1The generation of electric power — producing electricity via power plants, solar panels, wind turbines, etc. Used verbally as 発電する.
この川の水力を利用して発電しています。
We use the power of this river's water to generate electricity.
台風の後、停電した地域では非常用の発電機が活躍した。
After the typhoon, emergency generators were put to use in the areas that lost power.
家の屋根に太陽光パネルを付けて、自宅で発電している。
We put solar panels on our roof and generate our own electricity at home.
原子力発電については賛否両論がある。
There are arguments both for and against nuclear power generation.
2An obsolete meaning: to send a telegram. Distinct from the modern sense of generating electricity, this usage dates to the Meiji era and is not used in contemporary Japanese at all.