ACCC ® Conductor News - November 2023

Energy Institute at Haas / GridLab release new paper: “Accelerating Transmission Expansion by Using Advanced Conductors in Existing Right-of-Way”

The demand for increased electrification to support economic growth and combat climate change has not only driven policy changes and substantial investment from government and international development banks, it has also underscored the need to modernize and expand the world’s power grid. The International Energy Agency estimates that the global length of transmission lines needs to increase by 270% to reach net zero emission goals by 2050.

The new Hass (U.C Berkley) / GridLab working paper goes into extensive detail describing how “reconductoring with Advanced Conductors holds significant potential for rapid transmission expansion.”

Their highly insightful paper demonstrates how large-scale reconductoring with advanced composite-core conductors can cost-effectively double transmission capacity within existing right-of-way (ROW), with minimal permitting. “This strategy unlocks a high availability of increasingly economically viable RE resources in close proximity to the existing network.” The paper’s reconductoring model of the United States power system, shows that reconductoring enables four times more transmission build-out by 2035 which will satisfy “over 80% of the transmission needed to reach over 90% clean electricity,” providing $180 billion in system cost savings by 2050. Though underutilized, “reconductoring presents a cost-effective and time-efficient opportunity to accelerate global transmission expansion.”

Their working paper - anticipated to be broadened by early 2024 - offers specific case studies from highly successful reconductoring projects in the United States, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, India, and China.

J.D. Sitton, CEO, at CTC Global commented: “With great clarity, this paper describes how major utilities throughout the world have quickly and cost effectively optimized their existing corridors and gained the most out of their existing transmission infrastructure. It also highlights the dramatic potential for transmission utilities in the U.S. to adopt similar solutions and eliminate costly constraints in the U.S. power grid.” The link to the paper can be found here

National Caucus of Environmental Legislators call on FERC to Strengthen and Finalize Transmission Planning Rule

Last month, more than 230 state legislators from 43 states submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to finalize and strengthen its regional transmission planning rule. Their letter noted that “Expanding transmission is critical for the reliability, affordability, and equity of the power grid,” and “The adoption of renewable energy, led by strong policies in the states, has allowed the grid to withstand threats from drought, floods, storms, and extreme heat. However, to ensure this continued resilience, we must accelerate transmission buildout across the country.”

They requested that the planning rule should require four key features:

• The multiple benefits relevant in the Federal Power Act need to be incorporated. Putting benefits into silos and ignoring many of them has contributed to the lack of transmission, causing congestion and interconnection queue logjams.

• A mechanism to resolve disagreements between states on cost allocation. We appreciate the role of states in the proposal and also recognize cost allocation disagreements can be a barrier.

• Plan for the future load and resource mix. Our constituents will be left vulnerable if planners continue to ignore all of the available projections and information about a changing resource mix. Growing load from national efforts to bring manufacturing back to the US and plans to electrify transportation and other sectors also needs to be incorporated to create a realistic picture of future needs.

• Incorporation of advanced transmission technologies. High-performance conductors, dynamic line ratings, topology optimization, and power flow control are all examples of ways to deliver more power over existing rights of way and transmission assets. Consumers and those impacted by new rights of way deserve to know that maximum use of existing assets is being pursued before new rights of way and expensive lines are planned.

FERC Chairman Willie Phillips responded in a letter: “I also agree that advanced transmission technologies should be part of any eventual Commission action, as they often provide customers with the best bang for the buck when it comes to planning the transmission system.” Link to Chairman Phillips response

Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Grid Deployment Office is administering a $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program to enhance grid flexibility and improve the resilience of the power system against growing threats of extreme weather and climate change. 

These programs will accelerate the deployment of transformative projects that will help to ensure the reliability of the power sector’s infrastructure, so all American communities have access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity anytime, anywhere.

On November 14, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced up to $3.9 billion available through the second-round funding opportunity of the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. Successful projects will deploy Federal funding to maximize grid infrastructure deployment at-scale and leverage private sector and non-federal public capital to advance deployment goals.

As part of the programs, the Grid Resilience Utility and Industry Grants (FY24/FY25 $918 million) fund comprehensive transmission and distribution technology solutions that will mitigate multiple hazards across a region or within a community. Grid Resilience Grant selections through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will focus on hardening infrastructure with digitization and automation; improving tools to restore power to the grid during outages; and investing in technologies to improve the efficiency of the grid, such as advanced conductoring and reconductoring.

Concept papers are a required first step in the application process and are due at 5:00 p.m. ET on January 12, 2024.

