Bright Plans for the Kingdom's Power Grid!
Referendum on the Kingdom's electricity future
23 members have voted
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1. Which power grid development alternative should the Kingdom of Rota pursue?
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2. Which other power sources not contemplated in the Energy Plan should the Kingdom consider for its energy future?
Jenny Salisbury: Your highness, we just received an important message from the Office of Utilities! They seem to have their power grid expansion proposal nearing its final form.
Queen Ilene: Thank goodness they finally completed it! We've been having fun at the festival but other parts of the Kingdom have suffered black-outs and brown-outs, much to the distaste of the citizens not joining us at the celebrations. I think this is important enough that we ought discuss it tonight.
֍ KINGDOM OF ROTA ֎
MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS
Office of Utilities
Your Highness:
After prolonged discussions with the Ministries of Planning and Demographics, Public Services, Economic Development, and Natural Resources, we have prepared our proposal for the Kingdom’s power grid expansion. As part of our findings, we have identified three future scenarios concerning the types of facilities needed to meet the Kingdom’s electricity needs.
At present, the Kingdom has a monthly generation of 433,000 megawatt-hours (591 MW of nameplate capacity) heavily dominated by hydroelectric sources when considering only the grid-connected sources. Numerous settlements and communities still rely on community-level solar generation and the occasional wind turbine, which is fine for household, community commercial and small-scale agricultural needs. However, push for a more complete urbanization and rapid population growth have made all concerned agencies consider adding more grid-connected generation to facilitate this development, as well as industrial and large commercial demand that would follow the population growth. We especially think that this expansion would also benefit the proposed International Airport, upon request of the Ministry of Transportation.
The grid currently has the following facilities:
The current mix is overwhelmingly dominated by hydroelectricity, supplied by four reservoirs and six individual hydroelectric power plants. Waste management to date has also contributed a small share of electricity, chiefly to the rapidly growing city of Imbin. Geothermal facilities at Geyser Canyon, while very productive and with potential for expansion, are not ideally located to supply the forecasted future growth due to having a location distant to the new load centers. Natural gas generation at Cameran has been limited and isn’t considered worthwhile as-is, as it comes from two small natural gas peaking plants built to satisfy the capital’s needs while the Lake Pearl hydroelectric system was constructed. Due to the high reliance on hydro, we consider the grid to be vulnerable to drought and insufficient snowfall during dry and/or warm winters.
As part of our research, we have identified twelve (12) sites worthy of development. These consist of three (3) new hydroelectric sites and one (1) hydroelectric site expansion, five (5) new wind power sites, one (1) new organic waste bio-digester biofuel site, one (1) waste-to-energy site expansion and one (1) natural gas site expansion. The generation equipment types are shown below:
1. SM2 Geothermal (geothermal): Geyser Canyon geothermal system shown
2. SM2 Trash and Burn (waste-to-energy): Rhennus WTE system shown
3. SM2 Wind Turbine (wind power): manufacturer’s image provided
4. Nexis Mega Generator (hydroelectricity): Lake Diamond pumped storage system shown
5. Natural Gas peaking plant (natural gas): Cameran site shown and manufacturer's image for proposed upgrade equipment.
6. Bio-digester-based biofuel (biofuel): manufacturer’s image shown
They are summarized on Table 3 and described below:
1. Lake Bronze: this would be a new hydroelectric site that does not require the use of dams, reservoirs or large-scale inter-basin transfers, owing to the existing lake and height differential from the waterfall. A single Nexis Mega Generator hydroelectric module is capable of delivering up to 30,000 MWh each month, powering the northwest side of the Kingdom in general and the city of Zamacentia in particular. Due to its low environmental impact and nearby growing demand we consider this a high priority site, but we do make the clarification that this isn’t the only option available for the area.
