Introduction to Energy Generation and Distribution

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Introduction to Energy Generation and Distribution

• The History of Electricity

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The History of Electricity

• Electrical Discoveries
• Natural occurrences of electricity
• Lightning
• Static-amber rods rubbed with cat fur
• Electric fish (electric eels, electric catfish,
  others)
• Nerve operation
• Brain activity

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The History of Electricity

• Electrical Discoveries
• Numerous scientists from 1600s on started
  treating this as more than a curiosity
• Benjamin Franklins kite experiment in 1752
  proved lightning was electricity
• Luigi Galvani in 1791 proved that electricity is
  what makes nerves work

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Ben Franklin
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The History of Electricity

• Electrical Inventions
• Electromagnetism united electricity and magnetism
  in 1819 (Orsted and Ampere)
• Faraday invented the electric motor in 1821
• 1830s several inventors created the telegraph
• Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in
  1876
• Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb in
  1879
• Nikola Tesla invented Alternating Current

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Thomas Edison
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Nikola Tesla
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The History of Electricity

• Electrical Inventions
• Whale oil, town gas, kerosene primary means of
  providing gas lights for many years prior to
  electricity
• Widespread use of electricity to operate lights
• Batteries
• Electric vehicles
• Enhanced and larger electric motors AC and DC
• Large generating systems AC and DC

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The History of Electricity

• The Industrial Revolution
• 2nd half of the 1700s through the 1800s
• Mechanization transformed modern society
• Large industries sprang up, many powered by
  horses, then by steam engines
• Agrarian farm life rapidly declined as farmers
  went to work in factories to earn better wages
• Textiles, iron manufacturing, invention of
  concrete , all spurred growth in industrial
  systems

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The History of Electricity

• The Industrial Revolution
• Prior to steam power, horse power and water power
  were the dominant forms of primary power for
  industry
• Most fast-moving water was in New England states
• Development of steam power opened up other areas
  of US for industrial development
• Transportation changed dramatically thanks to
  steam-powered trains

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Steam Locomotive
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The History of Electricity

• The War of the Currents AC vs. DC
• Edison promoted his Direct Current(DC) as the
  only safe way to deliver electricity to large
  populations
• Westinghouse promoted Alternating Current (AC) as
  the only way to transport electricity over long
  distances
• DC commercial power canonly be transported a few
  miles.
• Edison invented large scale DC generators
• Westinghouse bought patents for AC from Tesla

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George Westinghouse
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The History of Electricity

• The War of the Currents AC vs. DC
• Edison started General Electric, later lost it to
  bankers
• 1882 Edison builds Pearl Street DC station in
  NYC
• 1894 Niagra Falls Power Company powered Buffalo,
  NY
• Westinghouse/Tesla team eventually won the war of
  the currents
• Today AC electricity can be transported 1000s of
  miles by increasing the voltage at the generator
  to extreme levels

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The History of Electricity

• Electrical Distribution Begins
• Various frequencies of AC were tried. Settled on
  60Hz
• 60Hz was used because of easy timing with clocks.
• Also any frequency above about 40-50Hz makes
  flicker-free lighting important in AC systems
• Also higher frequencies would require faster
  spinning generators, creating mechanical
  challenges
• 1893 Westinghouse/Tesla system demonstrated AC
  at Chicago Exposition

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The History of Electricity

• 1900s Electrical Distribution Begins
• Once an electrical power generating systems
  begins, all generators tied to that grid must
  be same frequency and phase
• When loads increase demand for electricity, more
  generators must be added.
• Numerous safeguards must be built in for safety
  and isolation of failures
• First distribution systems were in cities where
  it was economical for the electric utilities to
  build and sell power to large customer bases

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The History of Electricity

• REA and TVA
• Rural Electrification Administration
• Tennessee Valley Authority
• Great Depression of 1929
• Public power vs. private (investor-owned)
  utilities hotly contested during 1920s

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The History of Electricity

• REA and TVA
• Prior to 1933, privately owned utilities refused
  to extend their service to rural areas, claiming
  lack of profitability
• Private power companies set rural rates 4 times
  higher than city rates
• Obviously, this was not perceived as a fair
  treatment of rural families

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The History of Electricity

• TVA
• Tennessee Valley Authority
• Federally-owned private corporation
• Established in May 1933 to provide
• Flood control
• Navigation of waterways
• Affordable electricity for rural communities
• Fertilizer for more effective, productive farming
• Economic development

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The History of Electricity

• TVA
• Cover s most of Tennessee, parts of Alabama,
  Mississippi, Kentucky, a few other SE States.
• Nations largest public power company
• FDR campaigned on this issue during Presidential
  race 1932
• Nebraska Senator George Norris from McCook, NE
  partnered with Franklin Roosevelt to help
  establish public power entities
• Reddams purplenuclear power yellowfossil
  power

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The History of Electricity

• REA
• Rural Electrification Administration established
  1935
• Made loans available to local electric
  cooperatives to compete with big power companies
• 1930 10 of rural homes had electricity
• 1940 90 of rural homes had electricity

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The History of Electricity

• REA
• PUHCA (Public Utility Holding Company Act) 1935
• Regulate electric utilities
• Get control of private utilities
• REA has been reorganized (1994) and is now called
  RUS (Rural Utilities Service)
• RUS is an agency of the United States Dept of
  Agriculture
• RUS Tasked with providing to rural areas the
  following utilities
• Electricity
• Telephone
• Water
• Sewer

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The History of Electricity

• US Electrical Distribution Today
• Three separate grids
• Eastern interconnection
• Western interconnection
• Texas interconnection (ERCOT Electric
  Reliability Council of Texas)
• Alaskan and some Canadian grids separate from the
  three main USA grids

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The History of Electricity

• US Electrical Distribution Today
• Reliability of each grid is critical
• Each grid started independently at different
  times
• Very little interconnection between the three
  grids
• 60 Hz phase is different in each grid
• Can not directly connect grids together
• Must convert 60Hz AC to DC, then back to AC at
  the receiving grids phase

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The History of Electricity

• US Electrical Distribution Today
• Utility generators create 2300 to 30,000 volts
• A transformer steps this voltage up to a higher
  voltage for long-distance transmission
• When voltage is stepped up, current is stepped
  down
• Some power is lost in the transformation of
  voltage/current
• Numerous high voltage systems in use across North
  America
• 765,000 volts 500,000 volts 345,000
  volts 230,000 volts
• 138,000 volts 115,000 volts

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The History of Electricity

• US Electrical Distribution Today
• At various locations, sub-stations reduce the
  transmission voltage to more usable levels
• 4000 volts 69,000 volts
• Final users get their power at lower voltages of
  120-480 volts.
• Transformers are used to change voltage levels,
  up and down. Only AC power can do this

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Electrical Distribution System