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Generating Electricity from Hydropower Generating Electricity from Hydropower 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 Power 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 energy 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 fuel power plants from Natural Gas like these will need to be retired. What: Natural gas is a fossil fuel that is burned to generate electricity. Like coal and oil, Key Features: natural gas is a product of decomposed • Like all fossil fuels, 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 Heat 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: Wind power 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 electric power 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 solar energy 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 nuclear power 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: Nuclear fission is used to heat water by • Nuclear power creates radioactive wastes enabling atoms 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: Solar power 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 photons 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: Geothermal energy 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
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