How to Improve the Efficiency, Capacity, Reliability and Resilience
of the Electric Power Grid with ACCC® Conductor
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ACCC® News - February 2021
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Quick Update:
There were 11 completed ACCC® Conductor Projects in January, 50 active and 74 additional ACCC Conductor installations scheduled to start in the next few months, in addition to ~ 900 completed. Why? Because the ACCC Conductor offers the ability to improve the efficiency, capacity, reliability and resilience of the electric power grid, worldwide, while saving time, money and the environment.
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EDP Completes 7th ACCC® Conductor Installation in Portugal
Earlier this month Energias de Portugal (EDP) installed Helsinki size ACCC® Conductor on their Monte Feio to APS 60 kV transmission line very close to the ocean adjacent to the City of Sines, in south west Portugal. ACCC Conductor was selected to increase line capacity and reduce thermal sag. The conductor’s higher strength, greater efficiency and resistance to salt air corrosion were also considered favorable advantages for this application.
The project was supported by contractor Tecnerga and Reder. CTC Global’s Master Installers Ismael Dones and Edirlei Zacharias offered remote training. Fux provided the ACCC Conductor and Arruti Spain provided ancillary ACCC Hardware. This project marks EDP’s 7th successful ACCC Conductor installation.
Sines is one of the largest maritime-industrial complexes in Portugal, whose tenants include Sines Power Plant (Electricidade de Portugal), Petrogal Sines (National Petrochemic Refinery) and Repsol (Polymer Refinery). Although rapidly industrializing, the town still preserves many of the historical landmarks and caters to tourism.
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SSE Wins Capital Project of the Year Award for ACCC® Reconductor Project
Representing two years of hard work upgrading one of the north of Scotland’s longest serving power lines, SSE won Utility Week’s Capital Project of the Year Award 2020 for doubling the capacity of the existing Fort Augustus – Fort William overhead line to accommodate growth in renewable electricity in the area.
The 44 kilometer line was originally built in the 1950’s following the passing of the Hydro Act, which brought power to the north of Scotland and the glens and permitted limited industrialization including a local aluminium smelter. After nearly 70 years in service, the project team needed to determine the best way to upgrade the line while minimizing the impact to the local communities surrounding it. The location of the line, which crosses public roads, railway lines and the Caledonian Canal, following steep terrain throughout its route, added to the challenges that the team needed to be creative to overcome.
Pat Howe, Lead Project Manager stated: “Innovation was key to the project as the existing conductor was changed to an ACCC Conductor, made of special aluminium wrapped around a carbon composite core. This change meant the conductor was twice as strong as steel, 70% lighter and able to carry twice the amount of power. By using this technology and strengthening the existing towers only 5 of the 156 towers needed to be replaced, retaining 97% of the towers - sustainability at its best!
"The key to the success of this highly challenging project was the exceptional teamwork right across everyone in SSEN Transmission and all our contractor partners. This highly coveted award is therefore the perfect way for that to have been formally recognised and marks this project’s successful completion."
CTC Global congratulates Pat Howe, Rob McDonald, the entire SSE crew, Balfour Beatty and CTC Global's manufacturing partner Lamifil, for completing such a challenging project and receiving this well deserved recognition.
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ACCC® Conductor - Making a Smart Grid Smarter
The U.S. Department of Energy defines Smart Grid as “an electrical grid that uses computers and other technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity.”
While most of us imediately think about new meters attached to our homes and applicances that know when to turn on and off, if you read the above definition carefully, it clearly says "...uses computers and other technology." Therefore, the technology that carries the electrons seems to be relevent - especially when it is as smart and efficient as the ACCC Conductor.
CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor uses a high-strength, light-weight carbon fiber core with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion. This prevents the wires from sagging under heavy electrical load conditions which allows it to carry about twice the current of a conventional steel reinforced conductor of the same diameter and weight. Another major benefit is the fact that the ACCC Conductor’s light-weight core allows it to use nearly 30 percent more conductive aluminum without a weight penalty. The added aluminum content serves to reduce electrical resistance and line losses.
Reduced line losses serves to reduce fuel consumption and associated CO2 (and other) emissions. This can not only reduce the cost of delivered power, it can also help the environment in a big way.
CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor is helping deliver more power, more efficiently and is delivering exactly what the Department of Energy asked for in their Smart Grid criteria.
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ACCC Conductor is currently reducing CO2 emissions by over 3 million metric tons every year - the equivalent of removing over 750,000 cars from the road
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ACCC® Conductor Now Available With InfoCore™ Technology - Intelligent by Design
With 28% more aluminum and a higher-strength, lighter-weight, low-sag hybrid carbon fiber core, it’s no surprise why more than 250 tier-one utilities have selected the ACCC® Conductor to improve the efficiency, capacity, reliability and resilience of their electric power grids in more than 60 countries.
While the installation of ACCC® Conductor is straightforward and follows IEEE 524 Installation Guidelines, there are instances when challenging terrain coupled with other factors can compromise proper technique. To ensure core integrity, CTC Global has developed the ACCC InfoCore™ System.
The ACCC InfoCore™ System enables full reel inspection - at the speed of light. Using optical fibers embedded in the ACCC Core, the InfoCore System can be used to detect damage when the reels are manufactured, transported, received, and installed, offering a level of assurance previously unattainable with any conductor type.
The InfoCore™ System uses a specially designed sending unit that transmits a light signal to a receiver which is linked to a handheld recorder that documents, records and reports core integrity. All data is stored in the Cloud. The lightweight system includes a cutting and polishing tool that enables superfast completion of the inspection task with 100% accuracy. Safe, simple and effective.
