Classification

Thermal power plants are classified by the type of fuel and the type of prime mover installed.

By fuel:


Nuclear power plants use a nuclear reactor's heat to operate a steam turbine generator.
Fossil fuelled power plants may also use a steam turbine generator or in the case of natural gas fired plants may use a combustion turbine.
Geothermal power plants use steam extracted from hot underground rocks.
Renewable energy plants may be fuelled by waste from sugar cane, municipal solid waste, landfill methane, or other forms of biomass.
In integrated steel mills, blast furnace exhaust gas is a low-cost, although low-energy-density, fuel.
Waste heat from industrial processes is occasionally concentrated enough to use for power generation, usually in a steam boiler and turbine.