how exactly is electricity created and why are there so many ways to do it (ie hydro, coal, nuclear,etc)
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Electricity is created by making electrons move back and forth along a wire. The easiest way to do that is to move magnets back and forth against each other.
Outside of solar, all of our electricity generation is *exactly* the same. You have a moving wheel with magnets on the inside, and a stationary wheel of magnets on the outside. You make that inner wheel spin, and as the magnets on it spin against the outer wheel, you generate that electron movement.
The only real difference is how we make that wheel spin. With something like Hydroelectricity, we use water that is stored somewhere high and let it get pulled down by gravity, and we have it run along one side of a wheel that spins the magnets.
With hydro, coal, and other methods, we superheat water and create a lot of steam. That steam tries to rise due to its extreme heat, and spins a wheel as it rises.
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