Title :
DC, Come Home: DC Microgrids and the Birth of the "Enernet"
Author_Institution :
Armstrong World Ind., Lancaster, PA, USA
Abstract :
Most discussions about ac versus dc electricity include a retelling of the famous technical and commercial battle between Edison and Westinghouse/Tesla. It´s a story about everything from electrocuting elephants at state fairs to the ambitious work of electrifying both urban and rural America. It´s the tale of one of man´s greatest engineering feats. It tells of a centralized power generation system based on the dominant use of incandescent light bulbs and ac constant-speed motors. In the end though, it is a retelling of history and unfortunately, it is a history that doesn´t project.
Keywords :
distributed power generation; distribution networks; DC electricity; DC microgrid; Enernet; centralized power generation; DC technologies; Electricity supply industry; History; Microgrids; Power demand; Power distribution; Power grids;
Journal_Title :
Power and Energy Magazine, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MPE.2012.2212610