Abstract
So far, we have explained electricity, how it is made and how it is transported. In this chapter we will discuss how we use it and some of the challenges this presents for our Power Makers. We will cover the load curve and its division into baseload, intermediate load, and peak load. We then discuss how the Power Makers forecast what the demand will be each hour of each day. Finally, we discuss how the Power Makers maintain reliability of supply through the use of reserve capacity.
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Notes
- 1.
Because demand is the rate at which electrical energy needs to be supplied, it is measured in watts, or multiples of watts, like megawatts (MW) (see Chap. 1).
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© 2012 Springer-Verlag London
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Nicholson, M. (2012). The Balancing Act. In: The Power Makers' Challenge. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2813-7_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2813-7_4
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Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-2812-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-2813-7
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