Power stations

Power is generated in the United Kingdom in a variety of ways.  The biggest power stations are gas, oil or coal fired but 5% of our power is still generated by nuclear fission.
A small but growing percentage of our power comes from ‘green’ sources, such as wind, wave and solar power.
The big issue facing power generators is global warming.  Burning fossil fuels such as gas, coal or oil releases carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been locked up in storage for millions of years, causing the atmosphere to warm.  This effect is believed to be responsible for climate change that could be disastrous to the planet if not checked.
Whatever kind of fuel source is used to, the method is broadly the same.
Some turbines are turned by wind or water power but mostly fuels are burned to produce heat, heat is used to produce steam and steam forced into turbines to turn them.  The waste steam from power stations is cooled in cooling towers which are often the most noticeable part of a station, with large clouds of steaming emerging from them they can be seen for miles.

Most nuclear power stations built in the UK are approaching the end of their working lives, they were considered to be the perfect solution to our energy requirements in the 1950s and 1960s, they do not produce any emissions but the problem of disposing spent nuclear fuel will be with us for centuries and any accidental leakage of nuclear materials could be disastrous.