Intermittency Of Renewables?… Not So Much

[PamW]

10. BALONEY!!! 100% WRONG AGAIN!!

kristopher states:
The present grid isn't "designed" to pay attention to generating sources smaller than the 1MW level.

Kristopher has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA of what I'm talking about.

I am talking about the generator speed controller that EVERY dispatchable power plant that has a rotating generator synched to the grid has.

Those speed controllers are VERY PRECISE, and in addition, the extremely high degree of power matching is guaranteed by the fact that the controller is in a feedback loop.

I see that once again, I have to spoon-feed the scientific truth to kristopher in small bites.

Suppose the system is starts in equilibrium; that is power of the generators equals the instantaneous demand including line losses.

Now suppose a large factory starts up and starts drawing current. The fact that the factory starts drawing current means that there is an increase in the current of the generator's armature coils. Because of Lenz's Law, a basic Law of Physics / Electrodynamics; the increased current flow in the armature coils creates an increase in the torque required to keep the generator spinning at its current speed. The turbine is not putting out this new higher torque; it's putting out the previous torque when the grid didn't have the factory drawing energy.

That mismatch in torque would cause the generator to slow down; because the system is drawing kinetic energy from the generator in order to supply the energy the factory is drawing. Energy has to be conserved at all times. However, if this were to persist, the generator would get out of sync with the grid. Therefore, a very precise frequency measuring circuit detects the very slight slowing of the generator, and further opens the throttle valve on the turbine driving the generator. In the case of a hydro plant, that is all that is required. If the plant is coal or gas-fired, or nuclear; the feedback circuit also increases fuel flow in the coal or gas plant, and inherent temperature feedback due to the moderator / coolant reactivity temperature coefficient, serves to increase reactor power in a nuclear plant.

With both the prime mover and the turbine throttled up; the system is again in equilibrium, and if not - it adjusts until it IS in equilibrium.

What kristopher speaks about ignoring levels below 1 Mw is the software used by the load dispatchers. The load dispatchers only have to do a COARSE tuning of the grid, hence they can safely ignore small generator sources.

However, once the load dispatchers have done a COARSE tune of the grid; the speed controllers and their feedback circuits do the NECESSARY fine tuning automatically.

Admit it kristopher; until you read the above, you had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA of the existence of the speed controllers, their feedback circuits, and how that functions to PRECISELY match generator supply and demand.

Where is it, again, that you studied electric power engineering, Kristopher?

I thought NOT!

PamW