An engine power plant is a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

in which power comes from the combination of a

reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

and an

alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...

. Thanks to very short start-up time, Engine power plants can provide full output within few minutes (high flexibility) and ensure load balancing. As the share of electricity coming from

variable renewable energy Variable renewable energy (VRE) or intermittent renewable energy sources (IRES) are renewable energy sources that are not dispatchable due to their fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power, as opposed to controllable renewable ener ...

sources (vRES) and power supply variations are increasing in many countries around the world, grid stability is becoming a growing challenge requiring flexibility options like flexible generation, including engine power plants. Engine power plants are also used as a reliable and efficient technology solution for: * emergency reserve power plants *

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

applications where both electricity & heat are needed, i.e. in industrial processes, for

district heating District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...

, etc. * transforming renewable gases (esp.

biogas Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. It is a ...

) into renewable electricity & heat

References

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External links

EUGINE: European Engine Power Plants Association
Power stations Power station technology