Oil-fired power station on a river. This is the Littlebrook Power Station on the River Thames, in Dartford, England. The main smokestack rises in front of the three generator buildings. Oil is burnt in the power station to heat water and form steam to drive electricity-generating turbines. Smoke is cleaned and released through the chimney. The water is taken from the nearby river. Each of the generating units can operate at 685 megawatts (MW), as of 2004. There has been a power station on this site since 1939. This one was built in 1977.