THERMAL

WHAT IS THERMAL GENERATION?

What is thermal generation?
Thermal generation is the process of generating
electricity
heat. Heat
is atoform
energy.
Thermalfrom
generation
refers
the of
process
Heat
energy
that
is
turned
into
electricity
can be
of generating electricity from heat. There
made
in many
ways.
It can fuels:
be produced
by
are four
thermal
energy
coal, natural
burning
fuelswaste
such as
coal,
oil, gas or wood.
gas, wood
and
geo-thermal.
StrictlyIt can
also
be takennuclear
from steam
from
a geothermal
speaking,
power
is also
thermal
field,
or
created
by
nuclear
reactions.
energy fuel, but it is set aside in a class of
its own because of its unique traits.
In this factsheet you will learn about the burning
ofFossil
fossil fuels,
fuels (coal,
gas),and
wood
such oil,
as gas
coal,(biomass)
were and
geothermal
energy.
For
more
information
created millions of years ago from layers about
nuclear
power,
thematter.
Nuclear Energy factsheet.
of animal
andsee
plant
When
coalsuch
is burnt
to produce
heat,were
this heat
Fossil
fuels,
as gas,
oil and coal,
can bemillions
used toofcreate
Theanimal
steamand
created
yearssteam.
ago from
drives
the steam
turbine,
which isand
connected
plant
matter
that was
compressed
compacted
insideThe
layers
of rock.
to a generator.
energy
produced by the
generator is passed through a transformer
When
coalNational
is burnt Grid
to produce
heat energy,
this
into the
transmission
line which
heat
energy
can be used
to create
steam.
The
delivers
electricity
throughout
New
Zealand.
steam drives the steam turbine, which is
Natural gas
provide energy
through
the
connected
to can
a generator.
The energy
produced
of burning
it for heating
cooking.
byprocess
the generator
is passed
throughand
a transformer
It can
be used
totransmission
fuel an electricity
into
thealso
National
Grid
line. turbine.
This is the
system that delivers electricity to all of
Wood
waste (bio-mass) comes from wood
New
Zealand.
processing plants and other related industries.
Often the
wood
waste
is disposed
of, but
in
Biomass
means
a fuel
that
is made from
living
someThe
situations
it can be burned
order
things.
most common
exampleinof
this to
is
produce
heat
energy.
Heat
energy
can
make
wood waste, which comes from wood processing
steam.
Steam
drives
a steam
to
plants
and
related
industries;
forturbine
example,
pulp
and paper
mills. Often the wood waste is
generate
power.
disposed of, but in some situations it can be
Three to
types
of power
arewhich
used can
to be
burned
produce
heatplants
energy,
generate
powerways
fromtogeo-thermal
energy:
used
in different
generate electrical
dry steam, flash and binary. Dry steam
energy.
plants take steam out of fractures in the

Geothermal energy is the heat that flows

continuously from the hot interior of the Earth
to
the cooler
surface.
most places
the
ground
and use
it to In
directly
drive ain
turbine
world,
there
is
not
enough
of
this
heat
to
use
that spins a generator.
for generating electricity. New Zealand is one
of just a few countries in the world that have
geothermal fields where hot rocks are close
enough to the surface to be useful. Wells are
drilled deep into the ground and a mixture of
hot water and steam is taken out at high
pressure. This steam is separated and piped to
the power station, where it is used to drive a
turbine and generator in the same way as at
other power stations. The water is usually put
back into the ground, so that the geothermal
reservoir isnt depleted.
HUNTLY POWER STATION IN THE NORTH ISLAND SUPPLYS
UP TO 20% OF NEW ZEALANDS ELECTRICITY.
SOURCE:
GENESIS
ENERGY
HOW
DO
STEAM
AND GAS TURBINES WORK?

In New Zealand, three types of turbines are

How is electricity generated from thermal
used to drive the electrical generators of
energystations:
fuels?
power
In New Zealand, three types of turbines
Conventional
steam
generate heat
fromturbine
natural gas:
The fuel is burnt in a boiler to heat water into
Conventional
Steam
Turbine
steam
under high
pressure.
A conventional
steam turbine uses the pressure of the
Gas is burnt
in a boiler
toaheat
water
into
expanding
steam
to turn
turbine.
The
steam. A
conventional
steam
uses
turbine
drives
a generator.
Theturbine
whole process
high pressure
steam to
a turbine.
The
converts
heat energy
to turn
rotational
kinetic
turbinewhich
drivesisa then
generator
whichinto
converts
energy,
converted
electrical
kinetic
energy
into
electrical
energy.
energy.

