Electricity in the United States

 

Erome - Electricity in the United States began to be pioneered at the end of the 19th century AD. Initially, electricity in the United States was only intended for lighting for streets and rooms . Several types of power plants that have been operating in the United States are hydroelectric power plants , steam power plants , nuclear power plants , waste power plants , solar power plants , and wind power plants . Several producers of electrical energy for the United States are in the northern states of the United States . Meanwhile, consumers of electrical energy in the United States include factories and electric vehicles .

In 2008, the United States earned $368.5 billion in revenue from the electricity industry. The United States experienced large-scale power outages in 1965 covering the eastern United States, and in 2003 covering the northeastern United States.

Commercialization of electricity

In 1879, the first successful power plant was operated in San Francisco . The components that make up this power plant are two dynamo units . The maximum electricity generation capacity is only 22 lamp units. However, this power plant cannot last for a long time.

the first commercial power grid was built in Lower Manhattan , New York City. This development was pioneered by Thomas Alva Edison. The goal is to provide lighting that can overcome human obstacles to darkness.

Direct current system power generation

On September 4, 1882, Thomas Alva Edison built a power plant on Pearl Street, New York City. This power plant is a steam power plant consisting of 6 electric generators. The generating capacity of each generator is 100 kW. This electric power station was known as the Pearl Street Power Station.

The electric generator used by Thomas Alva Edison was a direct current generator . Therefore, its function is only as heating and lighting. The power plant made by Thomas Alva Edison had the disadvantage of having to be close to customers. The reason is that the electric voltage will be lower the further the distance from the electric generator. At long distances, large power losses also occur. In a direct current electricity network, it is also impossible to combine several electric generators.

Hydroelectric power plant

The United States has used old flood control dams to be used as hydroelectric power plants. These dams must first be repaired. Another function is to increase the power of existing power plants. To date, at least 3% of the total of 67 thousand dams in the United States have been converted to hydroelectric power plants.

Electric steam power plant

The steam power generation technology used in the United States in the early 1900s was cogeneration . The electrical energy produced by this technology is on a large scale. However, since the 1920s, cogeneration technology in steam power plants in the United States began to be replaced by the electricity grid. The reason is that the cost of purchasing electrical energy is relatively cheap and is able to provide economic incentives for industry.

Nuclear power plant

The United States became the first country to successfully generate electricity using a nuclear reactor .

This nuclear power generation was carried out on December 20, 1951 at the EBR 1 experimental generating station. The location is close to the Arco area, Idaho .

In 1973, the percentage of nuclear power generation in the United States was nearly 5%.

At the end of 2019, the number of nuclear power plants operating in the United States was 96 units. The electricity generation capacity of the entire nuclear power plant is 98,152 MegaWatt. At the same time, 2 nuclear power plants were still being built with an electricity generation capacity of 2,234 MegaWatt.

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