<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> A power station, also referred to as a power plant or powerhouse and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power . Most power stations contain one or more generators, a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power . The relative motion between a magnetic field and a conductor creates an electrical current . The energy source harnessed to turn the generator varies widely . Most power stations in the world burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas to generate electricity . Others use nuclear power, but there is an increasing use of cleaner renewable sources such as solar, wind, wave and hydroelectric . </P> <P> In 1870 a hydro electric power station was designed and built by Lord Armstrong at Cragside, England . It used water from lakes on his estate to power Siemens dynamos . The electricity supplied power to lights, heating, produced hot water, ran an elevator as well as labor - saving devices and farm buildings . </P>

Where does the energy in a power station come from