Open Cycle Gas Turbine

Open-cycle gas turbine
An
Anopen-cycle
open cyclegas
gasturbine
turbineisisvery
verysimilar
similarto
toa
jet
engine
onon
anan
aircraft
and
is the
most
basic
a jet
engine
aircraft
and
is the
most
thermal
energy
turbine.
Air
is
passed
through
basic thermal energy turbine. Air is passed
athrough
compressor
and is then
mixed
with
fuel gas
a compressor
and
is then
mixed
in a combustion chamber. It is then burnt and

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copyright holder. From ElectroCity www.electrocity.co.nz Genesis Energy 2010.

the hot expanding gases create thrust that

withthe
fuelgas
gasturbine.
in a combustion
turns
The shaft chamber.
of the gasIt is
then burnt
and the hot
create
thrust
turbine
is connected
to agases
generator
which
that turnselectricity.
the gas turbine shaft. The gas
generates
turbine shaft is connected to a generator
Combined-cycle
gas
turbine
which generates
electricity.
Combined-cycle gas turbines first combust the
Combined
Cycle Gas
Turbine
gas
in a gas turbine,
which
produces electricity
as above. The exhaust heat is then passed
Combined cycle gas turbines combust the
through a boiler to create steam which turns a
gas and then pass the exhaust heat through
steam turbine. The steam turbine produces
a boiler
to createand
steam.
The steamthe
turns
further
electricity,
so improves
overall
a
steam
turbine,
which
generates
power.
efficiency of the operation.
Both the gas turbine and the steam turbine
are connected
to the generator.
WHAT
ARE THE ADVANTAGES
OF THERMAL
ENERGY?
What
arebenefit
the advantages
The
main
of thermal energy is that it can
of
thermal
energy?
provide continuous, reliable energy that is not
dependent on the weather.
The main benefit of thermal energy is that it
can provide continuous, reliable energy that
Coal
is not
on the
Coal
hasdependent
been a useful
fuelweather.
for generating

electricity for many decades because it is

Coal
relatively cheap and available. Coal is in plentiful
supply
worldwide
which fuel
generally
makes its
Coal has
been a useful
for generating
price
and availability
Zealand
electricity
for many reliable.
decadesNew
because
it is has
abundant
reserves
of
coal:
near
Huntly
in
relatively cheap and available. Coal is inthe
North Island, and on the West Coast and in
plentiful supply worldwide which generally
Southland in the South Island.
makes its price and availability reliable.
New Zealand
Natural
gas has abundant reserves of coal.
Efficient
gas turbines produce a
Naturalcombined-cycle
Gas
lot more electricity and less pollution than coal,
meaning
put out
much
carbon
dioxide
Efficient they
combined
cycle
gasless
turbines
produce
into
the
atmosphere
for
the
same
output
of
a lot more electricity and burn cleaner than
electrical
energy.they emit much less carbon
coal, meaning
dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.
Wood waste
Wood
is generally sourced from a pulp
Woodwaste
Waste
and paper mill which needs electricity and
WoodTherefore
waste is athe
renewable
fuel.
steam.
waste ofsource
the millofcan
be
Wood
waste is steam
generally
from
used
to provide
andsourced
energy for
theamill.
This
reduces
transportation
New
Zealand
pulp
and paper
mill whichcost.
needs
electricity
has
huge
forests
of exotic
trees.
and
steam.
Therefore
the(non-native)
waste of the
mill

The processing of these trees into paper or

can be
usedresults
to provide
steam
and energy
milled
timber
in a large
amount
of bark
forwood
itself.waste,
This reduces
transportation
and
which can
be burnt in acost.
boiler
Zealand
hasmanufacturing
vast forests of and/or
exotic
toNew
create
steam for
electricity
generation.
Thisprocessing
is a good example
(non-native)
trees. The
of theseof
co-generation,
and
is
discussed
further
in the
trees into paper or milled timber, results
in
separate
factsheet
on
co-generation.
a large amount of bark and wood waste,
which can be burnt in a boiler to create steam
Geothermal
for manufacturing or electricity generation.
Geothermal energy is the only renewable
thermal
energy available in the world. Using
Geo-thermal
geothermal energy is a cleaner, greener way to
Geo-thermal
energy
is the
only renewable
produce
thermal
energy,
compared
to using
fossil
fuels,energy
and is not
dependent
the weather
thermal
available
in the on
world.
Using
orgeo-thermal
mining.
energy is a cleaner, greener
way to produce thermal energy, compared
WHAT
AREfuels,
THE DISADVANTAGES
OF THERMAL
to fossil
and is not dependent
on the
ENERGY?
weather or mining.
All thermal power stations produce steam which
once
used
drive
the turbine is still too hot to
What
areto
the
disadvantages
discharge
directly.
Resource
consents stipulate
of thermal energy?
how waste steam must be cooled before it can
beCoal
discharged to the environment.
Coaldisadvantages
is a non-renewable
resource
and
Other
are specific
to particular
is only available in a few select areas
fuels.
of New Zealand. Burning coal creates
Coal
carbon dioxide emissions which contribute
Coal
is a non-renewable
to greenhouse
gases. resource and is only
available in a few areas of New Zealand. Burning
Natural
Gas
coal
creates
carbon dioxide emissions which
contribute to greenhouse gases.
Natural Gas is a non-renewable resource
and isgas
only produced in the Taranaki region
Natural
whichgas
limits
supply. Natural
gas, once
Natural
is athe
non-renewable
resource
and, in
burned,
also is
creates
carbon dioxide
New
Zealand,
only produced
in theemissions.
Taranaki
region. Natural gas, once burned, also creates
Wooddioxide
Waste emissions.
carbon
A renewable resource, wood waste creates
Wood
waste
carbon
dioxide emissions once burned
A renewable resource, wood waste creates
although this is largely offset by growing
carbon dioxide emissions once burned, although
new
trees. Supply
is limited
dependent
this
is largely
offset by
growingand
new
trees. Howon
whats
available.
ever, the supply is limited and dependent on
what is available.

