from lightbulbs to smart grids: the past, present and the future … · 2018-01-28 · other...

From Lightbulbs to Smart Grids:

The Past, Present and the Future of the Electricity System

Barry Hayes UNED Guadalajara 26th February 2015

The Beginnings of the Electrical Grid

The Present System

The Future: Sustainability and Smart Grids

Questions and Answers

Overview

IMDEA Network Before Electricity

Darkness after

sunset.

No refrigeration, washing machines, air-conditioning, etc.

Main sources of energy were manual labour, horses, wind and water.

IMDEA Network Key Discoveries

Pumping Steam

Engine (1775), invented by James Watt.

Double-acting Watt steam engine (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)


Hans Christian Orsted (1820)

Electricity + Magnetism = Motion


Faraday’s Disk (1831)

Electricity + Magnetism = Motion → Motion + Magnetism = Electricity ?


Charles Parsons invents the Steam Turbine (1884)

More than 75% of all of today’s electricity is generated

using steam turbines (e.g. coal, nuclear)

The Lightbulb

Electricity allowed us to separate energy from its

source.

First “application” which required lots of electricity was the electric lightbulb.

Thomas Edison was the first to successfully commercialise the lightbulb.

He tested 1000’s of materials for the bulb filament: (e.g. platinum, cotton, wood, hair, paper) before patenting a lightbulb that used a carbonised bamboo filament.

The Lightbulb The first public building to use electric lighting was

the Savoy Theatre in London.

Before electric lighting, theatres used oil lamps, which were hot, smelly, and not very bright.

The Savoy theatre had its own generator to provide electricity

Pearl Street Station The first central electrical power station was built at

Pearl Street, Manhattan, New York in 1882.

It served around 500 customers, or around 10,000 lamps.

Built by the Edison

Illuminating Company.

Electrical power output was Direct Current (DC)

Pearl Street Station, Manhattan, New York

War of the Currents Which is the best way to design an electrical grid?

Direct Current (DC):

Current flows in one direction only.

Proposed by Thomas Edison

Alternating Current (AC):

Current changes direction many times every second.

Proposed by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse

War of the Currents

American

Practical, hands-on approach

Excellent business sense

Edison (DC) vs. Tesla (AC)

Serbian

Visionary, scientific

genius

Terrible business sense

War of the Currents Who won and why? With AC power, it was easy to change (or transform) voltage. With DC power, this was difficult and expensive. At the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, Edison (financed

by J.P. Morgan) and Tesla (financed by George Westinghouse) bid to power the fair. Tesla’s AC system won as it could provide electricity more economically.

Power = Current x Voltage Power Losses = Current x Resistance 2 → Higher Voltage = Lower Current = Lower Losses

Edison’s Revenge? For transporting huge amounts of power

across long distances, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) can be more efficient than AC.

HVDC converter HVDC links in Europe


The Present System



Overview

The Electrical Grid

Generation

Transmission

Distribution

Generation Most electricity is generated centrally in power

stations.

Taichung power station in Taiwan is the largest coal power station in the world. It is also the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide (40 million tons a year)

Generation Most electricity is generated centrally in power

stations.

Three Gorges Dam in China is the largest energy generating plant in the world with a capacity of 22.5 GW. At full output, this is enough to power more than 30 million Spanish homes!

Transmission Transmission transports power over long distances

at high voltages (e.g. 400 kV and 220 kV)

→ Higher Voltage = Lower Current = Lower Losses

Distribution Distribution delivers power to users at low voltages

Distribution networks are very dense, with many

1,000’s of components.

Electrical Grids

Electric grids are integrated across countries, and can trade electricity with each other.

Spain is synchronised with the main European electrical grid.

Synchronous grids in Europe.

The biggest machine ever built?

Satellite image of the North American power grid.

The Vertically-Integrated Utility

Historically, the electricity industry was vertically-integrated.

Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Retail were all done by the same company. Usually government-owned.

Monopoly!

Electricity Markets

Monopolies worked very well until the 1970s. Economies of scale

Increasing demand

Decreasing electricity prices

Electricity Markets

Monopolies worked very well until the 1970s. Economies of scale

Increasing demand

Decreasing electricity prices

But then….. In the 1980s Stable demand

Increasing fuel costs

Increasing electricity prices

Electricity Markets In a monopoly, there is no motivation

for improvements in efficiency.

How to introduce competition without risking the security of system?

Electricity Markets In a monopoly, there is no motivation

for improvements in efficiency.

How to introduce competition without risking the security of system?

Most developed countries have liberalised the electricity industry, and created wholesale electricity markets:

Chile (1982) England and Wales (1990) Spain (1997) Rest of EU (1998) USA (late 1990s)

Need for regulation by government.

Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Retail are now different companies.

Electricity Industry Roles

The job of the Transmission System Operator: Supply = demand Controlling access to the network Network maintenance

Transmission System Operator

National transmission grid control centre.

Distribution System Operators

Distribution System Operator manages and maintains Medium voltage and Low Voltage networks

Electricity Retailers

Retailers buy electricity from the wholesale market and sell to users.

Blackouts

What happens when it goes wrong?

