Why All That Steam On The Wyoming Horizon?

A cold winter day.

A massive plume of steam rises near Wheatland, Wyoming.

At its base it covers many acres of land.

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?

Relax, it is just a coa-fire power plant going through its cool down phase.

Coal-fired power plants need to cool down the steam they produce after passing through the turbine and generating electricity.

Don't worry, there is no environmental damage here.

What you are seeing is steam from water that needs to be cooled down.

The steam needs to be condensed back into water to be recirculated through the system and reheated in the boiler.

This cooling the steam allows it to be pumped back into the system with minimal energy expenditure.

Look off to the right side of the picture and you'll see some short cooling towers.

The steam needs to be cooled significantly in a condenser to create a large temperature difference between the hot steam entering the turbine and the cool water used to condense it.

The cooled water (now condensed steam) is then pumped back into the boiler to be reheated and turned into steam again, completing the cycle.

Most power plants use cooling towers to cool the water used in the condenser, allowing the steam to condense effectively.

Quite a site isn't it.

The best time to see it, when the steam looks so thick and heavy, is on old cold winter days like the one where we took these photos.

You can drive into Wheatland and take the highway North, 320 toward the powerplant.

Just follow the signs and you'll be able to get real close and watch it.

You'll hear all that steam escaping as well.