Power plant maintenance
Introduction
A power station, also referred to as an electrical power plant or electrical power and sometimes as electrical generating station or electrical generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electrical energy.
Most power plants contain one or more electrical generators, that is, rotating machines that transform mechanical power into electrical power. These machines have relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor, creating an electric current. The source of energy used to spin the generator varies widely. Most power plants burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas to generate electricity. Although there are also others that are based on the use of nuclear energy, and increasingly common, or with cleaner renewable sources such as solar, wind, wave energy and hydroelectric energy.
History
In the early 1870s, Belgian inventor Zénobe Gramme devised a generator powerful enough to produce power on a commercial scale for industry.[1].
In 1878, the English engineer Lord William Armstrong "William Armstrong (1st Baron Armstrong)") designed and built the first hydroelectric power station at the house called Cragside, in the county of Northumberland "Northumberland County (United Kingdom)"). He used water from the county's lakes to power a turbine. The electricity it supplied was distributed to provide lighting, heating, hot water, an elevator, as well as other uses that saved labor and helped improve the agricultural use of the farm.[2].
In the fall of 1882, a central station providing public power was built in Godalming, England. It was proposed after the city could not reach an agreement on the rate charged by the gas company, so the city council decided to use electricity. It used hydroelectric energy for street lighting and domestic lighting. The system was not a commercial success and the city returned to using gas.[3].
In 1882, the first public coal-fired power station, the Edison Electric Light Station, was built in London, a project of Thomas Edison organized by Edward Johnson. A Babcock & Wilcox boiler powered a 125-horsepower steam engine that drove a 27-ton generator. This supplied electricity to premises that could be reached through the viaduct's sewers without digging up the road, which was the monopoly of the gas companies. Clients included the city temple and the Old Bailey. Another important customer was the Telegraph Office of the General Post Office, but this could not be reached through the sewers. Johnson arranged for the power cable to pass overhead, through the Holborn Tavern and Newgate.[4].