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Generating from

What: Hydropower harnesses Key Features: the force of falling water to generate electricity. • Hydropower is a • Storage projects operate renewable resource that with a reservoir that Generation: depends on the water cycle stores water for use The falling water forces a to replenish our rivers when electricity demand turbine to turn. A generator from snow and rain every is high. Run-of-the-river produces electricity. year. projects operate with • Hydropower projects often minimal or no water include a dam to help storage. Collectively, POWER UP control the flow of water. they provide a reliable source of year- • Hydropower produces We’re Number 1! round. no carbon dioxide (CO ) Over half of the 2 Northwest’s electricity emissions or waste • Projects with dams often comes from renewable, products that contribute include technologies carbon-free hydropower. to air pollution or climate to support upstream change. and downstream fish passage. HYDROPOWER

RENEWABLE Dam

NO AIR OR CO2 River EMISSIONS

Generator

Water In Shaft

Turbine

Water Out

10 | Northwest Sources of Electricity FORCE FACT

38% of the Northwest’s ability to generate electricity comes from natural Generating Electricity gas. To meet 100% carbon-free electric generation goals, fossil power plants from like these will need to be retired. What: Natural gas is a that is burned to generate electricity. Like and oil, Key Features: natural gas is a product of decomposed • Like all fossil , natural gas is a organic matter deposited millions of nonrenewable resource. years ago. It is colorless, odorless, and • Pipelines are used to transport natural gas composed primarily of methane gas. to power plants. It is most often extracted by drilling reliably and continuously vertically from the earth’s surface. • Natural gas power plants are a large source of

carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a greenhouse Power Generation: gas. They emit about half the CO2 emissions of All natural gas plants use a gas turbine. coal plants. Natural gas along with a stream of air • The process of extracting natural gas is combined to create combustion. contributes methane air emissions (another from the burning gas causes the greenhouse gas). turbine to rotate. A generator produces electricity. • Air emissions from burning natural gas at power plants require technologies to meet air quality standards. NATURAL GAS CO2 EMISSIONS NONRENEWABLE, FOSSIL FUEL AIR EMISSIONS AND POLLUTION CONTROL Air TECHNOLOGY Intake Compressor Turbine

Combustion Generator Chambers

Natural Gas Pipeline

Northwest Sources of Electricity | 11 Generating Electricity from Wind What: harnesses the force of moving air to Key Characteristics: generate electricity. • Wind power is a renewable resource. Power Generation: • This energy source does not produce carbon dioxide

The force of wind against (CO2) or other greenhouse gas emissions that contribute blades turns a rotor. As the to climate change. rotor spins, it connects to • Because wind power can only generate electricity when the generator to produce the wind is blowing, it’s most effective in regions with electricity. strong and regular wind currents. Wind farms have only a limited ability to store power generated by using batteries. This makes wind a less reliable power source POWER UP because its availability is intermittent and variable.

The Northwest is powering • Wind power farms include several towers with turbines up with wind. Since that, together, supply electricity to the power grid. These 2005, wind power grew from 1% to 14.5% of the farms take up large areas of open-space land, making Northwest’s ability to avian mortality (the death of birds), a concern. generate electricity.

RENEWABLE WIND Turbine Blades NO AIR OR CO2 EMISSIONS

Rotor INTERMITTENT, VARIABLE Wind Direction Generator

Tower

12 | Northwest Sources of Electricity Generating Electricity from Coal What: Coal is a fossil fuel originally formed from prehistoric vegetation that accumulated in swamps millions of Key Characteristics: years ago. This was before dinosaurs roamed • Like all fossil fuels, coal is a the earth. Looking nonrenewable resource. like a shiny black FORCE FACT • It can be stored at power plants rock, coal is a fossil to provide a reliable, year-round Seven coal fuel that comes from power plants in source of electricity. plants that were the Northwest • Coal plants are a large source once alive. Coal are being retired between 2020 of carbon dioxide (CO ) formation begins 2 and 2030. emissions. In 2019, coal with photosynthesis, accounted for 60% of CO2 the process that enables living plants to store solar emissions from energy. When plants die, energy is usually released as the generation. plants decay. Coal forms when the decaying process is • Challenges of burning coal interrupted, and the stored is locked into the include meeting air quality coal. Coal is extracted from the earth either by surface or standards from emissions and underground mining. disposing of ash that is a by- Power Generation: product of burning coal. Coal is mined from the earth and transported, often by freight train, to a generation plant. Here, boilers heat water to produce high-pressure steam that forces the turbine to turn. A generator produces electricity. The condenser converts steam from a gaseous to a liquid state (water). COAL

AIR EMISSIONS AND POLLUTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGY CO2 EMISSIONS

Cooling NONRENEWABLE, Tower FOSSIL FUEL Steam Turbine Boiler Generator Condenser Coal

Steam

Ash Disposal Ash Pond Northwest Sources of Electricity | 13 POWER UP

Hanford, Washington is the site of the only operating Generating Electricity plant in from Nuclear the Northwest.

