As noted in the page on how power works, nearly all forms of power rely on the same concept- moving coils through an electrical field. So if that’s all it takes, what are the actual nuts and bolts?

Steam-based Power Plants

Nearly all forms of electricity generation that have been used throughout history rely on the concept of heating water. Coal, gas, and even nuclear power rely specifically on this notion. These three forms of power heat water to super-high temperatures in some kind of boiler. The water is converted to steam, with only a small outlet. As you may have guessed, that outlet leads to the turbine. The force of super-heated water escaping as steam causes movement in the turbine, thus creating electrcity.

Other Turbine Power Plants

Steam is obviously not the only way to move a turbine. For example, the power generated in a car’s engine comes from direct combustion of gasoline forcing the coils in the alternator (a small power plant) to move. Similarly, a hand-crank radio is functioning with the same concept- but with human power forcing the movement.

In terms of large power, however, greener forms of power have been created when other forms of kinetic energy have been harnessed to move a turbine. To make more power, the turbines have to be much larger and the magnets must be surrounded by much more coil.

A wind power plant works on the concept of converting the power from the moving blades. Although there are a variety of forms of wind power, the concept at their base remains the same. Wind moves blades, which turn some kind of crank, which turns a turbine. The trouble with wind power is the engineering challenge of harnessing wind to turn a large turbine. This technology has been advancing in leaps and bounds, but the fundamental problem remains that it simply isn’t as strong or consistent as other forms of power.

Hydroelectric power uses a completely differnt kind of kinetic energy- the energy created from falling water. Anyone who has ever stood under a waterfall realizes the power of falling water. However, to create the kind of power necessary to meet modern demands, the force of that water has to be tremendous. This is why hydroelectric plants remain behind dams. The built up force of a lake pushing water through a turbine is fairly tremendous and large turbines can be moved in this way.

So what kinds of Power are Green?

What makes a form of power generation green is an interesting question. At the basis of it is the type of fuel. If a resource is consumed, then most of us would not consider the power green. Even more obviously, if waste is created, it is generally not thought to be green. In truth, what makes a power green is a relative question and partially falls within the realm of opinion. I would personally consider fossil fuel based power to be the worst offender, creating huge amounts of greenhouse gases that cover the planet. While it is true that nuclear power creates a more dangerous waste, it also creates a more contained waste. Both types of power create waste, however.

Power without Waste

Wind and hydroelectric power have often been held up as the great revolutions in green power. Each, however, has its trouble.

Hydroelectric power relies on the creation of a dam. That dam can damage the environment in numerous ways. Holding up water makes the water more salty, damaging the earth underneath the lake. In addition, it has created huge problems in fish migration, as has often been noted along the Columbia River corridor between Oregon and Washington. However, hydroelectric power puts no pollution into the air. Thus, it can be said that is much “greener” than fossil fuels.

Why, then, can’t we just use lots of wind power? According to some scientists, if the United States harvested just known wind power sources, it could create more than 16 times the necessary electricity for daily life. This would be fantastic considering that wind power neither damages the area around it nor creates waste. There is one fatal flaw, however. Our technologies for storing and moving electricity are lacking. We cannot store pure electricity for long and moving electricity long distances leads to decay in the power. Thus, we can’t simply cover one isolated area with wind plants and power the whole world. Rather, those plants have to be spread around.

To me, this leaves us with a take-home lesson. Perhaps disconnecting ourselves from the grid- or creating our own wind turbines and connecting them to the grid- is more of an imperative than we ever realized. The solution to creating green power will not lie in simply creating huge banks of windmills, but in common people building them and allowing the power to be generated where it is used.