• Coal:Coal is a combustive black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called beds or coal seams. Coal is considered as a non-renewable resource because it cannot be replenished on a human timeframe.The activities involved in generating electricity from coal include mining, transport to power plants, and burning the coal in power plants. At the power plant, coal is commonly burned in a boiler to produce steam. The resulting steam is run through a turbine to generate electricity.Apart from generating electricity, coal is also burned to produce heat which is used for various purposes such as domestic heating and in industrial furnaces. During the Industrial Revolution, coal was mainly used to raise steam which was used to power machinery, steam ships and locomotives.
• Petroleum:Petroleum is a naturally occurring liquid found in rock deep in the ground. This liquid consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds.It is generally accepted that oil is formed mostly from the carbon-rich remains of ancient plankton after exposure to heat and pressure in the earth’s crust over hundreds of millions of years. Overtime, the decayed residue was covered by layers of mud and silt, sinking further down into the earth’s crust and preserved there between hot and pressured layers, gradually transforming into oil reservoirs.After mining, petroleum is transported to a petroleum refinery where the mixtures of hydrocarbons that constitute the petroleum are separated and put into various uses. Some of these hydrocarbons (fractions or products) include petrol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, refinery gas (jet oil), etc.The energy from petroleum products is tapped mainly by burning. The burning produces heat energy that is used for heating, lighting or doing some mechanical work (such as powering machinery, vehicles, etc). For example, fuel is burned in a furnace or boiler for generation of heat that is used in an engine for generation of power. Petroleum products can also be burned to generate electricity.
• Natural gas:Natural gas is fossil fuel formed when layers of buried plants, gases and animals are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands of years. The gas is often found in close proximity to and with petroleum. Natural gas is a hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly includes varying amounts of other higher alkanes and even a lesser percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulphide.Natural gas is mined from deposits deep underground and brought to the surface. Before the gas can be used as a fuel, it must be processed to remove impurities, including water, to meet the standard of a marketable natural gas.Energy from the natural gas is extracted through burning of the gas. This burning produces heat energy which is used for heating, cooking and electricity generation. The gas is also used as fuel for vehicles and as a raw material in the manufacture of plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals.
• Water:The potential energy of dammed or flowing water can be converted into storable electrical energy. Harnessing the flowing water to power machines and mechanical processes is one of the oldest methods of power generation that is used until today.The energy in water may be tapped naturally or artificially. Naturally, flowing water at waterfalls runs through turbines, which generate electricity. River water may also be used to run milling machines. Artificially, water may be lifted to higher points such as tanks or dams where it drops in mass, turning the turbines to generate electricity.
• Biomass:Biomass is biological material derived from living things, or recently living organisms. It mostly refers to plants or plant-based materials. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat or indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel. The biofuel can then be burned to release heat energy that is used to power machines or for heating purposes.Wood is burned directly to produce heat and/or light. Wood remains the best biomass energy source to date. Examples of wood include forest residues (such as braches, dead trees and stumps), yard clippings, wood chips, and even municipal solid wastes.Biomass also includes plant or animal matter that can be converted into fibres, or other industrial chemicals, including biofuels. For example, gasohol is a biofuel derived from a mixture of alcohol (from sugar cane) and petrol. This is used as a fuel to run cars and machines.Rotten garbage and agricultural and human waste under controlled conditions can release biogas that can be used for heating, cooking and lighting.
• Uranium:Uranium is a radioactive element. The energy from uranium is extracted through nuclear fission or fusion. Nuclear fission involves splitting of an atom while nuclear fusion involves combining two light atoms. The most commercially exploited process is nuclear fission, when the atoms and nuclei of this radioactive element split in nuclear reactors. The process releases a large amount of energy in the form of heat. The heat released is used to boil water into steam, which is, in turn used to turn turbines to generate electricity.
• Solar energy:Solar energy refers to energy from the sun. This energy can be tapped and used for different purposes. Solar energy is tapped by devices called solar panels. The energy is absorbed by the panels and converted into electrical energy that can be used immediately or stored for later use. The trapped energy can be used to light homes and power gadgets such as phones and calculators. The heat from the sun can also be tapped directly like when it is used to dry crops or clothes.
• Geothermal steam:The geothermal power from geothermal steam is extracted by directing it to run machines that produce electricity. Its heat can also be tapped by placing the material to be heated over the hot steam.
• Wind energy:The kinetic energy of wind is harnessed by turning windmills, which generate electricity. Each of the several wind mills is supplied with a cable which is used to supply electricity to the main cable which then directs electricity to homes, industries etc. The electricity generated can be used for cooking, lighting and running machines. Wind energy may also be tapped by putting up sails to propel water vessels such as dhows.

Generally there are alot of thing that's used to extract energy and power but charcoal is the main one because it known by everyone and it help in produce fire s the energy that help in cooking