Condensing power plant

A condensing power plant is a conventional thermal power plant in which only electricity is generated. The steam that leaves the condensing turbine has only a low pressure and temperature and is condensed with the help of cooling devices . The waste heat that leaves the condenser can no longer be used and must be released into the environment. That means: thermal power plants can only convert the supplied energy to around 30% to a maximum of 60% into electricity.

The counterpart of a condensation power plant is a power plant with combined heat and power , in which the heat generated is also used for a district heating or local heating network.