Greener Forms of Generating Electricity- thermal power plants, hydro power plants and solar power plants.

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Druga gimnazija Sarajevo

Essay

Power stations in BiH

Eldin Hajric

08.12.2010

        

A power station is a facility which is used to generate electric power. At the center of nearly all 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. In Bosnia there is a lot of hydro power plants, the biggest ones are: Grabovica, Jablanica, Salkovac, Visegrad etc.

There are three different types of power plants, thermal power plants, hydro power plants and solar power plants.  In order to make our lives and the lives of our offspring better, we need to investigate and design new greener ways of converting mass amounts of energy into electricity. Solar power plants use an endless power, which is the sun. Beams from the sun hit mirrors which convert the suns energy into electricity. Approximately, every 7.2 hours, 3.6kWh electricity is produced. Solar power is clean and green and it can provide enough energy. However, the downside to this type of power is that it isn’t cheap. Building a single mirror of 3.8 meters by 1.6 can cost up to $60.000. These mirrors are state of the art which capture the suns light, and turn it into energy. Thermal power plants are bad for the environment because they contribute to global warming by burning fossil fuels. These power plants are still in use today, because they provide a lot of energy and coal is cheap, so it can be burned in large quantities. Most houses today are supplied either by thermal or hydro. Thermal is very bad for the environment and since the industrial revolution kicked in global temperatures have been rising. Another type of power is wind power. Wind turbines are rotary devices that get provide energy using the air. This type of technology is not to be sniffed at as wind power can sometimes provide more energy than burning coal. There is a downside to this as well. Staying green and using wind powered turbines can cost a lot of money. Staying green and investing in these ideas will matter in the future. By burning excess fossil fuels we are creating green house gasses which are heating up the planet, thus destroying a lot of environments.

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In Bosnia, the biggest hydro power plant produces around 170.000 cubic meters of water that reach speeds of 60 km per hour. This is enough water to fill up around 100.000 Olympic swimming pools every day. Hydroelectric stations have been up and running for about 100 years, and since been scientists have been searching for a way to harvest the energy better. The main idea behind these power stations is to convert the energy of flowing water into the flow of electrons or electricity. Most hydroelectric stations use either water diverted around the natural drop of the river ...

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