2 ms·
Dirtier power generation doesn't work because physics. Frequency gets too high (a few Hz or so), turbogenerators/turbines blow up. Frequency gets too low, reson
by formerly_proven 6y ago
Dirtier power generation doesn't work because physics. Frequency gets too high (a few Hz or so), turbogenerators/turbines blow up. Frequency gets too low, resonances destroy them. Frequency shifts quickly, massive torque and current spikes ensue. Load is dumped, frequency ramps up quickly and voltage rises very quickly. There are a number of control and monitoring systems in a power plant which ought to prevent these from happening, but in the bigger picture this means that grid power needs to be balanced continuously in order to keep nominal frequency. This becomes challenging when an interconnect fails, because this leads to very fast load changes.
The reason for 50 Hz +- 0.2 Hz isn't so much about consumers; it's about being able to run the grid. In Europe there is a long-term control loop that makes it a quite accurate 50 Hz, so synchronous motor clocks work, but that has essentially nothing to do with the normal frequency control.
- johnymnemonic 6y ago"Dirtier power generation doesn't work because physics. Frequency gets too high (a few Hz or so), turbogenerators/turbines blow up. Frequency gets too low, resonances destroy them." You very obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Turbines blowing up because they spin a few Hz faster? Mine never did. Turbine destroyed because of "resonances" when freq too low? Mine never did that either. Not the 1100MW one at my old job, nor the two 500MW ones at the job before that and also not the 12MW one at my current job.
- dang 6y agoHey, could you please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here? It's not ok to attack another user like that on this site, regardless of how wrong someone is or you feel they are. It sounds like you know a lot about this topic, which is great, but please omit personal swipes—that will make it much easier for people to learn from your posts.