Follow the Drop – Power Plant Cooling

You’ve arrived at the thermal generation power plant, but you may not yet know what you are doing there! Just so you understand, a thermal power station is a power station in which heat energy is converted to electric power. In most places, the turbineDefinition: turbineA machine for producing continuous power in which a wheel or rotor is made to revolve by a fast-moving flow of water, steam, gas, air, or other fluid. is steam-driven: the water can either be heated, generally with gas, to provide steam that drives the turbines, or it can be used to cool machinery and prevent overheating.  If you are interested in learning more about power plant cooling, go to the Nexus Energy page 

When water is to be used for cooling, it first has to be heated up. If the water released back to the river is warmer than the river water, it can cause stress or harm to animal and plant species adapted to cold water. You’ll be relieved to hear that because the Bow River is a cold water river, none of the power generation plants in the WatershedDefinition: WatershedAn area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. Homes, farms, cottages, forests, small towns, big cities and more can make up watersheds. discharge into the river until the water has been cooled.