The Role of Turbines in Power Generation
 Large scale electrical energy production largely depends on the use of turbines. Nearly all of the world's power that is supplied to a major grid is produced by turbines. From steam turbines used at coal-burning electricity plants to liquid water turbines used at hydro-electric plants, turbines are versatile and can be used in a number of applications. There are also gas turbines that combust natural gas or diesel fuel for use in remote locations or where a large backup power supply is required.
A turbine is a simple device with few parts that uses flowing fluids (liquids or gases) to produce electrical energy. Fluid is forced across blades mounted on a shaft, which causes the shaft to turn. The energy produced from the shaft rotation is collected by a generator which converts the motion to electrical energy using a magnetic field.
 Most power plants use turbines to produce energy by burning coal or natural gas. The heat produced from combustion is used to heat water in boiler. The liquid water is converted to steam upon heating and is exhausted through a pipe which feeds the steam to the turbine. The pressurized steam flow imparts energy on the blades and shaft of the turbine causing it to rotate. The rotational mechanical energy is then converted to electrical energy using a generator.
A good analogy would be the common practice of heating water in a teapot on your stove. When the water is heated to boiling temperature steam is produced increasing the pressure inside of the pot. The increased pressure causes the steam to exhaust through a tiny hole at a high rate.
After the steam exits the turbine it is fed to a cooling tower where the steam cools and reverts back to water. You can see this occurring when driving past a power plant and noticing the white plumes of smoke being emitted from large towers. This is not smoke, but rather a product of the hot pipes heating water vapor in the cooler air and generating steam.
 A similar turbine design is used to produce hydro-electric power at dams. When water is released from the lake side of the dam to the river side, it is fed across a series of turbines. The high rate of flowing water causes the turbines to turn rapidly where this energy captured and converted to electricity. Energy produced by hydro electric means has the added benefit of not using emission producing fossil fuels which will pollute the air. However, hydro-electric dams do affect the environment in other ways as they can disrupt vulnerable ecosystems that rely on the environment where the dam is built.
There are also other forms of large scale electricity generation, like nuclear and geothermal; however they are still very similar in that they still use turbines to produce the electricity but the water is just heated by an alternative source. Some added risks are involved when using nuclear reactors to produce heat thus limiting their widespread use.
Other smaller scale types of turbines exist to produce power in remote locations or to generate power in areas of the world where a power grid has yet to be established. The advantage of this type of turbine is its high efficiency rating. If the waste heat is recovered by heat exchanger and used to power another generator, in a combined cycle configuration, the efficiency can be as high as 60%. In a cogeneration configuration where the waste heat is recovered and used to for space and water heating, the efficiency can be as high as 90%.
There are numerous other benefits to using a turbine to produce electrical power. Gas turbines produce a large amount of power in a small package. They can be turned on and off on demand and it costs a lot less money and takes a lot less time to build a turbine than it does to build a coal or natural gas burning power plant. They are also ideal for situations where high demand exists on a power grid for short periods of time, like hot days in the summer, and a turbine is in place to carry the extra load.
Large electrical companies like Siemens and GE manufacture and custom build turbines from 10 MW to over 400MW depending on the customer's demands. There are also used dealers and distributors around the world that may have a new surplus or used turbine immediately available that fits your specifications.
The simplistic design, versatility, and efficiency of turbines allow for its widespread use in electrical power generation. When deciding on your power supply, be sure to investigate the use of a turbine if the electrical demand is large enough.
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