The discussion centers on how electricity is supplied to homes and the challenges of energy storage. Power plants, such as hydroelectric stations, adjust their output based on demand, with over 1000 plants in the US sharing the load. When excess electricity is generated, it is often wasted, as efficient storage methods like pumped storage and batteries are limited. The conversation highlights the economic considerations of energy management and the need for a balanced approach to energy supply and demand.
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Compared to boilers, I don't really know, but turbine life is on the order of years for land based industrial use.sophiecentaur said:Would that be when the big stations are off line for maintenance, perhaps?
I am right about the relatively short lifetime of gas turbines though, aren't I?
sophiecentaur said:Large decoupling capacitors are put at the input of devices like amplifier to cope with large current drain at rates corresponding to the signal frequencies (audio frequencies of a few Hz). They are not just a "band aid" but an economic and well engineered way to produce an effective low supply impedance without spending too much on thick supply leads and massive PSU components. The 'averaging' is over a period of less than one second and to cope with the need for the supply rail not to sag at the peaks of current demand when handling large amplitude low frequency audio signals. This has no bearing on the question of how to cope with large scale electricity supplies, in which the timescales are in hours.
Such difference in timescale means that the best solutions are not necessarily the same for both cases.
Averagesupernova said:I know exactly why they are put there and I know exactly what the benefits are. You are correct in that they are not a band-aid. Just because the times involved are hours vs. fractions of seconds does not mean there are not enough significant similarities to make comparisons.
sophiecentaur said:As usual, the thread has meandered a bit. . . . :)
mheslep said:Compared to boilers, I don't really know, but turbine life is on the order of years for land based industrial use.
In the US NG is currently very cheap, and is back down to ~2002 prices, $4-5 per 1000 CF thanks in part to US shale gas. Still not as cheap as coal per BTU, but much closer than it was.sophiecentaur said:That timescale would compare with 'decades' for a steam turbine system? I didn't realize that gas turbines were used as regularly as you suggest. They certainly are very flexible but I wonder about relative fuel cost. That will change with the markets, I guess.