Chapter 6 - Energy Sustainability

Part 3 - Electricity: Transmission, Distribution and Economics

Delivering Electricity to End Users

D. Environmental, Health and Safety Issues – T&D

 

The transmission and delivery of electricity also has its environmental, health and safety issues. Among these issues are hazards from shocks and fires; aesthetic issues resulting from the noise and from the view of power lines; concerns for wildlife due to habitat encroachment and contamination, fried squirrel (animals chewing on power lines are a prominent cause of outages), bird hazards; concerns regarding exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF); and concerns regarding chemical exposure, since old transformers are still filled with PCBs, and Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6), used in switching equipment (1 lb = 1 metric ton of CO2 equivalents).

 

 

 

Part 3 - Electricity: Transmission, Distribution and Economics

Delivering Electricity to End Users

A. Basic Structure of Electric Power System
B. Transformer Basics and Losses
C. Transmission Lines and Grid Operations
D. Environmental, Health and Safety Issues – T&D
E. System Losses Weigh Heavily on Electricity Systems in Developing Countries (NEXT)
F. A Revolution in the Electricity Sector?
G. Small-Scale Power: Distributed Generation

Summary: Smart-Grid: A Game-Changing Technology

Electricity Markets and the Future of Electricity

 

(Adapted from the Energy Resources lecture materials of Jane Woodward, Consulting Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Karl Knapp, Lecturer of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University by Cheryl Chadwick/Gregory Möller)

(Image credit: Seimens AG)