Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone, Pripyat, Ivankiv Raion, Ukraine

By fuel
• Nuclear power plants use a nuclear reactor's heat to operate a steam turbine generator. About 20% of electric generation in the USA is produced by nuclear power plants.
• 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. A coal-fired power station produces electricity by burning coal to generate steam, and has the side-effect of producing a large amount of carbon dioxide, which is released from burning coal and contributes to global warming. About 50% of electric generation in the USA is produced by coal fired power plants
• Geothermal power plants use steam extracted from hot underground rocks.