Rethinking electricity grids.
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- Опубліковано 23 бер 2024
- As renewable energy developers struggle with the almost impenetrable complexity of regulatory and permitting bureaucracy that can add more than a decade to the timeline of a new installation, clever boffins have been quietly revolutionising the materials used to make the wires that run between the pylons that take electrons from where they're generated to where they're needed. The cost savings, energy efficiency improvements, and speed of installation that those materials are facilitating may just make the difference in the race for decarbonisation.
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Reference Links
Main Webinar at Energy Central TV
• Reconductoring with Ad...
'Queued Up' - Berkeley Lab
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HAAS Energy Institute Paper
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Kelley Blue Book Q4 2023
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EIA EV Sales 2023
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NREL Maps
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I have been a shareholder in an upper Midwest (US) electric utility for over 50 years. I speak with the CEO on a regular basis. This topic has been part of our discussions for the last two years. The companion to this are the sensors which can be placed on the cable that relay temperature information back to the utility. These two technologies can increase the ampacity on the line 30 to 50%.
Excellent, thanks! I would also like to see more distributed solar and batteries, and more incentives for home and business owners to install them. Also, the weak link for that essential distributed electricity generation is excessively high battery prices. A $1,300 Powerwall néeds to store 40 kWh of electricity, not its currently pathetic 13.Here in California, I generate more than enough electricity to power a home and EV. But, I need a small, affordable, EV work pickup, not the $100,000 monster trucks currently available. And, I need40 kWh of electricity storage to go off grid.
@@freeheeler09I haven't dug into this, but I'm hearing that some good deals are available on the F-150 Lightning.
It's energy storage features are pretty impressive.
@@freeheeler09 agreed! However, what if the EV car WAS the main battery, while the powerwall was the backup for while the EV car was in use?
Sounds great. I have seen an article about these sensor balls. Thing is, how does a dynamic current-carrying capacity on the line fit with the rated capacities of switchgear and transformers?
@@freeheeler09 You may want to look into Edison Motors. They are planning to sell conversion kits for old pickup trucks, starting with 1 ton axles for economies of scale.
I'm a utility regulator in Maryland, USA. You are 100% correct. Currently, it takes between 8 and 17 years to build a new transmission wire. Reconductoring and the reuse of existing rights of way is the strategy!
Does upgrading to cables that can carry more current require any adjustments to permits? I was under the impression that (at least in parts of Canada) permits specify a maximum allowed wattage. I could very well be wrong on this, however.
Increasing capacity only requires a fairly routine permitting adjustment.
Are all new us-based transmission lines built this way? If not why not
Right now the United States is transitioning to the latest transmission technology. The inflation reduction act has a lot of money in it for that kind of changeover.
@@MajLeader Which is getting pocketed by the usual suspects. $7.5 bn for charging stations. zero built.
Wonderful video and message. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I'm one of the founders of CTC and co-inventor of the ACCC Conductor. Quite a challenge convincing utilities to embrace modern technology to solve modern challenges. Fortunately we've supported 300 utilities in 66 countries supplying to 1,250+ projects. There is hope :)
Thanks to you for being one of the smart guys who gets good things done!
Graphenest can help in this topic.
From what I understand, a big holdup with this has to do with the perverse incentives of investor-owned utilities: building new stuff counts as _adding assets_ while, as noted, upgrading the wires on existing stuff counts as _maintenance_ - that is, _cost_ - so the former looks better on their balance books than the latter, despite the latter being a far more efficient way to increase capacity.
Utilities are regulated monopolies, and one of the regulations is that they get a guaranteed return on investment. The more they spend, the more they make. Thus they are incentivized to waste money. I don't know if the rule cares if the spending is capital assets or maintenance, but it's a rule that needs to be fixed.
Privatized power grids are stupid.
Good point. Maintenance can add value to the balance sheet if there is a significant increase in utility. Part of the cost is expensed, and part is capitalized. However, there may be tax benefits to expensing as maintenance as compared to capitalizing. What I don't know is if changing the classification from maintenance to upgrade will require a change in permitting requirements. Permits may allow for a maximum amount of wattage. All this information should appear in the notes to the financial statements. Not that many people actually read the notes.
@dwc1964 Thanks, this is exactly what I was wondering: are the grids replacing old cables with these new ones, and if not, why? Presumably when cables near end of life they get replaced with whatever is the newest tech (assuming they don't have a warehouse full of the old stuff). But replacing cables that are still "good"? Sigh. It's good to know the tech will make it's way out there eventually.
