Coal-solar-wind-generation

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Power plants are rated by megawatt output, or 1000 kW or 1,000,000 watts or 1,000,000 VA (volt amps).
1 MW can supply power to 400-600 homes. Or 200 homes on hot summer day, since AC units are pulling more amperage, but also because high heat reduces the amp-carrying capacity of power lines, transformers, solar panels etc. How much amperage does house use   Amp rating of power lines
A gigawatt is 1 billion watts = 1000 megawatts (VA volt amps) What is power factor  Power factor and solar

Up to 25% of a conventional power plant (synchronous ac rotating machine) generation can be used to operate plant .... to power the electromagnet, to run the water pumps needed to bring fresh water to generator, pumps to circulate water used for cooling, etc. ResourceWhat is 3-phase electricity  Power-Plants.pdf
Unlike solar and wind (inverter-based) generation that must be changed into matching waveform as conventional generation, the coal-fired plants require large number of employees to keep plant operational, including welders, bulldozer operators, trainloads of coal etc.
Offsetting job losses as more renewables come on-line is the need for grid reliability ... specifically to keep voltage "within ±10% of nominal at all points across the grid." Keep in mind the grid is cris-crossed over millions of square miles, with millions of poles and transformers and customers ... comprising a system that might not be fully mapped at the distribution level in 2021. Read
The grid must hold voltage steady. Voltage is the force that pushes amperage or current of electrons across the wire. Even though power plants are interconnected, each power plant can only energize a certain distance or area. If several power plants go offline, then power must be shut off to some customers so voltage levels can be maintained for remaining customers. If voltage drops below nominal across the grid, then your 115 volt refrigerator and 240 volt AC cannot run without damaging the motor. Why? Volts and amps are inversely proportional. If volts drop, then loads will draw more amps. More amperage means more electrons are moving through the matrix (atomic structure) of the conductor (wire). More electrons means more resistance from the wire which causes heat which overheats design parameters of motor ... but also affects substation relays that will trip off ... and can affect power plant generators that will automatically shut down to avoid damage.

Utility-size generation from renewables has a large footprint (as does coal, oil and gas) that hinges on large-scale land acquisition usually located far from end users ... which requires further land access to build transmission lines to urban centers over objections by landowners etc. Read.  The less reliable renewables come with a "reduction in fault currents and short circuit strength" ... meaning that "voltage support might be a vital ancillary service to prevent voltage instability and ensure good power transfer." Renewables require gas-fired generators that sit idle but come online fast when needed (viewed as uneconomical or impractical?) .... but also require retrofitting the grid with capacitor banks, voltage regulators, and tap changers ... and possible future innovations such as massive batteries, compressed air storage, solid state transformers etc read  read2 read3 read4 read5 Resource: Electrification magazine

Utilities are challenged by aging networks ... challenged because grid updates are expensive, labor-intensive and often dangerous ... challenged by economic growth ... challenged by changing resource mix from solar and wind ...  but also challenged by electric vehicles that will try to replace the entire gasoline resource with electric resource. Read Read Read
The future will need .... new skills from labor ... innovation using electronics that are more vulnerable to lightning, solar storms and cyber attack ... changing standards to meet reliability goals ... protecting appliances with voltage monitors that shut off appliance if voltage drops ... all indicating that considerable costs will be passed onto customers ... and arguably 25% of the energy will be used to manufacture, retrofit and maintain changes.
In my opinion, the promise of 'lower costs' and 'money-saving' from renewables is not likely in the long run, and ultimately less-reliable renewables will be an expensive way to generate electricity if the purpose is to supply power to everyone. Read

''At the center of nearly all conventional power stations is a generator, a rotating machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by creating relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor.''

The 3,653 Megawatt WA Parish power plant site has coal fired generation where water is boiled into steam, and the steam explosion is used to accelerate a turbine that spins an electromagnet located inside the generator. See image WA Parrish also has gas fired generation where burning gas spins a turbine. Gas generation has fewer emissions than coal, and is "quickest to sync and reach full load for daily and seasonal intermittence."

In both cases, the electromagnet inside generator spins past 3 coils (or windings) of wire that are spaced exactly 120° apart inside the generator. See image
As the electromagnet passes over each coil, the coil becomes energized with a pulse of electric power that reverses 60 times per second, each time the north and south poles pass, creating what is called alternating current.
A wire is connected to one end of each of the 3 coils, and those 3 wires leave the power plant and become the 3 Hot wires found in 3-phase power that is transmitted across the grid.
The other ends of the 3 coils are joined together to form the Neutral wire that travels with the hot wires, and is bonded to the ground rod array located under the power plant and switchyard, and is bonded to a ground at each tower, pole, substation, and installation along the way.
Since the generator magnet passes each coil at a different moment, each wire carries power that is 'out of phase' with the other wires. How are wires out of phase

Siemens steam turbine
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Thermal generation from coal, oil, gas, atomic power, and hydroelectric generation use a turbine.

The turbine is accelerated "by fast moving flow of water, steam, gas, air" etc. and can be used to rotate a generator to produce electricity.
Turbines can be massive or smaller units used for mining operations etc.
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https://www.powermag.com/
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2018: "The IEA projects that total electricity demand will rise by nearly 60 percent through 2040, with total 8700 GW of power expected to be added in next 25 years." Source GE.

Gene Haynes
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