Didcot power stations
This was the first power station here. It is the biggest one with the big cooling towers (that make the cooling water cooler and make lots of steam) that are in two groups. One group is northwest, the other group is southeast. The power station can make up to 2000 megawatts (2000 million watts - an 'average' lightbulb uses only 50 or 60 watts) at any one time. Didcot 'A' mainly burns coal, but can also burn oil, or in some cases gas. This power station can use some biomass such as wood. The fuel (coal, oil and so on) is first ground up in big mills if it is solid (similar to old flour windmills, but powered by electric motors) to give it a large surface area, and is then blown into a large boiler with lots of air. Here it is burnt to make very high pressure steam, which is used to turn a large steam turbine. This turbine is connected to a generator, which makes the electricity that is then sent out on the National Grid. Didcot A was closed in 2013 and has been demolished. There are now (2018) only three of the large cooling towers left.