2. Reservoir upstream of Corvalis: this would be a new hydroelectric site which does require a dam, roughly at the west border of the town of Corvalis. If built as proposed, the reservoir would provide enough water for two Nexis Mega Generator hydroelectric modules, delivering up to 60,000 MWh each month. This demand could be used to support Corvalis, Wellesley, Brixen, Mayfield, and Zamacentia, and indirectly even to Cameran. Due to its higher environmental impact, as well as the proximity to the existing Lake Sapphire site, we consider this a low priority option.
3. Reservoir upstream of Imbin: this would be a new hydroelectric site which does require a dam, roughly at the north border of the city of Imbin. If built as proposed, the reservoir would provide enough water for two Nexis Mega Generator hydroelectric modules, delivering up to 60,000 MWh each month. This demand could be used to support Imbin, Corvalis and the lower Cameran River valley, where a major agricultural expansion is expected. The reservoir would not only provide electricity, but also irrigation water for future crop fields. Due to its higher environmental impact, as well as the proximity to the existing Lake Sapphire site, we consider this a medium priority option.
4. Lake Diamond Expansion: Lake Diamond currently hosts a pumped storage scheme in association to Lake Pearl, using two Nexis Mega Generator hydroelectric modules. This scheme provides load balancing of up to 60,000 MWh each month during peak demand periods, while also sustaining smaller demand centers in Nida, Rockford, Lake Platinum and Mount Steel. Future expansion of regional development to the east would create additional electricity demand near this reservoir site, and the flows of the Platinum River are sufficient to support two (2) additional Nexis Mega Generator modules, adding another 60,000 MWh each month. Providing such expansion would protect the nearby Silver River from being impounded, thus leaving another major water body in pristine conditions for natural conservation. We rate this expansion at medium priority.
5. Zamacentia wind farm: the city of Zamacentia, while very populous with its 49,000 inhabitants, still boasts the most productive agricultural land flanked by tall mountains. This site can provide significant wind power, enough to energize twenty (20) SM2 Wind Turbines and thus providing 36,000 MWh each month. Due to the city’s high electricity demand and the site’s more centric location, we classify it as another high priority expansion of the power grid, but we also make the clarification that this isn’t the only option available for the area.
6. Alba wind farm: the city district shared by Alba and Brandt has a high power demand and limited power sources in its proximity. Its high population of 63,000 inhabitants commands a high power demand, which can be met partially by the recent creation of the Lake Ruby hydroelectric sites. Should future growth of electricity demand outpace Lake Ruby’s generation, we recommend installing twelve (12) SM2 Wind Turbines to provide these cities with 21,600 MWh each month, with ideal locations found on the eastern hills and the western farm fields. Until such need is observed, we consider this a low priority project.
7. Aldemar wind farm: Aldemar has the largest single city population of the Kingdom, with 62,000 inhabitants and easy access to two major power sources: the Lake Pearl-Ingena hydroelectric system and the Geyser Canyon Geothermal site. Should the city experience additional growth, in particular due to industrial activities, we recommend adding a wind farm consisting of six (6) SM2 Wind Turbines on the western hills to provide 10,800 MWh each month, making this a low priority project until said need manifests.
8. Rhennus wind farm: Rhennus was originally considered for the development of the Kingdom’s international airport, but was discarded as a site due to concerns with river flooding. At present the city provides agriculture and waste-to-energy power, but is expected to have future industrial growth. To meet this demand more cleanly, we recommend installing fifteen (15) SM2 Wind Turbines to provide these cities with 27,000 MWh each month, making this a high priority site.
9. Zacien wind farm: the city of Zacien has a new hydroelectric system fed by Lake Ruby, but its fields along the Alba river canyon experience strong winds which can be exploited for additional power generation. Should future growth of electricity demand in the area outpace Lake Ruby’s generation, we recommend installing eight (8) SM2 Wind Turbines to provide these cities with 14,400 MWh each month. Until such need is observed, we consider this a low priority project.
