Improvements in Electricity Generation and Transmission through the Centuries - Assignment Example

? Electri Table of Contents I. History of Electri Generation 4 II. Improvements in Electri Generation and Transmission through the Centuries 8 III. The Evolution of the Ideas Relating to Electricity Generation 10 Reference List 12 I. History of Electricity Generation Modern electricity generation owes its roots to the kite experimentations of Benjamin Franklin, which gave rise to more nuanced understandings of the nature of electric power and the nature of lightning as an electricity form (Tom Henry's Code Electrical Classes Inc., 2012). On the other hand, electricity's history goes back even earlier, with Ancient credited with an enlightened understanding of the workings of static electricity. The ancient Greeks understood static electricity from their experience with amber and how it attracted other objects when rubbed against clothing. Franklin's key contribution to the understanding of electricity was his discovery that lightning shared similar characteristics as the electricity that was found in rubbed amber by the ancient Greeks. Franklin's work was situated at around 1752, whereas the work of the ancient Greeks extend way back into the early history of western civilization, to the time of the flowering of Ancient Greek literature and philosophy (The Electricity Forum, 2012). Meanwhile, work on the early modern history of electricity exists that date back to 1769, testifying to the jump starting of the science of electricity generation not too long after Franklin's work with lightning (Priestley, 1769; Tom Henry's Code Electrical Classes Inc., 2012). Volta and Galvani would advance the understanding of electricity even further, by giving to the world the understanding of how electricity works in the context of Galvani's experiment with frogs. Volta's understanding of the way electric current is made from Galvani's frog experiments would drive the field forward. Volta understood that when two metal conductors contact water/moisture in frog bodies, electricity was generated. This insight paved the way for the creation of the first modern batteries, in 1792. Moreover, another important derivation of Volta's work on electricity is that of the ability of electricity to travel through conductor wires (The Electricity Forum, 2012): In this way, a new kind of electricity was discovered, electricity that flowed steadily like a current of water instead of discharging itself in a single spark or shock. Volta showed that electricity could be made to travel from one place to another by wire, thereby making an important contribution to the science of electricity. The unit of electrical potential, the Volt, is named after Volta (The Electricity Forum, 2012) On the other hand, whereas Volta demonstrated electricity transfer by wire, the development of large-scale transmission of electricity is credited to Michael Faraday. Faraday inverted the hypothesis that electricity is able to generate magnetism, and posited that magnetism could also bring about the generation of electricity, a hypothesis that was proven to be correct from his own experimental setups. The answer to Faraday's problem of generating electricity with the use of magnets lay in setting the magnets into motion. He was able to then show that magnetic fields in motion set into play the dynamics of electricity generation in this fashion. Four decades from that work by Faraday, on the other hand, Thomas Edison would set in motion the experiments that would bring about the production of the electric DC generator on a scale that could be considered practical. It was with DC electricity that Edison first lit up his experimental transmission and lighting infrastructure in New York and in his lab. On the other hand, while the Edison setup was functional, DC current faced many criticisms of its shortcomings, which led to AC electricity being developed and eyed as a more suitable mode of electricity generation and transmission on large scales (The Electricity Forum, 2012). The work of Edison deserves special mention for the vast number of peripheral work that he undertook to develop aspects of the electric grid for the transmission of electricity. Those aspects/components were not in existence prior to Edison's work on the New York infrastructure discussed above, and his pioneering work in electricity generation and transmission is considered to be the foundation of the engineering that has come to constitute the modern day transmission grid (Consolidated Edison, 2012): Edison received more than two hundred patents between 1879 and 1882 as he solved numerous problems in the generation, distribution, and metering of electric current. He had to develop even the most basic equipment — fuses, sockets, fixtures, switches, meters — and he had to build and test each part. Following the model for gas and water distribution, Edison was an early proponent of underground electric mains and services, and the first street mains were installed in New York during the summer of 1881 (Consolidated Edison, 2012) As discussed earlier though, the work of Edison was with direct current or DC electricity, with the disadvantages and shortcomings associated with such a setup being magnified in scale as Edison worked to develop an electricity transmission infrastructure to power his early work in