Geothermal
Geo-thermal
Even
though geothermal energy is technically
renewable, this is dependent on the careful
Even though geo-thermal
energy
is renewable,
management
of geothermal
fields,
for example
itsre-injection
lifetime is limited,
so we
to be careful
by
of water
intoneed
the underground
with howrocks.
we manage
geo-thermal
reservoir
It is alsoour
relatively
expensive to
resource.
Its also expensive
to build awith large
build
a geo-thermal
plant. Compared
fossil
fuel-burning
powergenerate
stations,
geo-thermal
plantthermal
and it doesnt
geothermal
stations
have relatively
smaller
a lot of energy
compared
to other sources.
generating capacities.
How is thermal energy used in
New IS
Zealand?
HOW
THERMAL ENERGY USED IN
NEW ZEALAND?
Thermalenergy
energyplays
playsaakey
key role
role in
in supplying
supplying
Thermal
NewZealands
Zealands electricity.
electricity. Huntly Power Station
New
is the countrys largest power station
Genesis
Energys
Station is the
generating
up toHuntly
20% ofPower
New Zealands
countrys
power station. It has six
electricitylargest
requirements.
separate generating units: four conventional
Huntly
Power
Station
five
separate
boiler
and
turbine
unitshas
that
can
burn coal
units
(four
turbines
which
orgenerating
gas and that
each
generate
250
MW each
of
power,
one
gas-fired
turbine
generating
generate 250MW of power annually and
48
MW
andred
a 385
MW combined
gas
one
gas-fi
turbine
generatingcycle
48MW
turbine
(a 250
MW of
gas
turbine annually).
plus a 135 MW
annually
a total
1048MW
steam
turbine)

a
total
capacity
of 1433
MW.
A new 385MW combined cycle gas
turbine
Huntly is capable of producing nearly 13 TWhr
is nearing completion at Huntly. This new
(13 million MWhr) of energy each year about
power
station
will reduce
the amount
of
20%
of New
Zealands
electricity
requirements.
coal burnt at Huntly and will reduce carbon
dioxide
emissions
as well.
Other
fossil-fuel
burning
power stations are
located in Auckland, Taranaki and Hawkes
Bay. New Zealand is a pioneer in the use of
geothermal energy. Wairakei is the oldest
operational geothermal power station in the
world. New Zealands other geothermal
power stations are all in the Taupo Volcanic
Zone and the Northland geothermal field.

In total they account for 635 MW or nearly

ACTIVITIES
7%
of our generating capacity.
ACTIVITY ONE

ACTIVITIES
Research project: What are carbon-dioxide
ACTIVITY
ONE
emissions
and why are they bad for the
Research
project:
environment? What are carbon-dioxide
emissions and why are they bad for the
ACTIVITY TWO
environment?
Divide the
class into seven groups.
ACTIVITY
TWO
Assignthe
each
group
of the
following
Divide
class
intoone
seven
groups.
Assign
energy
sources:
each group one of the following energy
sources:
Co-generation
WindCo-generation
Hydro
Wind
Thermal
Hydro
Thermal
Nuclear
Nuclear
Ocean
SolarOcean
Solar
Each group presents a case for why their
Each
group
presents
casetofor
their
energy
source
is the abest
thewhy
class.
energy source is the best to the class.

SUPPORTING RESOURCES
-

New Zea la nd Geotherma l As s ocia tion: www. nzgeotherma l. org. nz

Energy Efficiency a nd Cons erva tion Authority: www. eeca . govt. nz
Minis try of Economic Development: www. med. govt. nz
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_New_Zealand