Power Plant, an industrial facility to generate electricity, was born in the late 19th century, after the discovery of alternate current which allowed sending power over great distances with minimum loss. The first power stations operated on water or coal; later designs included using other kinds of fuel like natural gas, wind, tidal waves, hydroelectricity, pertroleum, or geothermal sources. They also varied greatly in power output: for example, a single large wind turbine generates 1-2 megawatts, while big coal-fired installations like the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in the UK could generate 2 gigawatts.