Alabama Power's Plant Miller How Electricity Is Generated 3D Animated Tour

[kimmer]

Wow! it takes some 4 Million horsepower to generate 2900 Megawatts....in a perfect world with no losses.

Thank you for maintaining and supervising your emissions systems. Clearly, most of the public has no idea how ''clean'' your plant is as compared to earlier coal fired plants.

In fact, the public has no comprehension of the magnitude of designing, building, and operating a power station such as yours. Electric Power Distribution falls in the realm of magic for most citizens. They complain about environmental impact yet are the first to cry when power gets interrupted by storm, winds, accidents, etc.

I am a retired Field Engineer who started at General Electric Co. installing and maintaining gas turbine generator sets throughout the world. A 70 Megawatt unit is HUGE for me! Great video. I appreciate your work!

[kharjai]

There is a ton of misinformation in the comments regarding alternative energy sources. So, just to be clear;

1) All conventional thermal power plants operate exactly the same way. The only variable is the source of the heat: nuclear fission, combusted fuel, concentrated solar radiation, etc. Every single one uses the same turbine, heat exchanger, induction generator, heat removal fluid (a water mixture).

2) The reason we don't just switch to all solar and wind generation is because there is no good way to store energy. We don't use the same amount of power throughout the day; there is a huge spike in demand in the afternoon through late evening, and very little usage at night. This is called demand response: the grid must be able to quickly adapt to large surges in energy demand within minutes. Most renewables (save for hydroelectric damming) just don't have that level of flexibility. If the sun isn't shining, your photovoltaics aren't on. Thermal plants have been time tested to be able to respond to these fluctuations.

3) As some have pointed out, there is some type of balance to strike between electricity sources. Supplementing traditional thermal plants with alternatives is the only realistic way to meet our modern energy demands. That is, unless we can find a way to store excess energy produced in low demand periods (this is particularly important for wind).

4) Moreover, the small scale cost of solar panels and wind turbines is very appealing but the scaled cost of operation ($/MWh) is laughably outrageous compared to a nuclear or coal-fired thermal plant due to the energy availability factor (EAF) alone.

TL;DR
In sum, coal plants won't be gone any time soon, and there is no silver bullet "just use x" solution at this time, primarily due to the lack of proper energy storage and redistribution technologies.

[neilreid]

Very, very interesting. Very clever process! We take electricity for granted but it's a major undertaking at each step. Impressive indeed!

[nerdvision]

Wow!!! This is like the most thrilling video in all of YouTube! Seeing how it has not yet put Hollywood out of business, it is clearly being suppressed.

[shukfahid]

Your 3D designer is amazing! Nice work un-named designer.

[terryzak]

I've been in the power generation industry for 30-years, and this is the best overview of coal-fired power generation that I've seen. It's very well done. I follow-up with one for natural gas fired, combined cycle, which has twice the efficiency, would be a great addition. But I'm sure something like this is very expensive to produce. Keep up the good work.

[Palifiox]

I've been in a similar but older power station. This video is spot on, as far as it goes.

[ncoots]

I’m attending ysu in Ohio for their electrical utility technology (power plant) associates degree and found this very helpful. Thank you!

[jimboreaddabible]

Never knew that there was SO much involved in producing clean output! I'd be curious to know what percentage they clean up the exhaust.

[NoNonsenseKnowHow]

Really appreciate this video. This helped me gain knowledge of power plants so I didn't sound like a complete dummy in my latest video "Going inside of exhaust side of a turbine" Thanks!

[NoNonsenseKnowHow]

Top notch video and a perfect explanation.

[BostonPower]

AFTER WATCHING THIS VIDEO, I HAVE COME TO THE REALIZATION THAT I HAVE CONTRIBUTED NOTHING TO THIS THANKS A

[stephenherr]

Interesting video of a highly efficient plant, I have seen the cooling towers many times from the Interstate.

[WarrenGarabrandt]

Not mentioned: the arsenic, mercury, cadmium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other materials released into the atmosphere that cannot be easily or economically dealt with.

[bobmajors]

Great presentation, very informative.

[JERZ]

Great presentation, very informative.

Thanks for your video. I will use the video in my Thermodynamic class.

[dinabandhukhuntia]

It is a very good clip for basic information.Plz make the video with every part so details that anyone can understand without help of plant engineer

[thomashaslam]

I'm a retired union Boilermaker loved working at plant miller my last job lots of fun and MONEY LOL

[ssureshot]

A truly amazing CGI job.
I had to look twice to confirm the opening aerial view was not a drone shot.

[moldyoldie]

Thanks for the well-made educational video. I was told years ago that the coal coming out of a pulverizer is like flour. Close enough.