Blog post #1-Nation’s Energy Grid

bschissler

America’s power grid is a complex system used to deliver electricity to citizens across the nation. The first commercial power grid was called The Pearl Street Station, and was created by Thomas Edison in Manhattan in 1882. Over the years, the grid has proved to be a successful source of energy for out nation. The power grid delivers four hundred billion dollars of electricity yearly through the course of 2.7 million miles of transmission lines. Moreover,  the grid itself consists of thee smaller grids: Eastern Interconnection, Western Interconnection and Texas Interconnection.How it works is through an interconnected system of power plants and transformers connected by over 450,000 miles of transmissions lines. First, power is created at power plants and then sent to substations via the transmission lines. Then, a smaller, local system of low-voltage transmissions lines delivers it to each individual customer.

how it works!

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Along with the obvious successes or benefits to the power grid, some other benefits include the ability of the grid to accept any form of power-water, wind, etc. Also, the network distribution creates lower cost production, which is certainly a good thing for customers.  In other words, this interconnected network allows access to bulk energy by receiving power from different sources. For example,  during high water seasons cheap hydro power may be produced, but in low water seasons, cheap power may be produced by wind, which allows different regions to receive assistance from one another during difficult times.

While the power grid has been a successful machine for america, there are also many downsides to it’s infrastructure. First, because of the interconnectedness of the grid, power outages can often lead to blackouts across more than one region. As a result, the grid becomes less reliable and people will search for new means of acquiring energy. Additionally,  it’s infrastructure is aging rapidly and desperately needs an upgrade in order to function properly. We need to look into more investments in order to decrease disruptions in service ,due to having components that have different age, capacity, and conditions, as well as meet the demands of our rapidly growing population and it’s demands for energy.  Thus, the power grid is becoming threatened as people are searching for their own ways to create electricity. Companies such as google and apple have begun to develop solar farms to get their electricity. Verizon is spending $100 million to power offices and call centers via solar panels and fuel cells. Hospitals, universities, and other big companies are rapidly installing fuel cells that get electricity through a chemical reaction. Clearly, if the power grid does not undergo major change, the US will find other ways of getting more reliable and cheaper electricity as the demand for it grows.

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There has been quite a bit of research done on how to improve the grid system. An emerging advance in the system is the smart grid! In 2009, President Obama give $4.5 billion of the stimulus package to be put toward the building of the smart grid, but billions more have gone towards renewable energy such as solar energy. There is quite obviously hope for the smart grid if the US is willing to pay the extra price at the beginning.

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Unlike existing grids, which are used to carry power from a few central generators to many consumers, the smart grid will use ” two-way flows of electricity and information to create an automated and distributed advanced energy delivery network.” Another big difference is that the physical infrastructure would be replaced with a digital one, something that will cost a lot of money. However, in the long run a smart grid would help customers to receive cheaper, greener, less intrusive, more reliable and higher quality power from the grid.

Personally, I feel that more money and time should be invested in renewable sources of energy such as solar panels and wind power because it would ultimately be less costly and better for the environment. It is only a matter of time until we run out of resources, and we should begin to think of future generations as we advance our electrical operation systems.

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http://energy.gov/articles/top-9-things-you-didnt-know-about-americas-power-grid

http://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/u-s-electrical-grid/

http://www.asce.org/Infrastructure/Failure-to-Act/Electricity-Infrastructure-Report-Executive-Summary/

http://www.nae.edu/Publications/Bridge/TheElectricityGrid/18895.aspx

84 thoughts on “Blog post #1-Nation’s Energy Grid”

  1. Can I just say what a relief to discover someone who really knows what they are discussing online. You actually know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to check this out and understand this side of your story. I was surprised you’re not more popular because you certainly possess the gift.

    Reply

  4. Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!

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  9. Very nice job on this blog post. I really like how you started at the history of the grid and electricity in general and worked your way to your thoughts on renewable energy. You covered pretty much everything I would want to read in a post on this topic. Nice job!

    Reply

  12. I must admit that as I began to read I felt like you were representing another Kodak moment – too proud to admit your coming demise. But you touched on both sides and that helped a lot. While solar is still the most promising for an individual home and business power source, it can only work when we pair it with other sources such as wind, hydrogen, etc. because the fact remains, the sun doesn’t always shine. Also, while batteries are improving all the time, the things we power with electricity need to be made more efficient, as well. Thanks for a very nicely done post.

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  13. The California Institute of Technology has identified the control limit and target date for world emissions. They note that we used 13 Trillion watts of electricity in 2000 and that usage will double to 26 Trillion watts by 2050! We will be doubling our use of our dumb grid but we can NOT afford to allow the doubling of the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. We badly need a Smart Grid! We can help by turning our Dumb commute into a Smart commute. Get smart by studying the miles per charge, speed, comfort, and utilitarian design of a modern Electric Moped! See the link below. Grid energy today is one sixth what gasoline would cost. That is Smart!

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  18. Now i have more idea about how this works, am working on some power project and this post has been helpful, though i need more details. Am bookmaking you for more updates.

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  20. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video
    to make your point. You obviously know what youre
    talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when
    you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

    Reply

  32. Solar is way better than coal, oil or natural gas. I am rooting for solar energy because help humanity since you no longer generate carcinogenic exhaust, otherwise known as smog, which kills millions of people each year.

    Reply

  40. i agree with this Very nice job on this blog post. I really like how you started at the history of the grid and electricity in general and worked your way to your thoughts on renewable energy. You covered pretty much everything I would want to read in a post on this topic. Nice job

    Reply

  43. A very concise and well-written article..

    It’s especially interesting to hear that Google is attempting to become self-sufficient and reliant on themselves for their data center power etc. Ivanpah is a huge project!

    Thanks for the good read and greetings from the UK..

    Genius Energy

    Reply

  46. Pentru un copil somnul este extrem de important in cresterea si dezvoltarea acestuia. De aceea, Marvis, vine cu o gama variata de patuturi pentru copii pentru a oferi linistea si siguranta de care ai nevoie pentru bebelusul tau.

    Reply

  51. Greetings
    Thanks for your article. Let me say that Big Electricity companies like FPL in Florida are not going to let new technologies to be public very soon. In despite we have since 40’s or 50’s new ways of power, those companies think is not profitable , yet…

    Thanks again

    Luis

    Reply

  57. the important thing is always conserve resources, be good person with the environment, and respect for nature, so spent more and leave our children a future

    Reply

  69. The technical advances responsible have been driven by public policies and industry’s responses to them. Governments spend a relatively modest amount on renewable-energy research, roughly US$5 billion per year globally, which is less than one-tenth the amount allocated to health research. But government incentives are essential for market growth; they drive private-sector investments in clean-energy technologies of about $250 billion per year globally.

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  72. Hi to all, this weekend is good in favor of me, because this moment i am reading this impressive educational paragraph here at my home.

    Reply

  82. Great article. I think the best solution in energy is the “zepelin wind turbine”. I took the liberty of placing a image of here It’s a prototype but i think it will be great and not too expensive

    Reply

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