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Simply put, electricity is energy. And generating electricity is a process of energy conversion. Progress Energy's generation fuel mix includes coal, nuclear, natural gas/oil and hydroelectric plants.
Progress Energy's fossil-fueled plants use oil, coal or gas in the generation of electricity (see diagram 1). Combusting, or burning, fuel creates heat (2), heat turns water to steam (3), steam turns a turbine (4), and the turbine spins the generator (5), creating electricity (6). The steam is then condensed by cool water drawn from a nearby source (such as rivers). This cooling water, which is kept inside in tubes, is returned to its source without any contamination. The steam water stays in its own closed system and is returned to the boiler to start the process again.
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Progress Energy’s nuclear-fueled generating plants work like fossil-fueled plants in most respects. The primary difference is that it uses uranium instead of fossil fuel, using the energy of atoms to create the heat that turns water to steam (3). There is no combustion in a nuclear reactor. The steam turns the turbine – that spins the generator (9) – which creates electricity. Steam is then converted back into water and is used over again (7,8) just as in a fossil-fueled plant. The cooling water, which is kept inside in tubes, is returned to its source without any contamination.
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