Question

What are the two ways of generating electricity? How are they different from each other? Explain?

Answer 1

Hint: Electricity generation is the method of extracting electricity from primary energy sources.Electricity is most commonly produced by electromechanical generators in a power plant, usually powered by combustion or nuclear fission heat engines, but also by other means, such as the kinetic energy of running water and wind. The British physicist Michael Faraday discovered electricity production in the 1820s and early 1830s.

Complete answer:
Electricity can be generated by hydropower and thermal power. First, we will discuss hydropower.
Hydropower- Here, hydro means water. So, electricity is generated from the water. In 2015, 16.6% of the world's overall energy and 70% of all renewable electricity was produced by hydropower.

Hydroelectricity uses renewable energy sources, while non-renewable fossil fuels are used for thermal capacity. Example of output of hydroelectricity: Bhakra Nangal dam.

It has various methods:
Conventional method- The bulk of hydropower comes from the possible energy of a water turbine and engine driving dammed water. The power is derived from the water. It depends on the volume and the height difference between the source and the outflow of the water. This disparity in height is called the head. A broad pipe (the "penstock") supplies water to the turbine from the reservoir.

Pumped storage- This technique generates energy by transferring water from reservoirs at various elevations to supply high peak demands. The excess generating capacity is used at times of low electrical demand to pipe water into the higher reservoir. Water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine as the demand becomes greater.

Thermal power- It is generated by burning coal, petroleum and natural gas. Example- Neyveli power plant. Thermal power plants: also known as combustion power plants, they are powered by coal-fired steam boilers, natural gas, heating oil, and biomass. A turbine stimulates the steam, which in turn powers an alternator to generate electricity.

Note:
i) There are 197 hydropower plants in India.
ii) There are 10 thermal power plants in India. More than 70% of total energy consumed in India is shared by thermal power.
iii) Calcutta now Kolkata was the first city to get electricity in India in the streets of M.G Road in 1889.