Power Lines and Tech Jargon
Diving into Transmission Infrastructure
2015
Looking through the PS Buzz’ unfinished article archive, we
found an excellent start for another materials and resource based article. Having just researched the Lego story (see
Lego’s search for ABS) it seemed like this could be a good article to polish up
and post.
If you’ve had the privilege of driving along a major highway
then you may have noticed the existence of transmission lines for communication
and power distribution. They’re so
common in our electrified world that it’s become accepted as another part of
the visible environment. They provide connections between communities and allow
for us to shed off our harsh environments.
Some of you may have even wondered why we have these cables
stretching across our landscapes, without really considering how much of a
necessity this infrastructure is to our everyday life. So the plan, for this article, is to give a
little bit of insight into THE GRID.
Before getting too ahead of ourselves we should give some
backgrounders-
Electrical Grid: An
interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers
Peaking Plants: Power
plants (typically combustion plants) that provide electricity during periods of
high demand
Smart Grid: An
electrical network that uses digital information and communication technology
(Apps/Social Media) to optimize efficiency and reliability for
suppliers/consumers
Mega-joule (MJ): Unit of Energy (1 kWh = 3.6 MJ)
One more point of clarity before we dive in (this a dense
article so we’re trying to keep the constant reader up to speed!) The best way
to think of electricity/power lines is to imagine water flowing through a pipe,
and for the sake of this scenario let’s assume that water is weightless.
If you are at point A and wanted to send water through a
100km long pipe to, point B, how would you best go about it? The pipe has a standard size (assume the flow
rate is 1 cup of water per second -at its fastest rate) and if you want 60 cups
of water it’s going to take at least 1 minute.
Well, the pressure at point A would have to be significant (to
push all that water to point B), and in fact it’s very possible that it wouldn’t
make sense to just ‘one shot’ the water.
So you install pumps at crucial points of the pipe to help boost the
pressure/flow rate of the water.
Great, you managed to get the water to point B, but what
about the 100km of pipe that’s now filled up?
Well, that potential volume of water will eventually make it to point B.
Okay, and now imagine trying to continuously send that water from point A to
point B. (We realize this brief
explanation may confuse readers more, but please keep tuning in for more tech
talk in future articles!)
So, enough thought experimenting.
We did a little research into Nova Scotia’s transmission
lines (which is currently at its limit and in the process of being revamped
where possible) and thought the Buzz could have a little fun with it.
Apologies for the poor quality of the map legend, this picture
was obtained from a report conducted by Hatch Ltd. A link to their 2010 assessment can be found
in the resources section!
Looking at some of these transmission routes The Buzz was
interested in determining just how much aluminum wiring is hanging there. It has to be a butt load, or at least a large
amount, so let’s do a little math and see if we can make an estimate.
Now, in the following image the distance between Greenwood
and Nova Scotia Trunk 8 is roughly 50 km.
This route is meant to represent the 69 kV lines that provide grid
connection to the surrounding communities in that area of the province. (See Title
Image for an example of a 69 kV power line)
How many lines of conducting wire does this mean?
8 lines per tower, and there is
typically 2 towers supporting the lines.
16 lines stretching 50 km- that
would be one big spool of wire!
(Taking it a little farther)
The mass of 16 aluminum transmission
lines would equal roughly 163, 120 kilograms (Why? Because reasons)
To produce aluminum cables it takes
approximately 46 MJ/kg, we’ve cited the Engineering Tool box for property
values.
So, If one was to refine enough
material for this much transmission line it would take approximately 8,482,283
MJ (enough energy to power 148 homes for a year), just for that one stretch of
road.
Keep in mind that this number took
quite a few liberties and we made some assumptions. However the math seems to check out. Feel free to do your own math and reply to
this article!
Moving away from the heavy handed math, we would like to talk
about some of the amazing stuff we’re capable of thanks to the innovation of
power lines. Without a massive grid connecting
our hospitals, homes, schools -what have you, it would be a little tricky
performing everyday tasks. So perhaps
the refinement process can be forgiven, all the same, dang that’s a lot of
energy!
Nova Scotia alone has 31, 800 km of power lines stretching
between thousands of sub stations, peaking plants and buildings of all
sizes. And the demand in this area is
increasing so it will be interesting to see some of the innovations the
Atlantic province will make to address this challenge.
Burden on power grids isn’t unique to Nova Scotia. In fact many areas across the globe have
started investing in smart grid solutions.
What’s the goal? -Developing a
dynamic system that allows for better manipulation of an electrical grid.
The emergence of smart grid systems (something that we will
likely cover in more detail in a separate article) is something that yields
exciting benefits for us energy consumers.
It will ultimately mean more control for both power producers and
consumers.
Tesla (oh Elon Musk, the world’s greatest mad-scientist) has
developed a product called the PowerWall.
The concept is to develop a home energy storage system that people can
use to help power their home.
The Buzz sees even bigger potential in a system like this. If
buildings were able to connect via a smart grid and ‘share’ energy, well then
that would mean grid burden could be a problem of the past. Who knows, it’s some interesting brain food
and a good closing.
Links as Promised
How NS Power Delivers Electricity-
Hatch Energy Innovations-
Properties of Aluminum-
Midal Cables Ltd (AAC transmission wires)-
Physics of Everyday Stuff (Calculating Resistance of
Transmission lines)-
Tesla Power Wall-
