Oregon’s power distribution network, with its switching, conversions, input and output, is a circuit design that must adapt to the lean energy scenario predicted by Peak Oil; an idea induced by the sight of high-voltage transmission lines across the canyon as I crested a ridgeline above the Detroit Reservoir.
Electricity remains the prevalent medium for unifying Oregon’s energy future. In the design of a good electric circuit, there are often mixtures of technologies, some borrowed from the past, usually analog in nature, and newer devices and digital techniques. To create a unified energy plan, we will use familiar devices such as transformers, and use them in a new way. Electricity generated from solar panels, wind, and the ocean will be applied back into the grid to supplement available energy. As more alternative power sources are developed, distribution becomes less centralized and more efficient.
Leaping ahead a few years, with the help of Oregon Apollo, we have done well on our promise to create additional power sources. The current is flowing from acres of solar panels, windmills, and hydroelectric generators. A challenge remains - efficient electric transportation.
A logical choice for a motor is the dynamo, a generalized electric machine capable of rotational torque or voltage generation. When used as an AC generator torque is applied to it, and the interaction of magnetic fields creates a voltage at the output terminals. Conversely, a voltage applied to the dynamo will create rotation.
With the electric car of the future, several power sources are possible, including batteries, solar panels on the roof of the car, a charging circuit for an AC power outlet, and another from a pick-up coil on the bottom of the car. The dynamo provides driving torque while accelerating and cruising, and when slowing down the operation is reversed, the dynamo converts the inertia of the vehicle into a voltage that can be used to charge the batteries. The batteries can also be charged by solar panels, or charged overnight by plugging into AC power, this much is a vision shared by many inventors and engineers.
But you don’t want just any futuristic vision, do you? You want something right out of the Jetson’s, something Nikola Tesla would invent if he were still alive…
Since power transmission lines parallel many highways, it is possible to bury them in the roadway, and with a pick-up coil, (a flat spiral known as a pancake winding) the field surrounding these current carrying conductors can be utilized to provide energy for propulsion. There is no physical connection between the pick-up coil and the roadway, only a field force expressed through a gap. It isn’t levitation, (although that is possible with superconductors) simply a mobile charging circuit.
The attendant problem with this scheme is the corona (ionized field) of a 230 KV line and the difficulty in containing it. The magnetic field given off in this case is rather weak, but the electric field is strong. A lesser voltage would be more practical for implementation, such as 100 KV. Studies have established no adverse health effects from voltage fields and only a possible weak correlation to magnetic fields.
The insulated line would be placed in a track that is sealed over with a waterproof, non-conducting material that can be removed for maintenance. The electromagnetic field from the buried transmission line is shaped and contained by the track it resides in, and the vehicle itself shields the occupants. The electric roadway could be added alongside the existing I-5 corridor from Portland to Eugene. Commuters from either direction could charge their batteries while driving, and have enough reserve to travel the secondary roads. Another design approach might include a magnetic drive with specialized frequency and voltage, or options offered by advances in battery technology.
Oregon also needs to encourage the use of bicycles with more and safer bike lanes, ideally something more conducive to long-term survival, away from freight trucks and erratic drivers. I envision the bicycles of the future as windswept machines with electronics built into a tinted, sleek fairing that allows a cruising speed of 55 MPH. Imagine a network of high speed bike lanes winding through the countryside, with the silhouette of Mt. Hood in the background. It’s the kind of scene that needs some great music to go along with it.
So you’ve seen Road Warrior and Blade Runner one too many times, and the idea of the electric roadway frightens you. We Americans still live with the principles of the old west, riding off on our (motorized) horses across the rangeland of tomorrow into the sunset. Mobility will live on in the form of electric vehicles using the latest battery technology.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 21st, 2006 at 7:12 pm and is filed under Energy Future, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.