Power Plants

America’s Three Power Grids

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America\'s Three Power Grids

America has three electrical grids that are not synchronized to each other, and can not move alternating current electricity between one and another.
 
Generally speaking, a power plant in Oklahoma can't send electricity to most of Texas or Colorado.
 
Each grid was built separately and are incompatible with each other, although a limited amount of electricity can be moved between the interconnections using AC to DC to AC conversion. But such conversion is complicated and expensive, and isn't as simple as stringing lines between the grids.

 

120/240V Single Phase 3 Wire Explanation And Demonstration

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The split phase system in America is a bit confusing but actually it's kind of ingenious in the sense that no wire has more than a 120 volt potential to ground. But it turns out there is more than meets the eye - the nuetral line actually carries any current not equal between the two phases back to the transformer - and if it's disconnected only the lowest amperage of the two phases will work. Fascinating stuff.

Be cognizant of environmental impacts of renewables

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Climate change action is important but let’s be cognizant of the environmental impacts of renewables

Burning fossil fuels has largely known and well documented impacts. From the much touted carbon emissions to air pollution and acid rain to acid mine discharge from coal mines and scarred landscapes from mountain top removal and strip mines to drilling cuttings, fracking chemicals and produced water to cracked casings and oil spills the impacts of fossil fuels are well documented and somewhat regulated and controlled but probably not to ideal levels as production and low cost is often emphasized over safety and environmental protection.

But what is much less discussed and documented is renewable energy impacts. It must be green so there is no environmental impacts or the impacts are de minimus. But that’s far from the truth. Renewable energy consumes enormous amounts of land, it in future years has a real possibility of urbanizing enormous parts of countryside, paving over farm land and forest, producing enormous amounts of toxic waste like wind turbine blades and discarded, broken solar panels to impacting watersheds and fisheries alike, reducing scenic beauty and take land out of other uses. Things that deserve serious consideration and environmental analysis.

To be sure we do need to build more renewable energy but we have to always thinking about the consequences of our choices, not blindly building it because renewables are good and climate change is really bad and scary. Being aware of the environmental impacts of renewables doesn’t mean you’re pro fossil fuels, it means that you are a thinking society, trying to avoid negative environmental problems down the road.

  • We need to take a serious look before we leap – is the solar plant or wind farm appropriate for the place we are sitting it
  • We need to mitigate like planting pollinators friendly or native grasses around solar farms
  • We need to look at building more renewables in cities – be it mandatory solar panels on buildings, over highways or in urban waste lands like old garbage dumps, highway medians, or contaminated industrial sites

Wind Turbine Looking Towards The Adirondacks

Why build a solar farm over green farm fields or forests when you can build over Love Canal?

New York Electric Grid

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New York Electric Grid

This map shows the major power lines that move electricity through New York State and New England.