Introduction to Distributed Power Generation Systems

2007-05-14T02:03:00.000-07:00

Distributed power generation is a concept that employs using smaller electric generators over a more widely dispersed network.

While the large power plants supplied by the power utility companies do a good job about mass electricity production at a low price, they cannot account for wasted energy at various points in the power grid. Since most electric companies produce electricity en masse for distribution over hundreds or thousands of miles of electric lines, they are not best for serving some peak cycles that are incurred at the local level.

Heat loss is a major consideration for any power supply system. Long runs of power lines lose heat, which results in power loss and wasted fuel resources.

Distributed power generation systems do a much better job at capturing heat that may ordinarily be lost and filtering that heat back into systems that can reuse that lost heat.

After world war two, everyone was excited about the development of monster electric power generation systems. Major energy consumption growth was met in the 1960's and 1970's by a large increase in the number of nuclear power electric plants. As the 1970's were winding down, the public started growing very uneasy with nuclear power plants. And then Three Mile Island and Chernobyl broke the headlines with their nuclear accidents. The coffin had already been built for pending nuclear power plant construction, but Three Mile Island and Chernobyl pretty much put the last nails into that coffin.

Most electric generation facilities that have been built in the United States since the 1970's have been coal fired electricity plants.

As the 1990's faded away and the new century began, distributed power generation systems started taking hold. Hospitals and major office buildings have started adding their own portable and permanent electric power generators. For really large projects, many commercial enterprises prefer to use diesel power generators, although some companies opt to utilize natural gas electric generators.

The big plus associated with the natural gas electric generators is that they can be tied directly to the natural gas company's lines, which takes away the need for refilling the fuel tank. But, that is where the advantages end.

When compared with diesel powered generators, natural gas burns at a much higher temperature. The higher temperature within the unit causes equipment to break at much more frequent intervals. Additionally, diesel provides a much more stable platform making it less prone to fires and accidents. And finally, diesel fuel costs are generally much lower than the cost of natural gas. Of course, that fuel costs could teeter the other way at any time, but considering the huge leap in natural gas costs a few years back might be enough to scare anyone away from natural gas. Back in 2001, the cost of natural gas literally tripled at a time when people could not afford to go without heat.

All in all, there are three distinct advantages to using diesel powered generators over natural gas powered generators:

1. Longevity – Diesel engines have lower operating temperatures. The analogy we always use is that of an 18-wheel semi-truck capable of nearly 1,000,000 miles of operation before major service.

2. Lower fuel costs (lower fuel consumption per kilowatt (kW) produced).

3. Lower maintenance costs – lower operating temperatures, no spark system, more rugged and more reliable engine.

The concept of distributed power generation takes into account homes that are adding solar cells to their roofs, commercial operations that employ their own backup power generation systems, and smaller power plants at more locations.

By utilizing many smaller electric power plants, the whole population benefits from a system that wastes few resources by making the most of the available fuel sources and preventing waste in the power grid.