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, Washington: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Information Administration. Fossil Fuel Generation was the largest source.]] was the main source.]] HISTORY Centralized power generation became possible when it was recognized that Alternating Current power lines can transport Electricity at low costs across great distances by taking advantage of the ability to raise and lower the Voltage using power Transformer s. Electricity has been generated for the purpose of powering human technologies since 1881, over 120 years, from various sources of , Nuclear , Natural Gas , Hydroelectric , and Petroleum with a small amount from Solar Energy , Tidal Harnesses , Wind Generator s, and Geothermal sources. ELECTRICITY DEMAND are able to provide large amounts of Hydroelectric power.]] The demand for electricity can be met in two different ways. The primary method thus far has been for public or private utilities to construct large scale centralized projects to generate and transmit the electricity required to fuel economies. Many of these projects have caused unpleasant environmental effects such as air or radiation pollution and the flooding of large areas of land. Distributed Generation creates power on a smaller scale at locations throughout the electricity network. Often these sites generate electricity as a byproduct of other industrial processes such as using gas from landfills to drive turbines. METHODS OF GENERATING ELECTRICITY Turbines Rotating Turbines attached to Electrical Generator s produce most commercially available electricity. Turbines are driven by a fluid which acts as an intermediate energy carrier. The fluids typically used are:
Combined Cycle gas turbine plants are driven by both steam and gas. They generate power by burning natural gas in a Gas Turbine and use residual heat to generate additional electricity from steam. These plants offer efficiencies of up to 60%. Reciprocating engines Small electricity generators are often powered by Reciprocating Engine s burning Diesel , Biogas or natural gas. Diesel Engines are often used for back up generation, usually at low voltages. Biogas is often combusted where it is produced, such as a landfill or wastewater treatment plant, with a reciprocating engine or a microturbine, which is a small gas turbine. Photovoltaic panels Unlike the solar heat concentrators mentioned above, ), U.S. Department of Energy. Until recently, photovoltaics were most commonly used in remote sites where there is no access to a commercial power grid, or as a supplemental electricity source for individual homes and businesses. Recent advances in manufacturing efficiency and photovoltaic technology, combined with subsidies driven by environmental concerns, have dramatically accelerated the deployment of solar panels. Installed capacity is growing by 40% per year led by increases in Germany, Japan, California and New Jersey. Other generation methods Various other technologies have been studied and developed for power generation. Solid-state generation (without moving parts) is of particular interest in portable applications. This area is largely dominated by Thermoelectric (TE) devices, though Thermionic (TI) and Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems have been developed as well. Typically, TE devices are used at lower temperatures than TI and TPV systems. Piezoelectric devices are used for power generation from mechanical strain, particularly in Power Harvesting . Betavoltaics are another type of solid-state power generator which produces electricity from radioactive decay. Fluid-based Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation has been studied as a method for extracting electrical power from Nuclear Reactors and also from more conventional fuel combustion systems. ), U.S. Department of Energy. ''"13,670 nickel-cadmium battery cells to generate up to 40 megawatts of power for about 7 minutes, or 27 megawatts of power for 15 minutes."'', which are arguably utilized more as storage systems than generation systems, but open electrochemical systems, known as Fuel Cells , have been undergoing a great deal of research and development in the last few years. Fuel cells can be used to extract power either from natural fuels or from synthesized fuels (mainly electrolytic Hydrogen ) and so can be viewed as either generation systems or storage systems depending on their use. PRODUCTION TRENDS In 2005, USA continued to remain as the top producer of electricity with a global share of at least 25% followed by China, Japan and Russia. SEE ALSO
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