New York. It would take the work of others, including that of Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, to make the convincing case of the use of alternating current or AC electricity as the viable way to transmit large amounts of electricity. The key component was very large transformers that allowed for such large amounts of AC current to be generated and transmitted across large distances via the grid. James Edison, meanwhile, would go on to leverage Watt's work on steam engines to power Edison's electricity generators, in the process making possible the generation of electricity on a large scale. Edison's light bulbs, moreover, made possible the popularization of electricity via its use to light up homes and businesses (The Electricity Forum, 2012; Accent Energy Group, 2012): In 1879 Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, which is what really got the public utilities ball rolling. Intent on finding a way to make electricity less costly and more practical, Edison built the Pearl Street Power Station in Manhattan in 1882. The first electric power plant capable of bringing electricity into people's homes, Edison's station served 85 customers within a square mile. His design quickly took off and was duplicated around the country. In 1895, another huge milestone came when George Westinghouse opened the first major power plant that used the newly developed AC power systems, which could transport electricity more than 200 miles-a huge improvement from Edison's one mile radius! (Accent Energy Group, 2012) Consolidated Gas, which was the umbrella firm for Edison's electricity generation and distribution firm in New York, was by 1932 the biggest player in the space, and with electricity generation outpacing its gas business, Consolidated Gas changed its name and focus to Consolidated Edison Company of New York. That new firm would grow by leaps and bounds all the way to 1960, via acquisitions. The 1970's would then bring about open markets for energy and new legislation with regard to increasing competition that altered the structure of the electricity generation and transmission business (Consolidated Edison, 2012). The extent of electrification differed by 1930 between rural and urban areas, meanwhile, with urban areas at that time having electricity for the most part, except for 10 percent, while rural electrification lagged behind, at just ten percent of rural households having electricity. The initial problems with extending electricity transmission to the rural areas had to do with private firms being reluctant to do so, on the basis of the farmers being poor uptakers of electricity, and on the basis of the large costs necessary to put up the infrastructure and to service the farmers. Roosevelt would work to counter this resistance and inertia with the creation of the Rural Electric Administration in 1935, generating the needed boost to up the power provision to the rural areas from 10 percent at that time to 25 percent four years hence. Fast forward to 2012, and the challenges that lie ahead of electricity generation and transmission have to do with providing adequate and cleaner electricity generation options for America and the rest of the world. Alternative energy sources are being pursued, with renewable energy options taking center stage at present as viable options for the future (Accent Energy Group, 2012). II. Improvements in Electricity Generation and Transmission through the Centuries California can be considered a representative case of how complex the business of electricity generation and transmission has become in the United States in modern times. This builds on the earlier technological and infrastructure progress that has been made in previous centuries, stretching back to the time of Edison and of the early pioneering transmission infrastructure firms. The reality on the ground in California at the turn of the 21st century is one of a complex dynamic of market forces, fuel mix pricing crises, an equally daunting market with demand and supply dynamics that fluctuated and was hard to manage and predict, and such matters. All of these translated to the need for legislation to control the chaotic process and tame the electricity generation markets and infrastructure. After an initial assessment of the electricity sector in California, and analyzing the setup at that point, with electricity transmission and generation being handled by firms that were integrated to perform both functions in an inefficient manner, the prognosis was clear. The energy crisis meant that a radical overhaul of the system for transmitting and generating electricity in the state was necessary to move forward. The emphasis henceforth was letting market forces do their work and altering the way companies were engaged in the various segments of the business, such as transmission and generation, to avoid things such as conflicts of interests and inefficiencies (Blumstein et al., 2002): These factors help explain why, from the perspective of 1992, conditions encouraged a consideration of electricity restructuring. Rates were too high, and the idea that the entire industry had to be vertically integrated was demonstrably false. Other sectors of the economy, like trucking and telecommunications, appeared to be benefiting from less reliance on traditional regulation in favor of more reliance on market forces. With