by Larry Smith
Conventional generation of electricity in large central power stations is normally only 30-40 per cent energy efficient. More recent combined-cycle generation can improve this to over 55%, excluding losses in the transmission of the electricity, which can be as great as 20 per cent of the delivered efficiency. Grand Bahama loses somewhere around 7-8 per cent in transmission. Nassau around 10 per cent. Jamaica loses about 22 per cent. The transmission loss figure for the Cayman Islands is only around 5 per cent.
HI Larry,
One item of note, with regards to losses is this.
It is my understanding that in Florida, the top wire on the poles is a ground wire which has two benefits, one to take lightning strikes mitigating damage to utility equipment and a return path for the electrical ciruit back to the plant.
In Freeport the return path is the ground well that everyone has. This ground well is the return path, and it can be very inefficient Site by site, especially if wire or ground rods are corroded.
Also it cannot be a very efficient return path, as compared to copper wire.
I'm not sure how it is done in Nassau.
Any experts out there?
Posted by: C.Lowe | February 28, 2008 at 08:30 PM