In the economy of any country, the energy sector is of paramount importance. Electricity is important in all aspects of the functioning of the state (both in the industrial sector and in everyday life). One of the main links in the electric power industry is thermal power plants. Let's consider this question in more detail.
Thermal power plants are a complex of equipment designed to convert the chemical, thermal energy of natural fuels into electrical energy . Coal, fuel oil, natural gas, peat, and shale are used as energy carriers. This type of electricity generation became known at the end of the nineteenth century, when the first thermal power plants were built in New York (in 1882), in St. Petersburg (in 1883), in Berlin (in 1884). Since that time, the generation of electricity at thermal power plants has become the main one in the energy sector, and to this day it remains so.
Thermal power plants are divided into condensing and cogeneration plants. Such a division is natural. Condensation thermal power plants generate only electricity, while the coolant is reused and discharged into the tanks. Such companies have a small coefficient of performance (30% -40%). The construction of condensation thermal power plants is rational near the places of fuel production, even if they are located at a considerable distance from the consumer.
The city mainly uses heat and power plants, which, in addition to their main task - generating electricity - provide residents with hot water. Specialists have long proved that such a method of delivery of a coolant is inefficient, because it is accompanied by large losses of thermal energy, but most of our cities use electric power stations.
Currently, thermal power plants in Russia generate more than 70% of all the country's electricity. Large industrial power plants that generate more than 2 million kW are Urengoy State District Power Station, Berezovskaya State District Power Station, Surgut State District Power Station, and state district power station based on the Kansk-Achinsk Basin. Thermal power plants in Russia mainly use natural gas, coal and fuel oil.
The use of thermal power plants has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the main advantages of this type of power plant is its free location. Nowadays, the necessary fuel can be delivered to any region. In addition to electricity, thermal power plants are capable of supplying both heat carriers and hot water, which is especially important in municipal services. Also, electricity generation does not depend on external climatic conditions.
Among the disadvantages of using a thermal power plant, low efficiency of the work, environmental pollution, work on natural resources, the reserves of which are not restored, are distinguished.
In the country's energy system , in addition to thermal, hydraulic and nuclear plants are used, but the role of thermal power plants remains huge. In recent years, more and more begin to use the energy of wind and sun.