Found a good "Conventional Power" link? Let Us Know!

SSRsi WARNING!! EMF shielding is the new patent medicine! Watch out for con artists and devices that simply don't work.

Basic Tools For Electronics: Pretty good basic list found on the net some time ago. I supplemented the list with a few links to other pages with good stuff.

My Inverter When power goes out, within 2 minutes the inverter kicks in and the front room light comes back on, the TV comes back on, the phone is active again, and I have an outlet available to plug in a fan (or anything else) on those warm spring nights. I'm the envy of the block. While all the other houses are black my living room is lit up and I'm continuing to watch TV. And what engineering project would be complete without documentation. Yes, I even put together a tech manual. Interested in the fine details? You'll need Acrobat reader, documents are in pdf format.

What's wrong with the electric grid? - The Industrial Physicist  The warnings were certainly there. In 1998, former utility executive John Casazza predicted that “blackout risks will be increased” if plans for deregulating electric power went ahead. And the warnings continued to be heard from other energy experts and planners. See also: Sparks over Power Grid Cybersecurity

Transmission System Control High-voltage silicon switches (thyristors) enable engineers to change the flow of electricity on the power grid much more quickly than before. This makes it possible to operate closer to the power grid's thermal limits, delivering more electricity without sacrificing reliability.

Transmission Grid Access For competition to prevail, all power producers need open access to the power grid. Utilities that control transmission lines are now required to charge other wholesale producers the same transmission rates they charge themselves, and open access is being implemented in some retail power markets.

Electricity Reliability A stable and reliable electricity grid is the backbone of modern society. With the electricity industry being restructured, additional demands are being placed on the grid, making it even more important to maintain reliability standards.

Power Markets A power market is a commodity exchange where electricity is traded at prices determined by supply and demand. In addition to this spot market, there is a need for a futures market to hedge contract prices.

Public Benefits Programs Prior to restructuring, utilities were responsible for a variety of programs — promoting energy efficiency, demand-side management, low-income assistance, consumer education, and the development and demonstration of emerging technologies such as renewable energy — that meet social objectives. Under restructuring, funding for these programs is typically through a small surcharge ("wires charge" or "system benefits charge") on utility bills.

Net Metering Net metering allows the electric meters of customers with generating facilities to turn backwards when they are feeding power into the grid, so that they receive retail prices for the excess electricity they generate. This encourages customer investment in distributed generation, including renewable energy.

Buy Clean Electricity Purchasing "green power"—electricity generated using renewable energy—for your home helps reduce pollution and promote energy security.

Make Your Own Clean Electricity Using a small renewable energy system can help you lower your electricity costs, achieve energy independence, and reduce pollution.

Reduce Your Electricity Use Finding ways to reduce your electricity use can help lower your electricity costs and reduce pollution. You can also learn how to read residential electric meters.

AGU: Geomagnetic Storms Can Threaten Electric Power Grid The sprawling North American power grid resembles a large antenna, attracting electrical currents induced by giant solar storms. Severe space weather occurring during solar cycles has the potential to cause a large-scale blackout in North America.

Pumping power onto the grid from your basement | CNET News.com In a 21st century twist on Microsoft's original "PC in every home" vision, a young company has created a home energy-storage appliance that connects to the power grid--and the Internet.

TomPaine.com - Behind The Blackouts Ken Lay may have passed away and Jeff Skilling and other former executives face dozens of years behind bars, but Enron’s legacy—single-handedly pushing electric power deregulation at the federal and state levels—unfortunately remains the law of the land. The radical restructuring that Enron achieved a decade ago overturned a century of orderly, accountable electricity planning that had made America’s power system the envy of the world. But our deregulated system is now a mockery, and consumers are left with higher prices and poorer reliability. That’s why our electric grid—from the August 2003 blackout that cascaded across the Midwest and Northeast, to recent power outages in New York and California—is more susceptible to failures that trigger blackouts.

A Power Grid for the Hydrogen Economy Cryogenic, superconducting conduits could be connected into a "SuperGrid" that would simultaneously deliver electrical power and hydrogen fuel

IEEE Spectrum: The Unruly Power Grid Advanced mathematical modeling suggests that big blackouts are inevitable

The Electric Transmission Network: A Multi-Region Analysis This paper examines the ability of the existing transmission network to respond efficiently to increased trade over four reliability regions in the northeastern United States. A power flow model is used to analyze the potential for expanding electricity trade, given the operational constraints of the transmission system and the availability and cost of generators.

Electrical Distribution System Overview Modern power grids are extremely complex and widespread. Surges in power lines can cause massive network failures and permanent damage to multimillion-dollar equipment in power generation plants. After electricity is produced at power plants it has to get to the customers that use the electricity.

How Does a Transformer Work? In order for your home or a store to use the electricity, it has to be at a lower voltage than on the long-distance lines. So, the electricity is "stepped-down to a lower level using a transformer. This lower voltage electricity is put into the local electric wires at a substation. The substation breaks the larger amount of power down into smaller pieces at lower voltage. It then is stepped down again and again.

Power Transmission After power is generated at a generation plant, the voltage is "stepped up" by a transformer to give it the "push" to travel long distances. High voltage allows electric power to be carried efficiently over the transmission system. Long distance transmission lines in general are 115 kilovolts (kV), 230 kV or 500 kV. Transmission lines are usually on steel lattice towers, steel poles or double wooden poles.

EMF Checklist Appendices There are currently two general types of EMF shielding which, when introduced between the source and the area of concern, can reduce field levels. "Passive" shielding utilizes ferromagnetic and/or conductive materials. "Active" shielding uses an externally energized conductor which is placed in such a way as to generate magnetic fields which oppose or cancel those from the original source. Although technically feasible, active shielding is extremely limited in application and is generally considered to be in the experimental stage of development.

EMF Shielding Devices & Materials A sales site with info.

Electric Power Plants
- Existing Generating Capacity
- Planned Generating Capacity
- Plants Sold & Transferred
- Electric Power Industry Companies
- Major Disturbances

Generation
- by Energy Source
- by State

natural gas Natural gas moves through a nationwide network of 280,000 miles of transmission pipelines. These pipelines move natural gas from regions where it is produced, such as the Gulf of Mexico, to market areas.

Natural Gas Links: These pages have links to others that may have information:

Finding Natural Gas | History of Natural Gas | Natural Gas Creation
Natural Gas Extraction | Natural Gas in General
Natural Gas Processing and Delivery | Natural Gas Transport | Natural Gas Use

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