Power plants generate electricity by harnessing energy with turbines. Fluid or air flow can be used to turn a turbine. In the case of a hydroelectric facility, water flow turns the turbine. At a wind farm, wind turns turbines. But at most power plants, the energy source—like coal or nuclear fission—provides heat which is converted into steam to turn the turbine.

As the turbine rotates, that energy is used by the generator to spin the shaft. The shaft is attached to a series of wire coils. As the coils move past the magnet, the magnetic force moves the electrons and creates an electric current, or electricity. The current in the wire can then be transmitted to people who need to use the electricity.