When Jesse’s e-scooter runs out of electricity, Electron takes them on a journey aboard the Electroloop, to discover how electricity travels.
How are electrons generated?
When we first entered the Realm of Electricity, we saw how the current in electrical energy is made up of flowing electrons. But where do electrons come from? Electrons are generated from different sources, including renewable energy, like solar and wind power. With wind turbines, the wind turns the blades, generating electricity. Electricity flows through power lines and heads to where it is needed like cities and villages.
How do electrons know where to travel to?
Once electrons are generated, they make the journey to the demand. Electricity travels at almost the speed of light, over long distances. This is how Jesse’s e-scooter had power again!
Why do we store electricity?
At all times, generation and demand must be balanced. However, renewable energy isn’t always available exactly when it is needed. In hours with a lot of sunlight, we can use storage technologies to capture all the extra energy for later use. The same applies for periods where we have a lot of wind, we can store the excess energy to be used at a later time, when less energy is being generated.