outperform all other sources of electricity in the country in terms of power generation.

Combining intermittent renewables with stable non-renewables helps create a sustainable energy system that provides a reliable supply of electricity to consumers. The increase in the share of renewable energy sources has been successful in the real world.

HAWP installations
If we do an all-cost analysis, wind power installations (High-Altitude Wind Power) could be the cheapest source of energy. Only hydropower plants and conventional wind turbines used to power local consumers can compete with them.

HAWP installations operate at high altitudes. We are not talking about tens of meters, where conventional wind turbines can do just fine. HAWP technologies involve flying installations at altitudes where the wind energy is much greater than at the ground surface.

Several research groups are developing Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) technologies for use up to 2,000 feet (609.6 m). In addition, there are also developers creating solutions that work at altitudes above 2,000 feet. The 2,000-foot altitude was chosen to meet the requirements of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. This organization considers objects at this altitude to be unsafe for conventional aviation.

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