Power and energy
Article Abstract:
Happenings in world power industries in 1990 made it clear that politics is the primary driving force in the industry: the price of oil fluctuated as a result of the Persian Gulf crisis, causing utilities in many countries to reconsider technologies not given much thought since the last oil crisis. In Europe, British electric utilities were privatized in 1990, the East German power system was taken over by three West German utilities, and the Swedish government backed away from a plan to abandon nuclear power. In the US, amendments to the Clean Air Act could cost industry $22 billion in the 1990s; amendments intended to control acid rain will cost between $5 billion and $7 billion through 2005, according to the Edison Electric Institute. General Motors Corp introduced its Impact electric car, which the company hopes to make available commercially in the mid-1990s.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1991
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Power & energy: proving out promising technologies
Article Abstract:
The heavy-electronic-equipment industry in Japan is at least equal in technological sophistication to those of Europe and the US; its annual per capita rate of energy use in 1989 was 5,680 kilowatthours (kWh). The rates of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong range from 1,850 to 4,500 kWh, while the rates in such countries as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam range from about 100 to 1,000 kWh. The countries are trying to add generating capacity to keep up with demand, which is increasing at up to 16 percent annually, while simultaneously reducing dependence on oil. Nearly all of Singapore's electricity comes from oil, while Japan relies on oil for about 30 percent of its electricity. The efforts of these and other countries, including Malaysia and the Philippines, to reduce oil dependence are described.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1991
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At the cutting edge of power engineering
Article Abstract:
Southern California Edison (SCE) is a leader in the utilities and may soon be the largest electric utility in the United States, if its proposed acquisition of San Diego Gas & Electric is approved by the US Dept of Justice. Smaller utilities nearby are challenging the merger on the grounds that the merger increases SCE control of their access to power supplies, which must travel over SCE transmission facilities. SCE itself buys from diverse sources and relies on complex computer models to simulate conditions over the next 10-15 years. These models, being used in court, are of a high level of sophistication and set a new legal precedent. Among SCE's current projects is a digital, ultra-high-frequency, packet-switched customer service network. SCE's parent company is SCECorp, a holding company.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1989
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