The AC/DC debate between Edison and Tesla was partially about how centrally ener
ID: 1776952 • Letter: T
Question
The AC/DC debate between Edison and Tesla was partially about how centrally energy should be generated (one big power plant for the city, or one on every block), and that’s coming up again now. As individual residents and businesses can have solar power and wind power, energy generation may be getting less centralized. What are the pros and cons of having centrally generated power vs locally generated power, and are these the same or different than in the old AC/DC debate? (Be sure to talk about how each of these kinds of power are generated and transmitted.) What model do you think we should focus on going forward?
Explanation / Answer
to understand it we ll have to first look at the pros and cons of the both;
cetrally generated power has benefits like;
-one time investment in a planned manner to serve a large population for a long period
-local effect on environment that can be controlled
- transmission loss is a major concern else it utillizes available resources efficiently.
Key benefits of local power generation ie:distributive power generation(dp)
When canals and locks were built in the late 1800's in usa , industrial and residential development bordered rivers and harbors, densely. Later, when railroads were built, new towns and factories clustered by the rail corridors, often at distance from major waterways. When the interstate highways were built, new development skipped the rails and rivers entirely for being around the highways and municipal bypasses.
Coal and nuclear plants remain by the rails and major waterways, to take advantage of bulk hauling by rail and barge and/or to get access cooling water. Today's and tomorrow's demand growth, however, is far from those places - stranded away from the water and rails. That's a major reason why DP is positioned to leapfrog central power's grip.
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