Thermal power station

A thermal power station is a power station in which heat energy is converted to electricity. Typically, water is heated into steam, which is used to drive an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine the steam is condensed in a steam condenser and recycled to where it was heated. This is known as a Rankine cycle. The greatest variation in the design of thermal power stations is due to the different heat sources: fossil fuel, nuclear energy, solar energy, biofuels, and waste incineration are all used. Certain thermal power stations are also designed to produce heat for industrial purposes, for district heating, or desalination of water, in addition to generating electrical power.