Electric System

Carlos Silva
October 28st 2009
Electric System Components

Generation
Transmission Network
Substations
Distribution Network
Substations / Transformers
Homes / Industry
ELECTRICITY GENERATION
Transforming energy to electricity

Power Plant
Transforms some type of energy to electric energy
• Circular motion from direct force (hydro, wind, waves)
• Circulation motion from direct steam using heating (thermal, nuclear)
• Photovoltaic panel

Generators
Transforms circular motion of the rotor into electricity
Electricity Generation

USA (>2000) France (>2000)

Portugal (2006)
Thermal Power Plants

Power: 200 to 500 MW

Efficiency: 33% to 48%
Fuel: coal, natural gas, nuclear, oil, solar

Sines (1,2GW)

Taichung (4,7GW)

Thermal Power Plant diagram

Geothermal Power Plant

Ribeira Grande power: 14 MW

Efficiency: <80%

Ribeira Grande
(14MW)

Geothermal Diagram
Geothermal Power Plant

Ribeira Grande power: 14 MW

Efficiency: <40%

Ribeira Grande
(14MW)

Geothermal Diagram
Hydro Power Plants

Power: 100 MW to 14GW

Efficiency: 90%

Castelo Bode Alqueva

(140MW) (240MW)

Alto Lindoso Itaipu

(632MW) (14GW)
Hydro Plant diagram
Wind Power Plant

Wind turbine power: 1 - 5MW

MagLev: 1GW(?)
Wind farm power: 10 – 300MW Copenhagen
Betz efficiency: 59.6% (40MW)
Pampilhosa
Wind turbine efficiency: 30%
(81MW)
Capacity factor: 20 - 40%
Area: 5MW /hectare

Wind Turbine Diagram

Wind Potential Europe
Wave Generator
Turbine
Using air flow created by waves to move a turbine
Using wave to push water upwards and using a normal hydro power plant
Hydraulic motor
Transforming linear to circular motion

Pico,
Açores

Archimedes
(AWS)
Pelamis Generator

Linear motion into circular motion

Cylinders (linear) and hydraulic motor( circular)
Wave Power Plant

Pelamis power: 0.75 MW

Wave farm power: 2 – 20MW
Efficiency: 25-40%
Area: 30kW/ hectare

Wave world potential PovoaVarzim

(2,25MW)
Photovoltaic Power Plant

PV panel power: 150 W/m2

PV plant power: 10 – 60MW
Moura (62MW)
PV panel efficiency: 20%
Serpa (11MW) Moura (62MW)
Insolation: 4-7 kW/m2/day
Area: 1MW/hectare

Plant diagram
Insolation year
ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION
First commercial electric system (US)

First distribution systems were DC (Thomas

Edison)
Electric load was essentially incandescent lamps
(100V DC)
• Other systems (motors) required other voltages
DC could be used wit storage batteries (used as
backup)
DC generators (110V) could be used in parallel to
increase production capacity
• DC generators had to be within 2.4km (1.5mile)
Thomas Edison
from users
• Different voltages required different generators
Edison had invented an electric meter (DC)

First light bulb

Tesla invents the AC electric system

AC shows up on 1880 (George Westinghouse)

AC could be generated with higher efficiencies

AC could be transmitted over larger distances
• It was easier to increase and decrease
voltages (transformation)
Risks were similar

Nikola Tesla

George Westinghouse
War of currents

Edison makes a negative campaign

AC was more danger
Harold P. Brown, Edison’s employee, developed the first electric chair (AC)

Niagara Falls Commission contract (1893)

Edison + General Electric lost against George Westinghouse + Tesla
1896 generation started to Buffalo industries

AC became the standard on 1900

Helsinki had a DC system until 1940
Boston, Massachusetts had DC systems until 1960
1998, Consolidated Edison (New York) started eliminating remaining systems (2007)

DC is still used for transmission (HVDC)

Transmission

Between Power Plant and Substation

High way of electricity
Long distance connections
Usually takes place above 110kV

Overhead lines or underground lines

Underground lines costs are 10 to 20 times
higher
Maintenance in underground lines is much
more expensive
Difficulties in voltage management due to
reactive power
Magnetic field range is smaller
Losses

Losses are due to Joule heating

Electric energy transformed into thermal
energy (incandescent lamps)
These losses are proportional to current
and wire resistance
For the same power, higher voltages
means less current

Transporting energy in higher voltage

decreases losses
They usually represent between 5 to 10%
of transmitted power
Power Station

Decrease very high voltage to

high voltage (60kV, 30KV)
Transformers

Two coils with different number of

spirals
HVDC systems

High Voltage Direct Current

Develop din Sweden in 1930’s
Less infrastructure costs
Less transmission losses
Used for very long distances
Inga-Kolwesi connecting Inga-Dam and
cooper mining in Katanga (1700km)
Used to connect different AC systems
Brazil (60Hz) and Paraguay(50Hz) electricity
produced at ITAIPU
Undersea cables
Interconnection between Philippines
between islands produced by geothermic
Inga-Kolwesi
ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION
Distribution
Between power stations and homes
Reduce 60kV/30KV to 15, 10, 5KV

Distribution pole

High Voltage (60kV) Grid - Lisbon

Load Curve

Amount of electricity requested by customers

The amount of produced electricity has to be equal to the demand
Hard to obtain when the production is variable (renewables)

São Miguel load curve

Residential Consumption Portugal (DGEG -2004)
Family with four persons