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Electric GridsElectric grids are the infrastructure that delivers electricity to consumers. Grids began as isolated systems connecting a single power source to one location, such as a Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant to Buffalo, New York. The need to meet dynamic, growing energy demands more efficiently and to increase reliability led to these systems being interconnected into today's synchronized networks, with many spanning multiple countries. Each grid consists of three main segments: generation, transmission, and distribution. Generation occurs in power plants, solar farms, and other facilities that convert resources into electricity. Transmission carries this energy over long-range power lines to distribution systems, which deliver the electricity to local customers. Between these segments, transformers at substations increase voltage to minimize power losses while electricity is transmitted or decrease voltage to make electricity safer for use. Electric grids have been designed to continuously monitor demand and provide a matching supply of electricity for immediate use. For this reason, integrating intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind power, has been challenging, particularly when generation sites are far from population centers. Large-scale battery and smart grid technologies may facilitate these integrations and improve grid efficiency, but the latter opens the door to cyberattacks.Explore Electric Grids
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Electric grids that rely on solar power must compensate for reduced electricity generation during solar eclipses. ReutersWatch a timeline of the history of electricity, from observations of static electricity in antiquity to the War of the Currents—a rivalry to establish the ideal system for electric grids. CrashCourseHow microgrids can modernize electric grids to meet 21st-century demandsJust as having a single, outdated internet service provider leaves an area helpless in the case of an outage, failures in the electric grid can be devastating to communities. For this reason, hospitals, data centers, and other structures have their own backup power supplies. However, decentralized microgrids would provide areas with their own electricity generation and storage, thereby reducing overall grid load and reliance while enabling better electricity management. Undecided with Matt FerrellSome renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down. The Wall Street JournalUnderstanding how non-profit entities manage electric grids to ensure supply-demand balanceIndependent System Operators in smaller areas and Regional Transmission Organizations that operate across multiple states run wholesale electricity markets. Electricity suppliers can submit competitive bids to meet estimated demand in day-ahead markets while keeping consumer costs low. ISOs and RCOs also inform markets of deviations in these estimates so that suppliers can adjust how much power they generate, which is then bought and sold in real time. CME GroupTesla's alternating current power's most of the world's electric gridsIn 1879, Thomas Edison’s light bulb relied on direct current, but such currents can't efficiently transmit power over long distances. Nikola Tesla introduced alternating current, which feature far fewer energy loses. Despite Edison’s attempts to discredit AC, Tesla proved its efficiency by lighting the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. 1440Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles. Bloomberg OriginalsDiscover why Texas runs its own electric grid, separate from the other US interconnectionsIn 1935, electrical utilities in the Lone Star State opted to rely on the state's own fossil fuel reserves to power an independent electric grid. While this prevented the federal oversight required for the Eastern and Western Interconnections that span multiple states, it also meant Texas's grid was unable to draw sufficient backup power during the winter 2021 power grid failure. Smithsonian MagazineView a gallery of whimsical transmission tower designs from around the worldDespite their importance to the functioning of the electric grid, these structures are often considered aesthetically unpleasant. To remedy this, some have been transformed into art installations featuring stained glass and colorful lighting, or built with whimsical designs, such as clown faces or giant bodies. All ElectronLearn why electrical substations are needed to provide safe electricity with minimal energy lossThese typically fenced-off facilities with steel boxes or cylinders topped with cone-like caps house circuit breakers, fuses, and switches that can isolate sections of the grid to prevent electrical failures from spreading. Substations use transformers to modify electrical voltage and are customized to the generation, transmission, and distribution networks they interconnect. Practical EngineeringWhy decarbonizing the entire electric grid is impossible with its current infrastructureFossil fuel plants can be built anywhere and have thus typically been built near highly populated areas, such as coastal cities, where electricity demand is high. However, certain renewable resources operate most efficiently in specific regions, such as wind turbines in the Midwest, and therefore require substantial transmission infrastructure to be constructed to transport the generated