Power plant

“ A small investment would enable many such old powers to be revived and applied to some useful purpose. Such a water-power plant could frequently be made to serve the owner or a group of users of electric current at very small first cost for each individual, and at an operating cost which would be inconsiderable. ”

“ The farmer who makes use of the energy of falling water to generate electricity for light, heat, and power does the same thing—he makes use of the capacity for work stored in water in being lifted to a certain height. As in the case of the gasoline engine, which burns 14 pounds of air for every pound of gasoline, the engineer of the water-power plant does not have to concern himself with the question of how this [Pg 34] natural source of energy happened to be in a handy place for him to make use of it. ”

“ A power plant must be constructed to meet the highest point of its expected demand—the "peak of the load." The nearer the "load" (the power demand) approaches that peak for all the time, the [Pg 102] more fully will the entire fixed investment be earning a return. Suppose there are two independent power plants in two neighboring communities where the demand in one community is mainly for power during the day time, and in the other at night. ”

“ It should be borne in mind, however, that much depends on the choice of the best power for any particular purpose, and a careful consideration of what is needed, and the conditions under which the power must be supplied, is essential to insure satisfaction with a power plant. ”

“ The pumped storage plant, an engineering innovation of growing use, is to supplement the energy produced by other plants during periods of peak demands. During such periods it generates energy through use of hydroelectric units driven by water falling from an elevated reservoir into a lower pool. [3] During off-peak periods it uses energy from other sources to pump water from the lower pool back to the headwater pool. [4] The project is capable of creating up to 350 megawatts and the energy created will be utilized in Missouri, Illinois, and possibly Iowa. ”

“ Each 5,000-kilowatt unit is capable of delivering during rush hours an output of 7,500 kilowatts or approximately 10,000 electrical horse power and, setting aside one unit as a reserve, the contemplated ultimate maximum output of the power plant, therefore, is 75,000 kilowatts, or approximately 100,000 electrical horse power. ”

“ If you can allow a liberal [Pg 210] proportion of water-power, and avoid crowding your dynamo, the chances are you will not need a governor for the ordinary reaction turbine wheel. Start your plant, and let it run for a few days or a few weeks without a governor, or regulator. Then if you find the operation is unsatisfactory, decide for yourself which of the above systems is best adapted for your conditions. Economy as well as convenience will affect your decision. The plant which is most nearly automatic is the best ”

“ Except for a few little storage-battery or Diesel generator systems, that couldn't handle one tenth of one per cent of the barest minimum load, it's been the only source of electric current here since 1962, when the last coal-burning power plant was dismantled. ”

“ This plant, for instance, can be made a great receiving station for electric power from all the great hydro-electric sites, and from it we hope to be able to send out electrical waves that will run our ships, airships, trains and street cars, carry 160 our voices, light our houses, and turn the wheels of our factories. It is better, however, to have the plants located close to the seats of power, and to have a greater number of plants. ”

“ Even a small water-driven electric station that can be operated by a single attendant at any one time must have two attendants if it is to deliver energy during the greater part or all of every twenty-four hours. But a single attendant can care for a water-power plant of 2,000 horse-power or more capacity, so that two plants of 750 horse-power each will require double the operating force of one plant of 1,500 horse-power. ”

“ Electricity is of so much value in farm operations, as well as in the farm house, that the farmer who is not fortunate enough to possess water-power of his own, or to live in a community where a coöperative hydro-electric plant may be established, should not deny himself its many conveniences. In place of the water wheel to turn the dynamo, there is the gasoline engine (or other forms of internal combustion engine using oil, gas, or alcohol as fuel) ; in many districts where steam engines are used for logging or other operations, electricity may be generated as a by-product ”

“ We also want more power plants built in other parts of the Philippines. As our economy grows, so will our consumption of electricity, which means we must likewise increase supply. Do we really want to wait until our plants are at full capacity before more plants are built? Power plants do not sprout like mushrooms—a power plant takes two to three years to construct. ”

“ Further practical engineering experience was gained with the General Electric Company at Lynn, and in consulting work in connection with the gas and natural oil fields, oil engines, power plant economies, municipal and private steam-electric and gas-electric power plants, continuing from 1905 to 1915. ”

“ In the development of electrical power stations it becomes more and more apparent that it is economical to run a boiler at high ratings during the times of peak loads, as by so doing the lay-over losses are diminished and the economy of the plant as a whole is increased. ”

“ Until a short time ago it was customary to locate electric power-houses near the market, that is, in cities. But the benefits to be derived from having the electric plant near the source of power, so that the cost of production is greatly lessened, are becoming better recognized. ”

“ Can it make any real and vital difference and convert a public into a private use if, instead of burning the fuel at the power station to produce the electricity, or at the central heating plant to produce the heat and then conducting it in the one case by wires and in the other by pipes to the user's home, the coal itself is hauled over the same highway to the same point of distribution? ”

“ Remember, in estimating the size of your plant for light, heat, and power, that it does not have to be big enough to use all the devices at one time. Also remember, that two water horsepower to one electrical horsepower is a very liberal allowance; and that a generator working under one-half or two-thirds capacity at normal loads will require less attention than a machine constantly being worked above its capacity. Therefore, let your generator be of liberal size, because the difference in cost between a 5 and 10 kilowatt machine is not in proportion to their capacity. ”

