Sounds good but a 2nd problem with all those power plants going off line is the way they are diversified around the Country, currently wind and solar power is not nearly as diversified so if a storm comes thru and takes out a few large transmission lines the power isn't easily redirected to come in the other way as the power grid isn't as stable with the power being generated in non diverse locations. There is only so much you can shove thru those transmission lines and when they are maxed out and you don't have any power you are in trouble.
Sounds good but a 2nd problem with all those power plants going off line is the way they are diversified around the Country, currently wind and solar power is not nearly as diversified so if a storm comes thru and takes out a few large transmission lines the power isn't easily redirected to come in the other way as the power grid isn't as stable with the power being generated in non diverse locations. There is only so much you can shove thru those transmission lines and when they are maxed out and you don't have any power you are in trouble
I disagree with Mikey's objection. High-voltage (e.g. >200 kilovolts) power 'transmission' grids have tall pylons. The area below the power lines is kept free from trees. These power lines should not be affected by weather, storms, falling trees. It's different in the 'distribution grids' (110... 60...25... 15 kilovolts and customer supply: 400...220 volts). This is where the damage occurs, in case of storms, hurricanes, blizzards. In Germany, the approach today is to replace all old dictribution grid's overhead lines (< 60 kilovolts) in rural areas with underground cables. (There are only some dozen different grid operators, previously part of four big power giants (monopolies). They pay for modernization and charge customers (government approved) grid fees. There are (almost) no overhead lines left in cities and towns since ~50...70 years. This minimizes failure probabilities but increases grid costs. In the US, you keep the overhead lines. There are several hundred to a thousand different distribution grid operators there. They calculate strictly economically, which minimizes grid costs and thus electricity costs. Which way is better? Probably a compromise between the two.
Mikey is right, with the extensive expansion of wind and solar, electricity is often not generated close to consumers anymore but has to be transported far across the country, stressing and overloading transmission (and distribution) grids. They have to be extensively expanded everywhere. Operation of transmission grids also becomes more and more challenging to balance generation and consumption. It's balanced all the time otherwise 19th century awaits all of us... Blackout. "Trouble" is a gross trivialization of grid-wide blackouts. Manageable in rural areas, but cities worlwide couldn't survive it.
The main point of the article is novel "grid-forming" inverters instead of "grid-following" ones as well as micro-grids which are (or can be) separated from the syncronized grid if necessary. Never heard about such grid-forming* inverters. Our current German renewables plans are based on massive expansion of wind and solar solely adding 'grid-following' inverters which will bring us to the brink of blackout within a few years.
* HVDC links (high voltage direct current) are principally grid-forming inverters. But each one (typical 1...2 gigawatts) costs more than a billion euros. We plan to build four, maybe six such links in Germany. But thousands of cheaper, small-scale grid-forming inverters is what's needed in the future to operate vast capacities of solar and wind generation (and sufficient reliable backup capacities of course).
It has been sort of fascinating watching the lowest RAC threshold fall. Maybe some of those monster CPU systems on the project will start showing up
That should make the Top 50 list more crowded.
:)
I am interested in any guesses about how low the RAC threshold will likely go. My WAG is 693. But there has to be some interaction effects of some type.
Your guess?
Tom M
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association).
Very nice!
)
Very nice!
E pluribus unum
https://www.sciencenews.org/a
)
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/one-device-transform-power-electical-grid-inverter
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association).
Tom M
)
Sounds good but a 2nd problem with all those power plants going off line is the way they are diversified around the Country, currently wind and solar power is not nearly as diversified so if a storm comes thru and takes out a few large transmission lines the power isn't easily redirected to come in the other way as the power grid isn't as stable with the power being generated in non diverse locations. There is only so much you can shove thru those transmission lines and when they are maxed out and you don't have any power you are in trouble.
mikey schrieb:Tom M
)
I disagree with Mikey's objection. High-voltage (e.g. >200 kilovolts) power 'transmission' grids have tall pylons. The area below the power lines is kept free from trees. These power lines should not be affected by weather, storms, falling trees. It's different in the 'distribution grids' (110... 60...25... 15 kilovolts and customer supply: 400...220 volts). This is where the damage occurs, in case of storms, hurricanes, blizzards. In Germany, the approach today is to replace all old dictribution grid's overhead lines (< 60 kilovolts) in rural areas with underground cables. (There are only some dozen different grid operators, previously part of four big power giants (monopolies). They pay for modernization and charge customers (government approved) grid fees. There are (almost) no overhead lines left in cities and towns since ~50...70 years. This minimizes failure probabilities but increases grid costs. In the US, you keep the overhead lines. There are several hundred to a thousand different distribution grid operators there. They calculate strictly economically, which minimizes grid costs and thus electricity costs. Which way is better? Probably a compromise between the two.
Mikey is right, with the extensive expansion of wind and solar, electricity is often not generated close to consumers anymore but has to be transported far across the country, stressing and overloading transmission (and distribution) grids. They have to be extensively expanded everywhere. Operation of transmission grids also becomes more and more challenging to balance generation and consumption. It's balanced all the time otherwise 19th century awaits all of us... Blackout. "Trouble" is a gross trivialization of grid-wide blackouts. Manageable in rural areas, but cities worlwide couldn't survive it.
The main point of the article is novel "grid-forming" inverters instead of "grid-following" ones as well as micro-grids which are (or can be) separated from the syncronized grid if necessary. Never heard about such grid-forming* inverters. Our current German renewables plans are based on massive expansion of wind and solar solely adding 'grid-following' inverters which will bring us to the brink of blackout within a few years.
* HVDC links (high voltage direct current) are principally grid-forming inverters. But each one (typical 1...2 gigawatts) costs more than a billion euros. We plan to build four, maybe six such links in Germany. But thousands of cheaper, small-scale grid-forming inverters is what's needed in the future to operate vast capacities of solar and wind generation (and sufficient reliable backup capacities of course).
https://www.sciencealert.com/
)
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-us-just-unveiled-a-definitive-new-standard-for-nothing
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association).
Tom M
)
Very cool!!
https://www.rollingstone.com/
)
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bob-dylan-the-heartbreakers-surprise-set-farm-aid-recap-1234830378/
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association).
It has been sort of
)
It has been sort of fascinating watching the lowest RAC threshold fall. Maybe some of those monster CPU systems on the project will start showing up
That should make the Top 50 list more crowded.
:)
I am interested in any guesses about how low the RAC threshold will likely go. My WAG is 693. But there has to be some interaction effects of some type.
Your guess?
Tom M
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association).
https://www.nfl.com/news/bear
)
https://www.nfl.com/news/bears-wr-chase-claypool-will-be-inactive-for-sunday-s-game-vs-broncos
George....
A Proud member of the O.F.A. (Old Farts Association).
Tom M
)
Yeah, I know. He had been a bad apple in the locker room anyway. That could also be why he was traded.
Proud member of the Old Farts Association