Power/energy progress report: A pastiche of developments promises near and long-term applications

The world´s most northerly generating station is operating in the Arctic; in warmer climbs, large turbine-generators and reversible generator/motors intended for pumped storage are on line. Other developments include improved relays and switchgear, new materials that show promise for better insulators and surge arresters, and a dry cooling technique that could ease the constraints on siting of new generating stations. Computers are playing a more important role in power systems and at least one software package for the training of operators at energy dispatch centers is available.