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Energy & Renewables vocabulary · Power Generation and Power Plants

Power plant

Meaning in energy & renewables, with examples

/ˈpaʊər plænt/nounCore term

In energy & renewables, power plant means: An industrial facility that produces electricity on a large scale, for example by burning gas or coal, splitting atoms or using the energy of water, wind or sunlight.

In Turkish: santral, elektrik santrali, enerji santrali

How it is used

The standard general term, often combined with the fuel or technology: gas-fired power plant, coal plant, nuclear power plant, hydroelectric plant. British English also says power station. Plants are built, operated, shut down and decommissioned.

Example sentences

  1. The power plant runs at full load during the summer peak.

  2. Three old coal power plants will close by the end of the decade.

Common collocations

  • gas-fired power plant
  • nuclear power plant
  • build a power plant
  • power plant operator
  • shut down a power plant
  • generationThe process of producing electricity, or the amount of electricity produced over a period, by power plants, solar panels, wind turbines and other sources.
  • installed capacityThe maximum power output that a power plant, or all the plants in a country, can deliver according to their design, usually given in MW or GW.
  • gas turbineAn engine that burns gas, usually natural gas, and uses the hot expanding gases to spin a turbine connected to a generator. It can start and change output quickly.
  • coal-firedDescribing a power plant or boiler that burns coal to produce heat and electricity. Coal-fired plants are among the largest sources of carbon emissions.
  • decommissionTo close a power plant or other facility permanently, take it out of service and, in many cases, dismantle it and restore the site.

More terms: Power Generation and Power Plants

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