10. Lower Cameran River Biofuel Plant: future development of new agricultural lands along the Cameran River’s floodplain will create both electric power demands, opportunities for population growth and a large amount of agricultural and food waste (manure, crop residues, food residues) which can be processed with bio-digesters. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that this waste would suffice to develop four (4) bio-digester generators at any suitable place in the valley, providing 28,000 MWh each month. We consider this a high priority project due to its potential of vastly increasing sustainability of our agriculture.
11. Rhennus waste-to-energy expansion: Rhennus was originally considered for the development of the Kingdom’s international airport, but was discarded as a site due to concerns with river flooding. At present the city provides agriculture and waste-to-energy power, but is expected to have future industrial growth. To meet this demand with the benefit of added waste management capacity throughout the region, we recommend installing two (15) SM2 Trash and Burn WTE plants to add another 13,000 MWh each month. The lower power output, higher pollution and available options make this a medium priority project.
12. Cameran natural gas power plant upgrade: before the Lake Pearl-Ingena hydroelectric project was built, Cameran relied on natural gas peaking plants for its power needs. Ever since the hydro project reached completion, growth in the capital city has been immense and vastly outpaced these now-obsolete facilities. Now, due to additional growth happening around the capital, new facilities may be justified on the basis of maintaining load balance. Said facilities are proposed to use two large Natural Gas generation units, supplying as much as 50,000 MWh each month, and replacing the original facilities adding up to 10,000 MWh each month. We consider this to be a low priority site as nearby options may be more cost-effective in supplying the energy demands of the capital’s suburbs.
Find below a map showing the proposed upgrades to the power grid of the Kingdom. We have determined that all the proposed power lines are necessary, except those connecting to proposed generation sites that won't be added. We have found transmission deficiencies along the spine of the system: the power corridor between Rhennus and Alba. Residents living west of the Cameran portion of the corridor have experienced multiple instances of power outages, same as with those north of Cameran. Elsewhere in the region, power grid expansion will be coordinated with the land development plans and population growth trends:
(Click to enlarge)
TABLE 3: Proposed Grid-Connected Generation Facilities of the Kingdom
For the power grid’s expansion we are considering three scenarios:
a. Scenario A: this scenario consists of adding all of the proposed generation projects as presented. Together they contribute 400,800 MWh per month, representing an increase of 92.5% additional generation and totaling 833,800 MWh per month (1,139 MW nameplate capacity).
b. Scenario B: this scenario consists of adding only the projects classified as high priority, as based on their merits. Together they contribute 171,000 MWh each month, representing an increase of 39.5% additional generation, bringing the total to 604,000 MWh per month (825 MW of nameplate capacity).
c. Scenario C: due to the extreme dominance of hydroelectricity in the Kingdom’s energy mix, a third scenario was developed in which none of the hydroelectric projects were considered for the new energy mix. These represent an additional 190,800 MWh each month and an increase of 44.1% of generation capacity, bringing the total to 623,800 MWh per month (852 MW of nameplate capacity).
Beyond these, we recommend opening public hearings to identify additional scenarios not considered originally, as well as to gather input on the three alternatives to further improve them to iron out any roughness within this proposal. If we adopt all the projects, our power grid would have the following energy mix:
If we opt to adopt only the projects marked as high priority, it would look like this:
And if we adopt all of the non-hydroelectric power alternatives, it would look like this instead.
We are currently estimating the costs, benefits and potential impacts of all alternatives. Let us know if you have any doubts, recommendations or orders regarding this initiative.
Yours truly,
Bradley Keynes
Co-author of Proposals for a Bright Future in the Kingdom of Rota: Power Grid Solutions
Supervisor of the Lake Diamond Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant
Queen Ilene: No wonder they were taking so long to develop this draft! It seems the development boom of the Kingdom has been so dramatic that the power grid couldn't keep up!
Jenny Salisbury: Maybe we should open a booth for public consultation at the Festival--there's lots of citizens and visitors whose input we could use.
Queen Ilene: Wonderful! Can you contact the event organizers to find a suitable place? I'll be making the arrangements to have staff from the Ministry of Infrastructure present at the Festival.
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