THE NEW GUY ON THE BLOCK - Applying distributed generation tools in power design systems

摘要

DISTRIBUTED GENERATION (DG) IS BEING EMPLOYED AS A means of achieving increased reliability for electrical power. This article reviews the development, energy resources, equipment, standards, and the future of this strategy for electric power delivery. Much of the promise of lower cost electricity that was to be made available through the process of deregulation of the electric power generation business has now dissipated. Early experiences in California resulted in power shortages caused by market speculation [1]. The cost of natural gas and questions over the long-term availability of this resource have also greatly reduced the challenge to fossil, nuclear, and hydropower as the fuels of the future. So much has the energy market changed that those electric utilities in the South East who had actively restructured their companies to be ready for deregulation have now started to prepare for a longer period of regulation that will last for the next five to ten years [2].