How Electricity Is Made

Step 1

Coal is mined and delivered to a power plant.
Coal generates nearly all the electricity in Kentucky. The rest is produced mainly
by natural gas and hydroelectric power. There are 23 coal plants in Kentucky.

A typical medium-sized 500-megawatt coal plant
generates enough electricity for nearly 250,000 homes.

Step 2

Inside the power plant the coal is burned
in huge furnaces. Plants that burn natural gas tend to be smaller and are used
mainly during times of heaviest electricity use.

Step 3

The furnace heats water into steam, which
is used to spin huge turbines. In a hydroelectric plant, falling water from
a dam spins the turbines.

Step 4

The spinning turbine creates an electrical
current, which is sent out through transmission lines.

-Paul Wesslund