Why Utilities Are Turning to Advanced Conductors to Solve Grid Bottlenecks
There’s a great deal of attention on the need for more transmission lines worldwide, but the U.S. seems to be in the target’s center lately. My inbox has been getting a steady stream of emails about the dismal situation. The current interest stems from dismal predictions that hyperscale datacenters are sucking up all the available electricity. That’s usually followed by references to the simple fact that not many miles of high-voltage transmission lines have been built over the past decade and the datapoints supplied support it.
During my early years as a young engineer, I rubbed shoulders with many seasoned transmission engineers. They were strong advocates of that old saying, “There’s no substitute for wire in the air,” and it was usually possible to build needed power lines within a few years. Today, however, that simple solution has become a lot more complicated. With all permitting and regulatory requirements, it can take over ten years for that process, but what if there is a really simple solution?
Ingeniously Simple
There is, it’s called reconductoring. If done with modern advanced conductor technologies, significant capacity can be added to the transmission system using a simple method. Reconductoring with innovative wires is ingeniously simple – take down the old conductor, install the new advanced wires, and take advantage of the increased power capacity.
These modern wires are lighter and stronger than those they replace, and they operate at higher temperatures with less sag. Depending on the situation, the reconductored power line can be operated at two to four times the power capacity of the old line. There is one caveat that is hard to meet in some circumstances. The utility has to be able to take the heavily loaded existing line out of service long enough for the replacement of its conductor.
We discussed advanced conductors to some extent in last August’s “Charging Ahead” (see “Don’t Understand Wire Technology”). Since that chat, there have been some developments that warrant revisiting the topic. It seems like such a short time ago, but the dialogue has expanded beyond the power delivery industry. It’s still a major topic on our industry’s websites and trade publications, but now it’s being covered in the mainstream mass-media.
Unexpected Support
Publications like Forbes, the Washington Post, the New York Times and others are talking about building new high-voltage transmission line along with reconductoring existing lines. This simple fix could double the capacity of the U.S. electricity grid in a relatively short period of time. One story pointed out most of our transmission lines were built using a conductor technology that dates back to the early 1900s and suggests it’s time to modernize.
Another brought up several compelling arguments supporting both new and reconducting transmission projects. Increased power transfer improvements lead the group. They emphasized reconductoring could be accomplished quickly because of the reduction in time required for construction and in many cases only a simple maintenance permit was required. It was also stated that typically there was less public input into a reconducting project. Afterall it’s an existing power line and wire is wire in the public’s eye.
With all this positive coverage, I have noticed an increase in regulatory activity in the area of advanced conductor technology, you might say it’s having a positive impact with federal and state policy makers too. Heck, I saw one news report about a bipartisan bill that was introduced in congress supporting advanced conductors to improve grid capacity. Another surprising story was about the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. They went on record approving a resolution recognizing the importance advanced conductors and grid-enhancing technologies. They also urged Congress to fund advanced transmission technologies.
There are also positive things to report grid wise. CTC Global reports their ACCC (aluminum conductor composite cores) advanced conductor has been installed in 67 countries with roughly 124,000 miles of the conductor in the air. Another interesting announcement came from BloombergNEF.
They announced their 2024 Pioneers Award was conferred on TS Conductor. Its AECC (aluminum encapsulated carbon core) won based on its advanced conductor’s ability to relieve bottlenecks in the deployment of clean power. TS Conductor noted its AECC is a direct substitute for ACSR using the same tools and installation procedures.
Advanced conductor technologies are gaining acceptance with utilities and grid operators. Reconductoring with advanced conductors can put a huge dent in the transmission capacity shortage, but some say it’s too risky. Is it riskier than not using them?
