Electrical production

The production of electricity is a vital industrial sector, offering to customers, private individuals or organizations, the service of a regular provisioning of electrical energy.

The electrical production is done since the end of the 19th century starting from various potential sources of energy. The first powerplants functioned with the Boi S. Aujourd'hui, the production is done starting from the Pétrole, of the Natural gas, the coal, the nuclear energy, the hydraulic power, the solar energy and the wind energy.

The means implemented are diversified, and depend on several factors:

the Technology S available;
the reactivity of implementation;
production necessary;
the possible output;
the cost of the possible raw materials;
caused ecological impacts;
…

Environmental stakes

Electricity, like all the energy forms or vectors generates environmental impacts, economic and social which one seeks to improve. One of the stakes admitted for the 21st century is that of a production starting from clean, sure and renewable sources. Within this framework and vis-a-vis the Protocole of Kyoto in particular many producers seek to optimize their technologies and to decrease their direct taxation or indirect to the warming of the mediums and the climate, and thus with the emissions of Gaz to greenhouse effect.
Fin 2007, one second phase of the European market of the Quota of gas emission to greenhouse effect will open. In 2007 will be published a fifth study “ Carbon Factor 2007 ” comparing the rejections of the large producers of the EU and China.

Technologies of electrical production

Technologies used massively

hydroelectric Stopping (hydroelectric Energy)
Hydroelectric station (hydroelectric Energy)
Nuclear plant (Nuclear energy)
Coal center (thermal Energy)
Central with fuel (thermal Energy)
Central with the gas (thermal Energy)

New technologies

Geothermal power station (Geothermics)
Wind (Wind energy)
Solar collector (Solar energy) (see also Solar power station photovoltaic)
Biomass

Technologies under development

Solar furnace (Solar energy)
tidal Power plant (tidal Energy)
Central with nuclear fusion (nuclear Fusion)
Hydrolienne (Energy of the Running marine)
marethermic Factory (marethermic Energy)
Energy of the waves

Production

Most of the time the electricity is produced starting from a source of heat, by using the steam like coolant of energy. The vapor makes turn of the Turbine S which are coupled with generating electric. The vapor can be produced by using the majority of the energy sources. The hydraulic powers and wind mills being exceptions since it is the energy of water and the wind in displacement which produces a work directly in a Turbine S coupled to a Générateur.

The nuclear plants always use a primary education and secondary vapor circuit, in order to physically isolate the Nuclear reactor from the room of the generators and remainder of the installations.

Small installations (usually burning natural gas) combine the generation of electricity and heat (for the domestic heating or industrial processes). These combined powerplants have the best output, after the hydroelectric stations. This technique bears the name of Cogénération.

Experiments are in hand to use the Géothermie to very produce electricity while digging with great depth in hard stones, which make it possible to heat a coolant supplying with vapor a turbine (via a heat pump when the temperature is too low).

All the nonelectric motor vehicles use a small alternator coupled mechanically with the principal engine for a local generation of electricity low tension, an accumulator battery replaces it during the principal shutdown.

Auxiliary units or helps, called generators allow a manufacture of specific electricity, they use a whole an Engine spark-ignition to actuate the generator.

There exist transportable groups for a use of the electric Outil S out of the electrified places.
Of large generators is used to mitigate an always possible rupture of supply of the supplier of electricity. The hospitals, certain public services and, the large companies not being able to support a brutal stop their industrial processes have generators with automatic starting.

The the United States in particular count much on fossile fuels for electricity (oil, natural gas, coal). Complexities of safety related to nuclear energy make that one did not build any more there of power station since the Années 1970 (following the accident of Three Mile Island).

Production planning

The various means can be activated according to the peaks of consumption envisaged (in particular according to the ic factors Climat) or Statistique S. For example, a nuclear plant produces very great quantities of electricity (from 900 to 1450 MW in comparison with a hydro-electric stopping, but it takes several days to start a nuclear plant with the stop, whereas it takes only a few hours for a hydro-electric stopping, even less for one thermo plant.

Consequently, a daily plan of energy production is established by the suppliers of electricity. The thermo plants are in service permanent or seasonal (what means that some are shut down in summer), whereas the hydroelectric stations are activated or not according to the plan of production.

Primary energy source for the electrical production in France in 2006

|url= http://www.edf.com/101012i/Accueil-com/EDF-Service-public/l-environnement/l-impact-environnemental.html |titer= EDF public service, environment, environmental impact |year 2006 |éditeur= EDF |site= http://www.edf.com/ |consulted le= May 3rd, 2007 }} ==

Nuclear energy: 85,7%
Hydraulic power: 5,0%
Natural gas: 3,2%
Coal: 3,3%
Oil: 1,6%
Renewable energies except hydraulics: 0,9%
Others: 0,3%

The clear total production of electricity (primary gross output, plus traditional thermal production, less losses) rises with 548,8 TWh in 2006. It is divided into 428,7 TWh nuclear (78,1%), 57,1 TWh traditional thermics (10,4%), 60,9 TWh hydraulics (11,1%) and 2,2 TWh wind and photovoltaic (0,4%).

Origin of the production in the world in 2004

|url= http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3228,36-808898,0.html?xtor=RSS-3208 |titer= All with coal! |auteur= Laure Belot and Jean-Michel Bezat |year 2006 |éditeur= Le Monde |site= http://www.lemonde.fr/ |in line le= September 3rd, 2006 |consulted le= May 3rd, 2007 }} ==

Coal: 39%
Natural gas: 20%
Hydraulic power: 16%
Nuclear energy: 16%
Oil: 7%
Renewable energies except hydraulics: 2%