1955 New York draws power from nuclear power plant (That same year the Niagara-Mohawk Power Corporation grid in New York draws electricity from a nuclear generation plant, and 3 years later the first large-scale nuclear power plant in the United States comes on line in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. The work of Duquesne Light Company and the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, this pressurized-water reactor supplies power to Pittsburgh and much of western Pennsylvania.) 1959 First large geothermal electricity-generating plant (New Zealand opens the first large geothermal electricity-generating plant driven by steam heated by nonvolcanic hot rocks. The following year electricity is produced from a geothermal source in the United States at the Geysers, near San Francisco, California.)
1961 France and England connect electrical grids (France and England connect their electrical grids with a cable submerged in the English Channel. It carries up to 160 megawatts of DC current, allowing the two countries to share power or support each other’s system.) 1961 France and England connect electrical grids (France and England connect their electrical grids with a cable submerged in the English Channel. It carries up to 160 megawatts of DC current, allowing the two countries to share power or support each other’s system.) 1964 First large-scale magnetohydrodynamics plant (The Soviet Union completes the first large-scale magnetohydrodynamics plant. Based on pioneering efforts in Britain, the plant produces electricity by shooting hot gases through a strong magnetic field.) 1967 750,000 volt transmission line developed (The highest voltage transmission line to date (750,000 volts) is developed by AEP. The same year the Soviet Union completes the Krasnoyansk Dam power station in Siberia, which generates three times more electric power than the Grand Coulee Dam.) 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (Congress passes the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), which spurs the growth of nonutility unregulated power generation. PURPA mandates that utilities buy power from qualified unregulated generators at the "avoided cost"—the cost the utility would pay to generate the power itself. Qualifying facilities must meet technical standards regarding energy source and efficiency but are exempt from state and federal regulation under the Federal Power Act and the Public Utility Holding Company Act. In addition, the federal government allows a 15 percent energy tax credit while continuing an existing 10 percent investment tax credit.)
1980s California wind farms (In California more than 17,000 wind machines, ranging in output from 20 to 350 kilowatts, are installed on wind farms. At the height of development, these turbines have a collected rating of more than 1,700 megawatts and produce more than 3 million megawatt-hours of electricity, enough at peak output to power a city of 300,000.) 1980s California wind farms (In California more than 17,000 wind machines, ranging in output from 20 to 350 kilowatts, are installed on wind farms. At the height of development, these turbines have a collected rating of more than 1,700 megawatts and produce more than 3 million megawatt-hours of electricity, enough at peak output to power a city of 300,000.)1983 Solar Electric Generating Stations (Solar Electric Generating Stations (SEGs) producing as much as 13.8 megawatts are developed in California and sell electricity to the Southern California Edison Company.) 1990s U.S. bulk power system evolves into three major grids (The bulk power system in the United States evolves into three major power grids, or interconnections, coordinated by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), a voluntary organization formed in 1968. The ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) interconnection is linked to the other two only by certain DC lines.) 1992 Operational 7.5- kilowatt solar dish prototype system developed (A joint venture of Sandia National Laboratories and Cummins Power Generation develops an operational 7.5-kilowatt solar dish prototype system using an advanced stretched-membrane concentrator.) 1992 Energy Policy Act (The Energy Policy Act establishes a permanent 10 percent investment tax credit for solar and geothermal powergenerating equipment as well as production tax credits for both independent and investor-owned wind projects and biomass plants using dedicated crops.) 2000 Semiconductor switches enable long-range DC transmission (By the end of the century, semiconductor switches are enabling the use of long-range DC transmission.)
Instrumental in a whole host of improvements has been the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), established by public- and investor-owned energy producers in the wake of the 1965 blackout and now including member organizations from some 40 countries. EPRI investigates and fosters ways to enhance power production, distribution, and reliability, as well as the energy efficiency of devices at the power consuming end of the equation. Reliability has become more significant than ever. In an increasingly digital, networked world, power outages as short as 1/60th of a second can wreak havoc on a wide variety of microprocessor-based devices, from computer servers running the Internet to life support equipment. EPRI's goal for the future is to improve the current level of reliability of the electrical supply from 99.99 percent (equivalent to an average of one hour of power outage a year) to a standard known as the 9-nines, or 99.9999999 percent reliability.
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