
Transmission Professionals Group
The Transmission Professionals special interest group covers the distribution of power from generation to final destination.
Post
Designing an Efficient Electrical Grid Has Never Been So Important

In the United States it is estimated that approximately 6% of all electricity generated is lost to the inefficiencies in our transmission and distribution grid. While great consideration is given to the efficiency of generation equipment and demand-side appliances, very little consideration is given to the efficiency fo the wires that are installed in our power grid; except after-the-fact measurements. According to EIA, Technical T&D estimated losses in the US are about 200 MILLION MWh per year. This means that the equivalent of 22,821 MW of power plants are running 100% of the time to only serve the GRID LOSSES that are just heating the air. A reduction in grid losses will not only reduce the cost of delivered power to consumers and reduce the air and water emissions, it will also reduce the amount of clean and renewable generation resources required to reliably serve the electric load. The place to consider increasing the efficiency of a GRID project is at the project design stage. Unlike a decision on more efficient lighting, LED vs incandescent, a poor decision for incandescent lighting can be corrected a year or so later with the light is replaced. For a GRID project, an overlooked efficiency opportunity is a lost opportunity for 30-50 years.
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