This is Ferrybridge power station on the A1 in Yorkshire, as seen from the coach on the way back from Berlin. The top picture shows 8 cooling towers, which are used to make the steam from the turbines condense back into liquid water. The two tall narrow chimneys put smoke up into the air. Coal is difficult to light: have you tried lighting a coal fire? However, once it is going, it provides a massive amount of energy. We say that coal is a fuel with a high energy density. Coal-fired power stations are on all the time at full blast because of the difficulty of starting them. This means that at night the country produces more electricity than it needs. More on this later. Coal is a fossil fuel, the remains of ancient forests. The carbon in the plants was originally taken from carbon dioxide in the air and has been trapped underground for millions of years. If coal stays underground, there is less carbon dioxide in the air. If we take it out and burn it, more carbon dioxide is released into the air. The vast majority of scientists believe this will lead to global warming. Coal also contains small amounts of sulphur, which reacts with oxygen in the air when the coal is burned to make sulphur dioxide. Sulphur dioxide gas dissolves in raindrops to form acid rain. This erodes buildings and damages living things.