What: Nuclear power plants use uranium as their Key Characteristics: fuel source. Uranium is found in rocks. • Nuclear energy is a nonrenewable resource Starting with surface or underground mining, that relies on mining a very rare type of a complex process is used to extract uranium uranium, U-235. ore from the rocks. Once extracted, the uranium is enriched and formed into small • The fuel rods with uranium are stored ceramic fuel pellets that are stacked and at power plants to provide a reliable, sealed in fuel rods. These are bundled together year-round source of electricity. to make up a fuel assembly at a nuclear • Nuclear reactors do not produce carbon power plant. dioxide (CO2) emissions or contribute to air pollution. Power Generation: is used to heat water by • Nuclear power creates radioactive wastes enabling to split apart to form smaller that must be safely stored. These wastes can atoms, releasing energy in the plant’s reactor. remain radioactive for thousands of years The resulting high-pressure steam forces and present a danger to human health if the turbine to turn. A generator produces accidentally released to the environment. electricity. The condenser converts steam In addition, an uncontrolled nuclear reaction from a gaseous to a liquid state (water). at the power plant could cause widespread contamination of air and water. NUCLEAR NO CO2 EMISSIONS NONRENEWABLE

Steam Line Control Cooling Rods Steam Turbine Towers Generator Pump

Reservoir

Reactor Generator Pump Condenser Cooling Water

Water

14 | Northwest Sources of Electricity Generating Electricity from Solar

What: converts energy from sunlight into electricity. Key Characteristics: Power Generation: • Solar power is a renewable Homes, businesses, and many solar farms use photovoltaic resource. (PV) cells to generate electricity. A PV cell absorbs • Solar generation does not from sunlight and converts it to electricity with produce carbon dioxide semiconductor material, usually silicon (the main component (CO2) or other greenhouse gas of natural beach sand). emissions that contribute to Power not used by solar climate change. FORCE FACT panels on homes and • Because solar power can only businesses can be put In 2019, only 1% generate electricity based on back on the power grid of the Northwest’s available sunshine, it’s most ability to generate and distributed effective in regions with electricity came to others. from solar abundant sunlight. Solar farms power. have a limited ability to store power generated by using batteries. This makes solar a less reliable power source because its availability is intermittent and variable. • Solar farms take up large areas of open space land.

NO AIR OR CO2 SOLAR EMISSIONS RENEWABLE INTERMITTENT, VARIABLE Solar On-Grid Collectors Inverter

Transformer Direct Current Solar Farm Alternating Current

Northwest Sources of Electricity | 15 Generating Electricity from Geothermal

What: originates Key Characteristics: from heat in the subsurface of • Geothermal energy is a renewable resource that is the earth. Water and/or steam naturally replenished. carry the geothermal energy to the surface. • This energy source is reliably available year-round. • For electricity generation, locations with high or medium Power Generation: temperature resources from the subsurface are needed. High-pressure steam produced These locations are often near volcanically active areas. from underground heat forces • Geothermal plants are a small source of carbon dioxide the turbine to turn. A generator (CO2) emissions, emitting about 5% of the carbon dioxide produces electricity. The of an equally sized coal plant, and certain types produce condenser converts steam near-zero emissions. from a gaseous to a liquid state (water). • The hot water pumped from underground is usually pumped directly back into the geothermal reservoir after it has been used for electricity production.

LOW CO2 EMISSIONS

RENEWABLE Turbine Generator

Steam

Cooling Tower Condenser

Warm Water Cold Water Pumped Up Geothermal Zone Pumped Down (Production Well) (Hot Rocks) (Injection Well) GEOTHERMAL 16 | Northwest Sources of Electricity Generating Electricity from What: Biomass is any organic material Key Features: like trees, chipped wood, • Biomass is a renewable resource because organic agricultural or food waste, and material like wood and crops can be grown again animal manure. It also includes and humans continuously create trash. burning trash as part of a city or town’s solid waste disposal • Power plants are located where biomass is reliably system. available.

• The plants grown for biomass energy capture CO2

Power Generation: through photosynthesis, making it a small source of Biomass power plants burn carbon dioxide (CO2). organic materials and trash to boil • Burning biomass can create ash that must be safely water. The resulting high-pressure disposed and air emission pollutants requiring steam forces the turbine to turn. technology to meet clean air standards. A generator produces electricity. The condenser converts steam from a gaseous to a liquid state (water). BIOMASS

RENEWABLE AIR EMISSIONS AND POLLUTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGY

LOW CO2 EMISSIONS Boiler Turbine Generator

Steam Biomass Cooling organic Tower material Condenser

Bottom Ash

Northwest Sources of Electricity | 17