the economy in recession, and the state looking for opportunities to bolster its competitive climate and attract new industry and jobs, it seemed eminently sensible to at least consider the idea of electricity restructuring at this time (Blumstein et al., 2002). Meanwhile, taking a step back, it is noteworthy that the bigger advances in technology for the transmission of electricity occurred not in this century but during the time of Edison, Westinghouse and their contemporaries, when the debate raged regarding whether DC or AC electricity provided the right technological foundation to transmit electricity to the masses. It is clear from the preceding discussion, for instance, that the choice of technology had implications on how far and how large electricity can be transmitted through the transmission grid. From the DC infrastructure for electricity transmission pioneered by Edison in New York, the transmission technologies largely tilted in favor of more efficient AC current infrastructure technologies and components, championed by the likes of Westinghouse and Tesla. The move to electrify the provinces, meanwhile, brought with it its own host of problems, including those that relate to being able to profitably serve the farmers who were poor uptakers, and to build a cost-efficient transmission infrastructure that suffered from lower rates of utilization and lower revenues per household in comparison to the urban households. The reality at present, meanwhile, with electrification being universal, is that the problems are more complex, even as the infrastructure for transmission has grown to become more and more sophisticated (Consolidated Edison, 2012; Accent Energy Group, 2012; Blumstein et al., 2002; The Electricity Forum, 2012). The smart grid, meanwhile, promises to upgrade the transmission infrastructure in the US via the inclusion of computer systems to manage the electrical grid (US Department of Energy, 2012). III. The Evolution of the Ideas Relating to Electricity Generation Some of the ideas relating to electricity generation that have evolved over time have to do with the kinds of organizational and ownership structures that are to be the most efficient and most suitable given the changing power requirements of the uptakers, namely residences and businesses. The experience with California in the recent past, for instance, put into question the wisdom of having vertically integrated power generation and transmission firms, given that such firms have proven to be a beehive of inefficiencies. This crippled the ability of the state to react and to institute radical reforms as a result of the financial crisis that gripped the state in the 1990's. On the other hand, scale and the scale economies that go with large transmission and generation entities cannot be denied as well, and scale is a consideration in electricity generation at the present time, and has ever been the concern going back to the time of Edison and the time of the push for rural electrification. It is to be remembered that the debate on rural electrification then had to do with the financial visibility of such measures, given the lack of scale to be had in the rural areas due to the small demand and the fewer households. Meanwhile, from a purely technological vantage point, past and present concerns have ever included the types of energy sources that are to be considered, the cost implications of different electricity generation options, the market mechanisms that are to be set in place and the transmission technologies to be used. The format wars have been largely determined in favor of Tesla and company and are no longer contested at present, with the grid standardizing on AC. The smart grid sits alongside new and renewable sources of energy as some of the most pressing technological concerns for the electricity generation and transmission field at present (Consolidated Edison, 2012; Accent Energy Group, 2012; Blumstein et al., 2002; The Electricity Forum, 2012; US Department of Energy, 2012). Reference List Accent Energy Group 2012. History of Electricity – Accent Energy, New York. Accent Energy. [Online] Available at: http://www.accentenergy.com/Energy101/ElectricityArticles.aspx/28_History-of-Electricity [Accessed 14 October 2012] Blumstein, C. et al. 2002. The History of Electricity Restructuring In California. Escholarship, University of California. [Online] Available at: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/85k8w3k7#page-2 [Retrieved 14 October 2012] Consolidated Edison 2012. Electricity. ConEdison. [Online] Available at: http://www.coned.com/history/electricity.asp [Accessed 14 October 2012] Priestley, Joseph 1769, The history and present state of electricity; with original experiments. The University of Michigan {Online] Available at: Google Books http://books.google.com [Accessed 14 October 2012] The Electricity Forum 2012. Electricity History. [Online] Available at: http://www.electricityforum.com/electricity-history.html [Accessed 14 October 2012] Tom Henry's Code, 2012. The History of Electricity. Code Electrical Classes Inc. Bookstore. [Online] Available at: http://www.code-electrical.com/historyofelectricity.html [Accessed 14 October2012] US Department of Energy, 2012. Smart Grid. Energy.gov. [Online] Available at: http://energy.gov/oe/technology-development/smart-grid [Accessed 14 October2012] Read More