Electricity generation
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Electricity generation is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. The other processes are electric power transmission and electricity distribution.
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[edit] Electricity generation
The importance of dependable electricity generation, transmission and distribution was revealed when it became apparent that electricity was useful for providing heat, light and power for human activities. Centralised power generation became possible when it was recognised that alternating current electric power lines can transport electricity at low costs across great distances by taking advantage of the ability to transform the voltage using power transformers.
Electricity has been generated for the purpose of powering human technologies for at least 120 years from various sources of energy. The first power plants were run on wood, while today we rely mainly on petroleum, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and nuclear power and a small amount from hydrogen, solar energy, tidal harnesses, wind generators, and geothermal sources.
[edit] Electricity demand
The demand for electricity can be met in two different ways. The primary method thus far has been for public or private utilities to construct large scale centralized projects to generate and transmit the electricity required to fuel economies. Many of these projects have caused unpleasant environmental effects such as air or radiation pollution and the flooding of large areas of land.
Distributed generation creates power on a smaller scale at locations throughout the electricity network. Often these sites generate electricity as a byproduct of other industrial processes such as using gas from landfills to drive turbines.
[edit] Methods of generating electricity
[edit] Turbines
Rotating turbines attached to electrical generators produce most commercially available electricity. Turbines are driven by a fluid which acts as an intermediate energy carrier. The fluids typically used are:
- steam - Water is boiled by nuclear fission or the burning of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, or petroleum). Some newer plants use the sun as the heat source: solar parabolic troughs and solar power towers concentrate sunlight to heat a heat transfer fluid, which is then used to produce steam.
- water - Turbine blades are acted upon by flowing water, produced by hydroelectric dams or tidal forces,
- wind - Most wind turbines generate electricity from naturally occurring wind. Solar updraft towers use wind that is artificially produced inside the chimney by heating it with sunlight.
- hot gases - Turbines are driven directly by gases produced by the combustion of natural gas or oil.
Combined cycle gas turbine plants are driven by both steam and gas. They generate power by burning natural gas in a gas turbine and use residual heat to generate additional electricity from steam. These plants offer efficiencies of up to 60%.
[edit] Reciprocating engines
Small electricity generators are often powered by reciprocating engines burning diesel, biogas or natural gas. Diesel engines are often used for back up generation, usually at low voltages. Biogas is often combusted where it is produced, such as a landfill or wastewater treatment plant, with a reciprocating engine or a microturbine, which is a small gas turbine.
[edit] Photovoltaic panels
Unlike the solar heat concentrators mentioned above, photovoltaic panels convert sunlight directly to electricity. Although sunlight is free and abundant, solar panels are expensive to produce and have only a 10-20% conversion efficiency. Until recently, photovoltaics were most commonly used in remote sites where there is no access to a commercial power grid, or as a supplemental electricity source for individual homes and businesses. Recent advances in manufacturing efficiency and photovoltaic technology, combined with subsidies driven by environmental concerns, have dramatically accelerated the deployment of solar panels. Installed solar capacity is growing by 30% per year in several regions including Germany, Japan, California and New Jersey.
[edit] See also
- Electrical utility
- Electricity distribution
- Distributed generation
- Electricity transmission
- Electricity retailing
- Future energy development
- Lineman
- Load Profile
- Power quality
- Voltage drop
- Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
- Electricity generation in Canada
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de:Stromerzeugung es:Generación de energía eléctrica fr:Génération d'électricité it:Produzione di energia elettrica ja:発電 sv:Produktion av elektricitet