If you are interested in using high-capacity, energy-efficient ACCC^® Conductor, please contact info@ctcglobal.com

CTC Global Displays at NASEO Annual Meeting

Last month, CTC Global attended NASEO's Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The event was attended by virtually every U.S. State and Territory Energy Office, where they discussed the latest energy policy, programs and technology developments including many supporting grid modernization.

"State and Territory Energy Offices’ efforts to advance clean energy innovation, energy system resilience, and affordability for consumers and businesses is at the core of most state energy priorities. These issues, along with decarbonization and ambitious economic development goals, add to the challenges and opportunities facing most states. One particular session offered the latest energy policy and program news from State and Territory Energy Offices spanning the breadth of our nation as States rise to the challenge of addressing transformational energy change."

Another session focused on the need to connect renewable energy resources with energy demand, the push toward electrification, and the growing need for transmission and distribution improvements and enhancements. This session explored various grid resilience measures planned through 40101(d) as well as technological innovations that will enable the U.S. to overcome the challenges in the way of moving toward a clean energy grid.

All in all, it was another outstanding NASEO meeting which served its participants, utilities, and ratepayers well. CTC Global’s David Townley & Peter Brehm attended and were on hand to answer questions about “Advanced Reconductoring.” Picture below is David Townley speaking with NASEO's Chief of Staff, Ms. Cassie Powers.

CTC Global Provides Technical Updates at FISE

CTC Global was very pleased to support this year's FISE event which was a huge success. Our entire team enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. If you didn't get a chance to drop by our booth at the at Plaza Mayor Medellín Convention Center, in Colombia, please send us an email with any questions you might have. We'd appreciate the opportunity to support you in any way we can. news@ctcglobal.com

CTC Global's Technical Manager Presented ACCC^® Conductor at SENDI in Brazil

During this month's National Seminar on Electric Power Distribution "SENDI," which is the largest electric power distribution event in Latin America, several lectures, technical work presentations, and debate panels were held. Topics such as innovation, energy transition, climate change, and how these topics affect distribution were discussed.

Among the various topics presented, the need to have a much more robust and resilient distribution system was highlighted. This system should support the exponential increase in distributed generation and still be able to withstand extreme events, such as those that occurred in the last few weeks in almost all of Brazil.

During the seminar CTC Global's Technical Manager, Mr. Vitor Fonseca presented his paper on ACCC^® Conductor. If you have any questions, please email news@ctcglobal.com

Reconductoring with Advanced Conductors Webinar (now on demand)

Please join anytime to hear Mike Beehler moderate a panel session with AEP's James Berger, NV Energy's Devon Kendall, and CTC Global's Dave Bryant as they discuss Advanced Reconductoring. The panelists cover macro trends, utility challenges, the evolution of Advanced Conductors and share their project experiences. Much of the 90 minute session focused on answering questions posed. If you'd like to review the recording please visit this LINK. If you have any questions, please email news@ctcglobal.com

WIRES Tech Talk – No Transition without Transmission: Advanced Reconductoring

This event took place on October 12th, but if you missed it, please feel free to view the recording. The link below also shows upcoming WIRES Tech Talks. These webinars are free and open to the public.

https://wiresgroup.com/wires-tech-talk-no-transition-without-transmission-advanced-reconductoring-other-gets/

Check Out Our Newest ACCC® Installation Video

ACCC^® Project Update (November 2023)

ACCC^® Conductor Efficiency Independently Certified

The Economics of Efficiency

The chart below compares the differences in line loss reductions, generation capacity savings and emission reductions between ACCC^® and ACSR / ACSS under two load scenarios. Please take a look.

ACCC Conductor Hardware Data Base Link

CTC Global Offers Free Design Software

If you are tasked with selecting the most appropriate conductor for your project, please check out CTC Global's free online Conductor Comparison software. The two minute video below explains all of its functions. To access the CCP program, please visit: https://ctcglobal.com/ccp-software/ If you need any help, please email info@ctcglobal.com

Do You Have Questions? - If so, ASK THE EXPERTS

As the world's most experienced developer and manufacturer of high performance composite core conductors (backed by over 35 authorized conductor manufacturing partners), we stand ready to support your project goals and answer any questions you might have.

We have substantial engineering, technical and field service resources - all of which are at your service anytime you need us - and, linked with our administrative and business development teams, we are available to support your every need. If you have ANY QUESTIONS, please don't hesitate to send us an email and we will hook you up with all of the right people. Please email news@ctcglobal.com and we will get back to you quickly. We are also happy to jump on a call or meet with you at your convenience.

ACCC^® Conductor is an internationally patented and trademark registered product of CTC Global Corporation. The ACCC^® Conductor is manufactured in association with 35+ 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.