Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the

production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing
water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of
global electricity generation – 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010, and is
expected to increase about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.

Geothermal electricity is electricity generated from geothermal energy. Technologies

in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power
stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 24 countries, while geothermal
heating is in use in 70 countries.

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using
photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentrated solar
power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight
into a small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the photovoltaic
effect.

Wind power or wind energy is the energy extracted from wind using wind turbines to
produce electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping,
or sails to propel ships.

A fossil fuel power station burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum(oil)
to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for
continuous operation. In many countries, such plants provide most of the electrical energy
used. Fossil-fuel power stations have rotating machinery to convert the heat energy
of combustion into mechanical energy, which then operates an electrical generator.
The prime mover may be a steam turbine, a gas turbine or, in small plants, a
reciprocating internal combustion engine. All plants use the energy extracted from
expanding gas - steam or combustion gases. Very few MHD generators have been built which
directly convert the energy of moving hot gas into electricity.

A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear
reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to generate
steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity. As
of 23 April 2014, the IAEA report there are 435 nuclear power reactors in operation operating
in 31 countries. Nuclear power plants are usually considered to be base load stations, since
fuel is a small part of the cost of production.