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ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION  179



                                         TRANSFER TOWER

                        POWER PLANT                          SUB.STN.    PUMPING AND
                        PRODUCTION                          TRANSFER    PIPING LOSSES,
                        LOSS, 45–50%                                        30–50%






                                                                         MOTOR LOSS, 10%


                                              TRANSMISSION AND
                                             DISTRIBUTION LOSS, 9%
                        Figure 5.1  Transmission and distribution losses associated with electric
                        fossil-fuel power generation and delivery.



                       pumps, and a variety of equipment and appliances that have their own specific perform-
                       ance losses. Figure 5.1 shows the transmission and distribution losses associated with
                       electric fossil-fuel power-generation delivery.  Table 5.2 lists the comparative losses
                       between solar and fossil-fuel power-generation systems.
                         As seen in the preceding table, when comparing solar power generation with elec-
                       tric power generated by fossil fuels, the advantages of solar power generation in the
                       long run become quite obvious.
                         A short-sighted assessment by various experts siding with conventional fossil-fuel
                       power generation is that less burning of coal and crude oil to minimize or prevent




                        TABLE 5.2  SOLAR POWER AND FOSSIL-FUEL POWER-GENERATION
                        COMPARISON

                                                          SOLAR            FOSSIL-FUEL ELECTRIC
                                                      ELECTRIC POWER              POWER
                        Delivery efficiency             Above 90%           Less than 30%
                        Maintenance                    Very minimal        Considerable
                        Transmission lines             None required       Very extensive
                        Equipment life span            25–45 years         Maximum of 25 years
                        Investment payback             8–14 years          20–25 years
                        Environmental impact           No pollution        Very high pollution index
                        Percent of total U.S. energy   Less than 1%        Over 75%
                        Reliability index              Very high           Good
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