Composite Transmission Towers Are Demonstrated in California New lightweight snap-and-build transmission towers have been installed at Southern California Edison Co.'s Ormond Beach generating facility in Oxnard, California, U.S. The towers look like ordinary steel lattice towers from a distance. However, closer inspection reveals that the structures, featuring elegant architectural lines and a unique fastening system, are actually made of non-conductive material.

The installation of three composite towers at Ormond Beach follows four years of development by Ebert Composites Corp., San Diego, California, in conjunction with Southern California Edison Co., Rosemead, California, and San Diego Gas & Electric Co., San Diego. The U.S. Department of Commerce (through its Advanced Technology Program) funded Ebert's development of innovations in composites manufacturing. Electric Power Research Institute collaborated to provide testing services.

Located near the California coastline and energized at 230 kV last March, the installation has withstood heavy salt contamination without incident and insulator washings for eight months despite minimum length insulators. This performance is due to the material's dielectric strength in combination with the selected grounding schemes. Furthermore, galvanized steel accessories have corroded, while the corrosion-resistant composite structures have been unaffected.

Advanced data gathering equipment will be used by Ebert over an extended period of time to monitor and evaluate several grounding methods to determine the optimum configuration. The company plans to install additional beta sites at other U.S. and international locations in the coming 12-18 months.

The high-strength, low-cost fiberglass material and structural innovations offer lower installation and maintenance costs, reduced magnetic fields, improved right-of-way use, and accelerated construction schedules, according to Ebert. Circle 176 on Reader Service Card

Utilities to Market EV Chargers Georgia Power Co., a subsidiary of The Southern Co., Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., and Virginia Power, Richmond, Virginia, U.S., have announced a joint initiative to develop plans to market electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure in Georgia. The announcement was made at "Atlanta's EV Ready" Market Launch Workshop, held in October at Georgia Power's corporate headquarters.

Virginia Power has been an authorized distributor of Delco Electronics' Magnecharge(tm) vehicle chargers in the southeastern United States since February 1996. Georgia Power is now the authorized distributor of the vehicle chargers in Georgia. The utilities, with support from General Motors (GM), will develop a plan for marketing, service and installation of Delco Electronics inductive vehicle chargers. Georgia Power has been involved in electric vehicle research since 1993.

GM and Georgia Power have indicated they will develop a marketing plan for the Chevrolet S-10 Electric pickup truck, which will focus on commercial fleets as well as federal, state and local government fleets. The S-10 Electric is designed, built and warranted by GM. Chevrolet will begin marketing the S-10 Electric to fleets nationwide in 1997. Circle 177 on Reader Service Card

Siemens Builds Substations for EGAT Siemens has handed over the third and fourth secions of metal-enclosed 550-kV substations to EGAT, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. The DM50 million (approximately US$33 million) project in Nong Chok is just the third installation of its kind to feature 550-kV SF6-insulated circuit breakers with a breaking current of 100 kA. Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, and Gresik, Indonesia, are the only other installation sites, all by Siemens. Circle 178 on Reader Service Card

Silicone Elastomers To Be Custom Formulated In the absence of an industry consensus for testing polymer insulators, Dow Corning STI has decided to custom-formulate silicone elastomers for high-voltage insulators and other components, rather than introduce a standard product line. Company representatives cite differing performance requirements among their insulator customers as the primary reason for a strategy of custom formulations versus standard compounds.

"Much of the industry still relies on accelerated test procedures developed years ago for high-voltage insulators," said Carl Monroe, Dow Corning technical consultant. "Many manufacturers have adopted specific tests to evaluate polymer compounds for qualification, but they vary from one company to another. The lack of industry agreement on testing complicates the development of a standard product line for insulator production." The wide range of process conditions among molders also led STI to opt for the custom formulation approach. Circle 179 on Reader Service Card