“ All proposals for the extension of generating stations and mains had to be brought before the Electric Power Supply Department of the Ministry, which issued priority certificates for those judged to be most urgent. The output of electrical manufacturing firms was likewise controlled, so that the production of both electric power and electric plant was centrally organized to meet the ever-increasing demand for current. ”

“ Motor-driven Sewing Machine
However, the convenience and cleanliness of electricity are fairly well known and appreciated, but the means by which electric currents may be generated economically, and by which this form of energy may be applied to bring about sufficient returns, financial and otherwise, to warrant the installation of an isolated plant for a farm or country home, are not so generally understood.
Electric current may be generated by means of a dynamo, or generator, with any kind of a power-producing plant. ”

“ Electrical power was adopted largely on account of the restricted area at the shaft sites, where a steam plant would have occupied considerable space of great value for other purposes. The installation of a steam plant at the Intermediate Shafts, which were located in a high-class residential district, would have been highly objectionable to the neighboring property owners, on account of the attendant noise, smoke, and dirt, and, in addition, the cost of the transportation of fuel would have been a serious burden. ”

“ The great advantage of water-power is that the expense of maintenance—once the plant is installed—is practically nothing. This advantage is offset in some measure by the fact that other forms of power, gas, steam, or windmills, are already installed, in many instances and that their judicious use in generating electricity does not impair their usefulness for the other farm operations for which they were originally purchased. In recent years gasoline engines have come into general use on farms as a cheap dependable source of power for all operations ”

“ What happens when the stock at the refineries is all used up? How can they get into operation again? They need power for their own plant, electricity for their pumps and engines. All of their frozen equipment has to be replaced. ”

“ The power generated in such stations, while representing an enormous total, is by no means the larger proportion of the total power generated throughout the country. The factors determining the economic load for the small plant, however, are the same as in a large, and in general the statements made relative to the question are equally applicable. ”

“ The saving that results or credit that can be given the destructor plant will amount to the value of the fuel equal to that which it requires to produce the amount of steam developed and used. The fluctuating amount of power developed in most cases can be depended upon only for the average minimum production. In selecting a site for a refuse disposal plant from which power is developed it is not always profitable to utilize the power where the demand is not constant and where the demand would be constant, suitable sites are not always available. ”

“ The modern mill or factory has its engines and dynamos located wherever convenient, its electric lines and numerous motors connected thereto, and each of them either driving comparatively short lines of shafting or attached to drive single pieces of machinery. The wilderness of belts and pulleys which used to characterize a factory is gradually being cleared away, and electric distribution of power substituted. Moreover, the lighting of the modern mill or factory is done from the same electric plant which distributes power. ”

“ The answer to this conundrum is that unlike Part II of Title II of the Public Utility Act of 1935, under which the Commission regulates various aspects of the sale and transmission of energy in interstate commerce, Part I, the original Federal Water Power Act, is concerned with the utilization of water resources and particularly the power potential in water. In relation to this central concern of the Act, [29] the distinction between a hydroelectric project and a steam plant is obvious, and meaningful, although both produce energy for interstate transmission. ”

“ One advantage of water- over steam-power is the smaller cost of the building with the former for a given capacity of plant. The building for direct-connected electric generators, driven by water-wheels, is relatively small and simple. Space for fuel, boilers, economizers, feed-water heaters, condensers, steam piping, and pumps is not required where water-power is used. No chimney or apparatus for mechanical draught is needed. ”

“ If a supply of electric current has to be furnished to a building the option exists in many cases of drawing from a public supply or of generating it by a private plant.
Private Plants.—In spite of a great amount of ingenuity devoted to the development of the primary battery and the thermopile, no means of generation of large currents can compete in economy with the dynamo. Hence a private electric generating plant involves the erection of a dynamo which may be driven either by a steam, gas or oil engine, or by power obtained by means of a turbine from a low or high fall of water. ”

“ By means of electricity the work, not only of factories, but also of the home and the farm may be done in any place where electricity can be installed. We must bear in mind that electricity is never a source of power, but is only the agent that carries power to the user. The source of all electric power is either steam or water, produced by water-wheels, turbines, steam-engines or gas-engines. The economical way to furnish electric power is to establish central power plants, and electricity may be conveyed from them for many miles. ”

“ Electricity, when steam-generated, has the handicap of the losses of two conversions, the actual pump efficiency being about 60% in well-constructed Page 142 plants; the efficiency is therefore greater than direct steam or compressed air. Where the mine is operated with water-power, purchased electric current, or where there is an installation of electrical generating plant by steam or gas for other purposes, electrically driven pumps take precedence over all others on account of their combined moderate capital outlay, great flexibility, and reasonable efficiency. ”

“ When the problems are solved, probably within the next decade, MHD power plants should be able to provide reliable power with high efficiency. They may then serve in large space power plants, and, most important, they may provide cheaper electricity for general use through their higher temperatures and greater efficiencies. ”

“ Three hours later we came upon six large steel conduits which we knew must convey the water power to the plant, and in a few minutes we had followed these to our goal.
Here we found ourselves upon the brow of a promontory directly behind and fully 300 feet above the Seuen-H'sin's workshop. The promontory ended in a sheer precipice, from the outermost curve of which the conduits dropped straight down into the powerhouse. This tremendous fall of the six streams of water supplied the enormous energy to the turbines. ”