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Check Out This New Animated ACCC® Hardware Installation Training Video
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ACCC® ULS Conductor Offers Added Strength and Reduced Sag
First deployed on a 1.4 kilometer lake crossing in Africa in 2013, The ACCC® ULS Conductor offers greater strength, a lower coefficient of thermal expansion and higher modulus of elasticity than the standard ACCC Conductor core. The ULS version has a higher carbon fiber content raising the tensile strength from 310 to 375 ksi (Compare this to 285 ksi high-strength steel). While the added strength and lighter weight can enable longer spans, the higher modulus and increased stiffness reduce sag and blow out during high wind conditions. Improved stiffness can also reduce sag under heavy ice load conditions.
The higher carbon fiber content also reduces the coefficient of thermal expansion from 1.6 x 10-6 /°C to 0.75 x 10-6 /°C. While dozens of engineers have specified ACCC ULS Conductor for projects, worldwide, the ULS version of the ACCC Conductor has served our clients well. The ACCC ULS Conductor is available in many sizes and offers transmission engineers added design flexibility.
The ACCC ULS Conductor can be ordered with Type 1350-O fully annealed aluminum or as an AZR version with Aluminum-Zirconium thermal resistant alloy for even higher overall conductor strength.
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ACCC AZR Conductor – Expanding the Capabilities of the ACCC® Conductor Using Aluminum Zirconium Alloy
ACCC® AZR Conductor uses either the standard 310 ksi core or the higher strength 375 ksi core that is then wrapped with one or more layers of a high strength, thermal resistant aluminum-zirconium alloy. While conventional ACCC Conductors typically use fully annealed aluminum to maximize conductivity, the ACCC AZR Conductor offers nearly the same efficiency, but far greater overall strength. The added strength and increased tensile modulus mitigates conductor sag under heavy wind or ice loads, or very long spans. To learn more visit www.ctcglobal.com
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Did You Know:
The ACCC® Conductor Core is the only carbon fiber conductor core in the world that meets the internationally recognized ASTM B-987 Standard, "Standard Specification for Carbon Fiber Thermoset Polymer Matrix Composite Core (CFC) for use in Overhead Electrical Conductors."
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CTC Global's Free Conductor Comparison Program CCP™ Software is Available Online
CTC Global is pleased to announce that our highly regarded Conductor Comparison Program (CCP™) software is now available online. The new web-based version has all the features found in the Excel version, which has been replaced and will no longer be supported. The new version is designed to make it easier to use, and it also has some new features. Having CCP online will make it easier to keep it up-to-date with new wire files and other data, and to add improvements as they are made. Users will always know they have the current version every time they log in. CCP is also compatible with tablets.
Registration to use CCP requires only a valid email address and password. Users may also use CCP as a guest however, saving and export features are only available to registered users.
Thank you for using our CCP. We welcome your feedback. For technical support, please contact ccphelp@ctcglobal.com
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Looking for ACCC® Conductor Hardware?
Check out our Supplier Parts Database
CTC Global added a new Hardware Supplier Parts Database to our website. The database will help you find all of the hardware components you need to install ACCC® Conductor. The database shows which hardware manufacturers offer the parts you might need in your particular region while offering many options.
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Free Engineering Manual
To help Transmission and Distribution planners, engineers, policy makers, grid operators, technicians and others take full advantage of the ACCC® Conductor's attributes, CTC Global has published a 250 page Engineering Manual.
It offers a very comprehensive set of design guidelines, case studies, figures and facts about conductors and composite materials, and includes links to additional resources and FAQ's
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Check out CTC Global's Blog
In addition to our monthly newsletter and social media posts, CTC Global also posts articles on the Company's BLOG SITE. If you haven't checked it out, please do when you have free time. You will find an interesting array of project details, industry trends and efficiency discussions and much more. We also do our best to respond to posted comments.
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Follow CTC Global on LinkedIn
We hope you find our monthly newsletter informative, but realize you may not have time to read 1,000 e-mails every week. If you'd like to only receive periodic announcements about major CTC Global and ACCC® Conductor activities please consider following us on LinkedIn. To access our LinkedIn page please click: CTC Global LinkedIn
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Follow CTC Global on Twitter
For up to the minute news about CTC Global, the ACCC® Conductor, ACCC Installation Projects and other industry trends, news, and announcements please consider following CTC Global on Twitter. To do so, please click: CTC Global Twitter or look for us @CTC_ACCC
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CTC Global is Hiring
We're dedicated to providing our customers with the highest quality products by employing, developing, empowering and retaining the most energetic and talented employees. At CTC Global we value our employees highly and understand that the company's success is the sum of the success of every individual in the organization.
CTC Global is an equal opportunity employer, provides a drug-free workplace, free of discrimination and harassment, and offers a comprehensive benefits package to its full-time employees. Additionally, CTC has proudly taken the Veteran hiring pledge to affirm our commitment to actively hire veterans of the U.S Armed Forces. For information on a challenging and rewarding position at CTC Global, please contact our HR department directly at: careers@ctcglobal.com or https://www.ctcglobal.com/careers/
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CTC Global proudly works with top-tier manufacturing partners worldwide |
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ACCC® Conductor is an internationally patented and trademark registered product of CTC Global Corporation. The ACCC Conductor is manufactured in association with 34 qualified and licensed international stranding partners. If you are interested in the ACCC Conductor, please contact CTC Global to make sure your supplier is authorized to produce and deliver ACCC Conductor in your area. Thank You.
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CTC Global, Inc. 2026 McGaw Avenue Irvine,
CA 92614 Phone: +1 949.428.8500
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