Abstract
Oxford Dictionaries (2013) define infrastructure as the “basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise”. Infrastructural development is the foundation upon which any society builds a viable economic engine. Nations that neglect their infrastructure sow the seed of misery, inequity, pervasive poverty, and grand economic failure.
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Notes
- 1.
The words “power” and “energy” are referred to frequently in this section. Power is the rate at which energy is utilized. “Energy” can be likened to the “volume” or “quantity” of water stored in a water tank. Water can be discharged through an orifice or a small opening at the base of the tank. The “rate of discharge” of the water through the orifice is analogous to “power”. The higher the discharge rate, the higher the “power” and the faster the quantity of water stored (that is “energy”) will be depleted. Electrical power is measured in “watts” while electrical energy is measured in “watt-hours”. A 60-watt (60 W) light bulb will consume in one hour 60 × 1 = 60 watt-hour (W h) of energy. One kilowatt (1 KW) is the same as 1,000 W. One megawatt (1 MW) is equal to 1,000,000 W. One megawatt hour (1 MW h) is the energy used in one hour by a 1 MW power rated electrical load such as the combined demand of the electrical appliances in a small community or a factory.
- 2.
Source http://www.richhesslersolar.com/solar-articles/solar-panels-power-world/. Accessed January 2013.
- 3.
The creation of electric current when a material is exposed to light is known as a photovoltaic effect. The phenomenon was first observed by the French Physicist Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel in 1839. The word “photovoltaic” is an amalgamation of part of the word “photons” (the Greek for light) and the surname of the Italian Physicist Allesandro Volta after whom the electric potential (or voltage) measurement quantity “volt” was named. Photovoltaic implies the conversion of sunlight into electricity by use of solar cells.
- 4.
Insolation is expressed as an average irradiance in watts per square meter or kilowatt-hours per square meter per day. The name comes from the combination of the words incident solar radiation.
- 5.
- 6.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/quikscat-20080709.html. Accessed February 2013.
- 7.
Darrieus wind turbines have vertical axis blades shaped like an eggbeater. These turbines have been plagued with large torque and debilitating cyclic stresses on the towers.
- 8.
http://batterycouncil.org/?page=Energy_storage. Accessed February 2013.
- 9.
Source: www.pawa774.com. Accessed January 2013.
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Lafe, O. (2013). Power Infrastructural Development. In: Abulecentrism. Springer, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01023-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01023-6_2
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