Energy Storage Energy storage technologies are key to modernizing our electricity system. Load more P. Generation is one of the 3 key components that make up our national electricity industry: Generation making electricity Transmission moving electricity across high-voltage lines from generating plants to communities Distribution delivering electricity to individual customers Canada is 4th in the world for exporting the electricity it generates.
How electricity is generated Electricity is produced when mechanical energy is harnessed and used to rotate a turbine. Electricity generation sources To generate electricity in Canada, we use:. Hydro Hydropower uses the power of flowing water to create electricity. Nuclear Nuclear power comes from a nuclear fission process that generates heat, which is used to generate the steam that rotates the turbines to generate electricity. Coal Coal is an abundant and inexpensive energy source with a long history.
Natural Gas Natural gas, a fossil fuel found in underground reservoirs, emits approximately half the carbon emissions of coal when used to produce electricity. Biomass Burning organic materials produces high-pressure steam that drives a turbine generator to make electricity.
Wind Turbines capture kinetic energy from wind and convert it into electricity. CANWEA Wind is a renewable source of energy that has relatively little impact on the surrounding area, apart from aesthetic and noise concerns.
Oil Video courtesy of Student Energy :. Cogeneration Cogeneration is when waste heat from electricity generation is recovered and used for applications, such as space heating and cooling, water heating, and industrial process heat.
Heat in the boiler boils the water into steam. The steam pressure turns the steam turbine and the generator generates electricity.
A combined cycle power first generates gas by burning fuel in the compressed air. Pressure of the gas rotates the gas turbine and the generator creates electricity. Moreover, exhaust heat from gas turbine is utilized for boiling water to generate steam, which rotates turbine to generate.
Integrated coal gasification combined cycle IGCC gasifies the fuel coal in the gasifier. Gasified fuel is burnt in the compressed air to generate gas. Technical Announcements. Employees in the News. Emergency Management. Survey Manual. So just how do we get electricity from water? Actually, hydroelectric and coal-fired power plants produce electricity in a similar way. In both cases a power source is used to turn a propeller-like piece called a turbine.
In both cases a power source is used to turn a propeller-like piece called a turbine, which then turns a metal shaft in an electric generator, which is the motor that produces electricity. A coal-fired power plant uses steam to turn the turbine blades; whereas a hydroelectric plant uses falling water to turn the turbine. The results are the same. Take a look at this diagram courtesy of the Tennessee Valley Authority of a hydroelectric power plant to see the details:.
The theory is to build a dam on a large river that has a large drop in elevation there are not many hydroelectric plants in Kansas or Florida. The dam stores lots of water behind it in the reservoir. Near the bottom of the dam wall there is the water intake. Gravity causes it to fall through the penstock inside the dam. At the end of the penstock there is a turbine propellor, which is turned by the moving water. The shaft from the turbine goes up into the generator, which produces the power.
Power lines are connected to the generator that carry electricity to your home and mine. The water continues past the propellor through the tailrace into the river past the dam. By the way, it is not a good idea to be playing in the water right below a dam when water is released! There are several management strategies available for the used fuel, such as direct disposal or recycling in reactors to generate more low-carbon electricity.
Renewables, such as wind, solar and small-scale hydro, produce electricity with low amounts of greenhouse gas emissions across their entire life-cycle. In , wind and solar generated 4. They do not produce electricity predictably or consistently due to their inherent reliance on the weather. Electricity generation from wind turbines varies with the wind speed, and if the wind is too weak or too strong no electricity is produced at all.
The output of solar panels is reliant on the strength of the sunshine, which depends on a number of different factors, such as the time of day and the amount of cloud cover as well as the amount of dust on the panels.
Another problem is that there might not be enough space or public willingness to accommodate the vast number of turbines or panels required to produce enough electricity.
This is due to the fact that energy from the wind or the sun is diffuse, meaning that very significant amounts of land are required in order to generate a significant quantity of electricity. Because electricity cannot be easily stored, renewables have to be backed up by other forms of electricity generation. The largest batteries cannot operate for days, let alone the weeks that would be required to back up renewables in order to ensure the supply of round-the-clock electricity.
In order to ensure a steady supply of electricity, gas plants are increasingly providing backup services to renewables electricity. Natural gas plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide during operation, and significant amounts of methane are often released during the extraction and transport of gas, both of which contribute to climate change.
A biomass plant operates in a very similar way to gas- and coal-fired power plants. In , biomass generated 2. Biomass production can require a lot of energy, both in terms of production of biomass itself and in terms of transport. Due to this, the energy required can be greater than the energy value in the final fuel, and the greenhouse gas emissions can be as high, or even greater, than those from equivalent fossil fuels.
Additionally, it can take more than years for the emitted carbon dioxide to be absorbed, which leads to a short-term emissions increase. Other environmental impacts related to land use and ecological sustainability can be considerable.
0コメント