Transcript Supergrid
Supergrid By Table 1 - Paul Kim, Issac Jin, Andrew Mkrtchyan, & Ryan Lee How It Works • • • • Energy is transported in bulk with high voltage current lines Currently, people are advocating whether to use HVAC (highvoltage alternating currents) or HVDC (high-voltage direct currents) HVAC are not suitable for long range transmission but HVDC are expensive to instate. Suitability -Long Distance Transmission Lines -Utilize distantly located renewable energy sources. -Best suited as a unified grid to provide electricity over a large area of land. How realistic is this energy currently? • Recently a new circuit breaker was developed that makes it possible to join high-voltage direct current transmission lines to form a resilient power grid. This grid will be able to combine power from widely distributed wind turbines and solar panels efficiently. Likelihood/Viability -4-step Process -High cost to overhaul -Time-consumption -Manual labor Conclusion: Supergrids won't be up and running this half of the century. Advantages - Reduces energy wastage - Area of bulk storage - Accesses sources of renewable energy - Takes advantage of remote sources - Ensures energy supply in any one area - Evens out variations in the supply and demand of energy - EX: Wind power Advantages Continued - Getting the best available price for electricity - Can move energy from cheaper areas - At times, it can be A LOT cheaper - EX: Proposed 19,00 miles in U.S. costs 60 billion, but averages out to about 35 cents per average household - Greater leap towards clean energy! Her-Ray! Disadvantages - Amount of land area and space used - Speculated political arguments and dilemmas - Challenge of coordinating national energy regulations - Too risky and costly Citations • • • • • • • http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/seminars/chu/chu.pdf http://www.energyrealities.org/content/energy-without-borders/ erp01A99BCF7CA12E960 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/business/global/17iht-rboggrid17.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&> http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-build-the-supergrid http://www.trec-uk.org.uk/resources/supergrid_costs1.pdf http://www.technologyreview.com/news/507331/abb-advance-makesrenewable-energy-supergrids-practical/