electricity. VoxA look at how power is restored after an outage on the electric gridFrom minor system failures to more widespread blackouts, crews begin by assessing damage done to infrastructure, such as transmission towers and distribution power lines. Prioritizing essential services, such as hospitals, crews then begin restoration, starting with any damage found closest to the power generation and working down the distribution system to customers. Central HudsonSimulate the effects of changing supply and demand on the electric gridIn this application, users can modify the demand of fictional cities and the supply of various generators, including a nuclear power plant and a wind farm, which can be disconnected from the grid. Notice that current may flow into or out of external systems to compensate for available generation. See what it takes to cause a blackout in different cities or shut down the entire grid. Cyber Resilient Energy Delivery ConsortiumThe engineering underlying the electric grid and why it needs to be modernizedThe system includes generators for producing electricity and millions of miles of transmission and distribution lines to transport the energy. The substantial increase in the number of electronic devices and electrical demand since the construction of much of the grid in the mid-1900s has strained infrastructure, requiring continuous upgrades and massive investments in new construction. Stuff You Should KnowHow chemical bonds between atoms form molecules and large geometric structuresIn ionic bonding, one atom transfers at least one electron to another atom, forming two atoms of opposite charge. These atoms attract one another and can stack up in a 3D grid called a lattice. Covalent bonding, where electrons are instead shared, can produce enormous molecules, such as the two found in human chromosome 13, which each contain 37 billion atoms. TED-EdMost advanced touch screens rely on electrical charge in your skinCapacitive touch screens store electrical charges in an electrostatic grid of tiny wires. When we touch the screen a tiny electrical charge is transferred from the screen to the finger to complete a circuit (since skin has positive and negative charges). This connection creates a voltage drop on that point of the screen. Cloth, however, doesn't conduct electricity, which is why humans can't wear thick gloves and operate their smartphones. The strongest recorded geomagnetic storm in history created auroras near the equatorOn Sept. 1, 1859, the Carrington Event—named after the astronomer who observed the preceding solar flare—saw a massive coronal mass ejection strike Earth, disrupting telegraph systems, sparking electrical fires, and reportedly illuminating the night sky enough to allow newspapers to be read at night. Fraser CainAccording to the International Energy Agency, hyperscale data centers consume about as much electricity annually as 400,000 electric vehicles to provide 24/7 access to online applications, services, and information. AP NewsLearn how critical services, infrastructure, and people would be impacted by a US-scale blackout—a nationwide, long-term failure of the electric grid. 1440 OriginalsLithium can store and deliver substantial energy for its cost and weightWhen exploring which compounds would be best suited for batteries, scientists sought elements that were relatively inexpensive to mine, readily available, and that provided high energy density—how much chemical energy an element could store for its size. Lithium-ion batteries provide these benefits and discharge at very low rates when unused. MIT Climate PortalLightning rods provide a conductive pathway to safely steer massive electric currentsThe device is positioned higher above the ground to "catch" one of the many branching filaments of electrons from clouds before they make contact with other surface structures, which have been induced to have a positive charge by overhead storm clouds. The current is then sent to a conductive grid buried underground. How Stuff WorksThe most common types of touchscreens are capacitive and resistiveCapacitative screens are coated with a conductive material that creates a uniform electric field, which is disrupted by fingers. This disruption is registered by the device across a grid to determine where contact was made. Resistive screens identify touch when fingers push gap-separated sheets into contact with one another. HPDespite electric usage concerns, EV charging accounts for less than 1% of grid loadOther popular myths about EVs include battery failure concerns—failure rates are less than 1% on newer models—and that there are no places to charge cars, though both at-home outlets and more than 77,000 stations on the road are available. US EPATesla plans to eliminate the use of rare earth elements in future vehiclesAt a 2023 Investor Day event, Elon Musk outlined steps to focus Tesla's efforts on climate action rather than new vehicle models. Musk estimates the transition to carbon-free, sustainable energy will cost $10T. NPRLarger shares of solar power generation produce larger energy demand curvesBecause solar energy is only available during daylight hours, transitioning an electric grid to solar requires significant ramp-ups and ramp-downs of other energy sources during mornings and evenings to compensate. Widespread adoption of affordable energy storage solutions can soften these curves. US Department of Energy
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