In Short
Conventional “dirty” power plants burn coal or natural gas to drives turbines that generate electricity.
A Few Details
Conventional power plants offer several advantages:
– Coal and natural gas are cost-effective energy sources.
– Their construction and infrastructure has already been fully amortized.
– These plants can easily modulate their power output, particularly by adjusting the natural gas intake for gas turbines.
– Coal and natural gas can be easily stored, allowing power plants to reliably meet continuous demand, including sudden surges in electricity consumption.
Alternative “clean” power plants must replicate these characteristics in order to produce electricity without generating GHG emissions.
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