On 16/02/2021 20:12, newshound wrote:
On 16/02/2021 17:48, jon wrote:



It's better to have a central power grid with all power stations piped
into it.

This depends on scale.

From Wikipedia:

"The electrical power grid that powers North America is not a single
grid, but is instead divided into multiple wide area synchronous grids."

Russia has a single grid, China has two.

As with most things, the simple one dimensional thinking of the Art
Student - 'A is better than B' - is inadequate.

1. Large area grids are good because one part can prop up another part
in extreme conditions leading to lower overall cost.

2. Large area AC grids are not effective because the time delays over
the network start to impact on efficiency

3. Large area DC grids are starting to sort of happen.

4. If the large area grid cannot be split then under fault conditions it
all goes down together

Its the old EU argument for freedom of movement. Like the Titanic, who
needs watertight doors that restrict passenger movement? Until you have
a hole in the side of the ship...or a pandemic, or unlimited hostile
immigration




--
"I am inclined to tell the truth and dislike people who lie consistently.
This makes me unfit for the company of people of a Left persuasion, and
all women"