a fossil fuel in the earth and in mountains that has been squished and pressured and heated over millions of years
a burnable sedimentary rock
has high amount of carbon and hydrocarbons
Where do we get coal?
17 coal plants in Texas to include Fayette Power process the coal
Texas burns more coal than any other state in the US
Fayette Power gets most of its coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana, which is owned by the US Department of the Interior
at Powder River Basin, huge equipment removes the topsoil, carves land into roads, shovels up the coal and moves soil and rocks from those mountains into pits
Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads bring coal from Powder River to Texas
How does coal generate electricity?
coal is burned to generate steam
steam flows into a turbine
the turbine spins a generator to create electricity
the steam is cooled, returned to its water form
the process starts over with another batch of coal