|
30 April 2008 - Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and American Superconductor Corporation has announced the operation of the world's first high temperature superconductor (HTS) power transmission cable system in a commercial power grid.
The 138 kV system, which consists of three individual HTS power cable phases running in parallel is operating successfully in LIPA's Holbrook transmission right of way.
The cable system, including six outdoor terminations for connection to LIPA's grid, was designed, manufactured and installed by Nexans, the worldwide leader in the cable industry.
The cable utilizes HTS wire produced by AMSC, which also is the prime contractor for the project. The 2000-foot-long cable system is cryogenically cooled using a liquid nitrogen refrigeration system from Air Liquide.
The cable system contains hair-thin, ribbon-shaped HTS wires that conduct 150 times the electricity of similar sized copper wires. This power density advantage enables transmission-voltage HTS cables to utilize far less wire and yet conduct up to five times more power - in a smaller right of way - than traditional copper-based cables.
When operated at full capacity, the new HTS cable system is capable of transmitting up to 574 MW of electricity.
HTS cables conduct electricity with virtually no electrical losses, meaning more of the power generated at power plants gets to customers. Conventional power grids typically lose seven to 10 per cent of power due to the inherent electrical resistance experienced with copper wires.
| 
Articles 
| View all PennWell sites | View all PennWell events
Add RSS Feed