Most blackouts (power outages) due to failures in the distribution network and affect small number of customers.

Most users lose power for a few minutes or hours per year

(e.g. reliability of 99.99 % = 1 hour/year)

Power quality can also be a problem (e.g. voltage outside limits)

North Eastern Blackout 2003 Since the networks are interconnected, huge system failures are possible… e.g. North Eastern Blackout (USA and Canada) in 2003.

Affected 50 million people, with estimated financial losses of $6 billion.

North Eastern Blackout 2003

What caused the North Eastern blackout? There were a number of factors: Overgrown trees

Very high demand (hot day ~31ºC) Malfunctioning alarms

Poor system monitoring and awareness

Poor communication between regions

North Eastern Blackout 2003

European Blackout 2006

European blackout occurred during the night of Saturday 4th November 2006.

More than 15 million people across the continent affected by power outages.

Blackouts So what have we learned? New international regulations Better communication between regions/countries

New wide-area monitoring systems Potential for problems in the future: Aging infrastructure

Cybersecurity

Other Threats

Extreme Weather Storms, floods, heatwaves etc.

can cause power outages. Solar Storms Hydro-Quebec 1989

6 million people without power

for 9 hours.

More vulnerable with higher voltages and more interconnection.


The Present System



Overview

Climate Change Global temperatures are rising (8 of the hottest ten years

since records began have occurred the last decade)

Climate Change Local changes do not tell us much about global changes!

Climate Change

World Energy Use

World Electricity Generation

World electricity generation by fuel type (2011 International Energy Agency data).

What if Everything Ran on Gas?

World Energy Use

Energy use varies greatly according to country! Average electrical power consumption per capita in Watts:

Norway: 2603 W United States: 1683 W … Spain: 645 W … China: 458 W ... Rwanda: 2 W Sierra Leone: 1W

Spain Energy Mix

Spain Electricity Generation

Grid Integration of Renewables

One of the greatest challenges with renewable energy is its integration into the electrical system

Renewables like wind or solar are not controllable.

Distributed Generation

Energy storage

Electric Vehicles

Smart Meters

Source: www.smartgrid.gov

What is the Smart Grid?

“Smart” technologies can make the

electricity grid more flexible: Smart meters Smart appliances Smart buildings

Users can respond to the price of

electricity.

Benefits for the user and for the grid.

What is the Smart Grid?

Smart Grids

E

A European Supergrid?

Gas and coal plants are

being used more and more as a backup for renewables.

This means that they are becoming less profitable.

No new investment could

mean problems for future security of supply.

Electricity Market Challenges

Generation companies are losing money…

Distribution companies are losing money…

Electricity Market Challenges

Users that have their

own source of energy (e.g. from solar panels) buy less electricity.

This means that power companies have less money to pay for the grid.

Penalties for auto-consumers?

Towards Energy Independence?

Off the grid: Is there an alternative to the big power companies? Energy co-operatives allow

communities to own their generation and grid resources.

A microgrid.

Microgrids are

modern, small-scale versions of the central electricity grid.


The Present System



Overview

Thank you for your attention! Questions?

Nikola Tesla Tesla also created many other inventions, such as a

system for wireless transmission of electric power.

Three-phase AC power Almost all electricity grids worldwide use a balanced,

three-phase AC system, based on Tesla’s inventions.

Three phase induction machine animation

European Blackout 2006

Overload in the German network resulted in mainland Europe grid split into three islands.

European Blackout 2006 What happened? Line switching in Northern Germany not communicated to

neighbours. Very high demand. Computer simulation models of grid were incorrect, leading to

wrong decisions being taken. Poor co-ordination between countries.

So what have we learned? New international regulations Better communication between regions/countries New wide-area monitoring systems Potential for big problems in future: aging infrastructure, extreme weather, interaction between power grid and internet

Energy Efficiency

Better Efficiency → Less Energy Use?

Dynamics and stability

Electromagnetic stability of the grid is affected by connection of wind and solar. Conventional generators have rotating machines which are

directly connected to the AC grid, providing inertia. Wind turbines and solar panels are connected indirectly to the grid via power electronics.

Less inertia = less damping = instability (!). Protection Grids not designed for renewables and two-way power flows.

Variability Need better interconnection between regions and countries

to manage changes.

Technical Problems

Energy Efficiency

Better Efficiency → More Energy Use!

Known as the Jevons Paradox.

In 1865, W.S. Jevons noticed after Watt introduced a much more efficient steam engine, coal consumption increased.

It was thought that more economical use of coal would reduce coal demand. The opposite was true!

Increased fuel efficiency → reduced price → higher demand

Energy Efficiency

Another example of Jevons paradox: When heating systems became more efficient, houses in cold countries consumed more energy for heating: Average household temperature in 1915 in Ireland was 15ºC Average household temperature in 2015 in Ireland is 21ºC

Lesson: Better technology is not enough to produce sustainability, we also need better energy policy and regulation. How to make power companies improve energy efficiency? e.g. if I reduce my demand, my power company gets paid less.

from lightbulbs to smart grids: the past, present and the future … · 2018-01-28 · other...

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