For instance, during the construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric dam – the Three Gorges Dam in China – some 1.3 million people were displaced. The flooding of reservoirs behind dams and slowing the flow of the river system below the dam can also have a serious impact on the environment and local populations. In 2017, hydropower accounted for 16% of worldwide electricity generation. The Three Gorges Dam in China is the world’s largest hydroelectric dam and the world’s largest power station (Image: Le Grand Portage, CC BY-SA 2.0) Hydroelectric power can also be produced by run-of-river plants but most of the rivers that are suitable for this have already been developed. Hydroelectric dams can generate large amounts of low-carbon electricity, but the number of sites suitable for new, large-scale dams is limited. Water from the reservoirs flows through turbines to generate electricity. Most large hydroelectric power plants generate electricity by storing water in vast reservoirs behind dams. The price of the fuels has historically been volatile, and can rise sharply at times of shortages or geopolitical instability, which can result in unstable generation costs and higher consumer prices. In many cases these fuels need to be transported over long distances, which can result in potential supply issues. For instance, it is estimated that in China alone 670,000 people die prematurely - every year due to the use of coal.įossil fuel plants require very large quantities of coal, oil or gas.
The burning of fossil fuels for energy causes considerable numbers of deaths due to air pollution. The Cottam power station in the UK, which uses both coal and gas for electricity generation (Image: EDF Energy) These plants also produce other pollutants, such as oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, which cause acid rain.
However, burning carbon-based fuels produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, which drives climate change. These plants generate electricity reliably over long periods of time, and are generally cheap to build. In 2017, fossil fuels generated 64.5% of electricity worldwide.
#Number of releases on steam 2017 generator#
In gas plants hot gases drive a turbine to generate electricity, whereas a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant also uses a steam generator to increase the amount of electricity produced. Coal, gas and oilįossil fuel power plants burn coal or oil to create heat which is in turn used to generate steam to drive turbines which generate electricity. As the end uses for electricity grow, and as the benefits of electricity are extended to all people, demand will grow significantly. Electricity provides the means to utilise low-carbon energy sources, and so widespread electrification is seen as a key tool for decarbonising sectors traditionally powered by fossil fuels. In order to achieve a sustainable world, all sectors of the economy will need to be decarbonised, including transport, heat and industry. This will likely require large increases of all low-carbon energy sources, of which nuclear is an important part. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions must decrease drastically if we are to mitigate climate change, and we must switch to cleaner sources of energy to reduce air pollution. As such, electricity demand will continue to rise. Currently one in seven people in the world has no access to electricity. Their use for electricity generation continues to increase in both absolute and relative terms: in 2017, fossil fuels generated 64.5% of worldwide electricity, compared with 61.9% in 1990.Īccess to reliable electricity is vital for human wellbeing. Despite the strong growth of renewables over the last few decades, fossil-based fuels remain dominant worldwide. Over the past century, the main energy sources used for generating electricity have been fossil fuels, hydroelectricity and, since the 1950s, nuclear energy.
Challenges such as climate change, pollution and environmental destruction require that we change the way we generate electricity. Electricity is essential for modern life, yet almost one billion people live without access to it.
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