In 1875, the thermal power plant of Paris North Railway Station in France was built to generate electricity, using a very small DC motor for nearby lighting. This is the first thermal power plant in the world. Subsequently, small thermal power plants were built in the United States, Russia and Britain. In the late 1880s, with the growth of industrial and domestic power consumption, the United States built the first AC power plant in 1886. In 1888, British C.A. Parsons successfully developed the first 75kW steam turbine generator with high and low pressure cylinders and installed it in flowbanks power plant in Britain. In 1891, Parsons manufactured the first generator set with condenser for Cambridge electric lamp company in England, with a capacity of 100kW and greatly improved thermal efficiency. In 1882, China built a thermal power plant with a 12KW DC generator in Shanghai. On July 26 of that year, it officially generated power for power supply and lighting.

The main characteristics of generator for thermal power plants are a short construction period, low project cost, fast investment recovery and flexible site selection compared with hydropower stations with the same capacity. The main disadvantage of thermal power plant is that it pollutes the environment to a certain extent. The environmental protection measures taken mainly include: the use of high-efficiency electrostatic precipitator and desulfurization measures, the comprehensive utilization of fly ash, and the use of circulating cooling to protect water sources.