@@Indra-Ant Ha it seems some utilities don't replace their cables until they sag and catch the landscape on fire.
Dave, you're one of the best. Your regular updating of the energy/renewable landscape is appreciated and valuable.
I'm not impressed with anyone who believes GHG Theory. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas equal to CO2 according to theory. There is on average 50 times as much in the atmosphere as CO2. There are still no proposals for draining the oceans. Water vapor is not persistent? According to the theory water vapor's lack of persistence in the atmosphere (rain) means WV only counts for heating, not for evaporating more water vapor. Which is absurd because heating causes evaporation.
The theory is bunk.
Quite right. Well said ...
With an aging grid people are leaning towards roof top solar + batteries or generators to provide power while the grid is down. Every state has their own rules for selling power back to the grid. Some states are revoking net metering rules. We need to encourage rooftop solar to be paired with batteries so the utility could buy power from residential customers when the grid is over loaded.
That's a horrible idea; then you'll have reliable power that you're in charge of.
The power company pays a discounted wholesale, like 10% of retail price. I know people with rooftop solar who break even 3 months a year, and pay for power the other 9 months. Then there's the property tax increase by installing solar. Painful increases in taxes due to the state.
@@katjordan3733 US home solar installations are about 3X time more expensive than AU. A trump holdover. Some of it has been backed off but the utility companies want to keep it.
@@danharold3087In our area, a company went door to door, offering to install 'free' solar. It has been a nightmare for some when their property taxes skyrocketed. So it's a concern for many that solar is a scam. One company ruined it for a lot of people.
Keep up the hopeful topics. Always innovation must be assessed in the real world.
Some encouraging news for a change. Thanks as always Dave.
When I gradated with a BSEE in 1978, it was common knowledge that the transmission system was the "redheaded step-child" of the "Grid". It hasn't changed.
Because they get so hot?
🤣@@TS-kt3nf
@@TS-kt3nf I bet you were laughing at your own joke when you were typing that in! 😂
I am someone with a pice of land that the transmission authority would like to traverse. The land is in Tasmania, around 70 acres mainly of cool temperate rainforest, and has been a conservation project for us for more than 40 years. Of course, we hope that they will not need to do this, but if they do it will be a fly-over between high points, and they claim our forest will be untouched. So listening to you speak about sag was very interesting. I intend to share this with TasNetworks and asking them to comment. Engaging with them has not been pleasant or fruitful to dat, but you never know. Thank you for your erudite piece - I've subscribed.
In The Netherlands, it’s not only about transmission lines but also about transformer capacity. 🌷🤷♀️
Yeah, the Decepticons are always causing trouble.
Sure but getting an additional transformer does not seem so controversial
Same issue in the US. And the current lead time on transformers is 2 years.
@@mere_cat I wonder if the war in Ukraine is effecting that statistic. Not sure about the US, but in Europe they've already donated a lot of their spare transformers to keep the Ukrainian grid running.
@@Kevin_Street the war in Ukraine has had a massive effect on lead times but aid to Ukraine isn't the reason.
Sanctions on Russian steel have massively reduced raw material supply to transformer manufacturers. Combing that with massively increased demand for new large Power Transformers (>300% in many countries) has pushed leads times out by 4x.
Components which almost solely come from China have also added massive lead times, such as cooling fans. The end to the war/sanctions would have a large effect on leads times but the core issue is the massively increased demand for transformers due to connection of renewables and increased electrification of industry and transport
excellent video as always. one thing that occurs to me is that adding one or two mega packs(batteries) to substations would allow a much lower peak transmission to them.
That is exactly what NSW is doing with the Waratah Super Battery
Yes, and the name for this is storage as a transmission asset, SATA.
3:34 Energy Central CTC Global webinar bullet points. Cable types: ACSR ACCR ACFR AECC 4:52 ACCC: lighter weight but increased strength, capacity, reduced resistance line loss, and less sag at higher temps.👍
The most important property of the high temperature low sag (HTLS) conductors, such as the ACCC type, is that their cores have a much lower coefficient of thermal expansion compared to the conventional galvanized steel core of the normal ACSR conductor. This means, that those HTLS conductors feature a knee point in their thermal expansion (which is the result of heating proportional to roughly i^2 (i=current)). This means, that, above a certain temperature (knee point) (depending also on the stringing tension), the sag(Temp) curve becomes flatter, when the aluminum becomes completely slack (no tension) and all the tensile load is transfered to the core (which has a low coefficient of thermal expansion). This allows to transmit more power per sqcm with these conductors (allowing a higher temperature than 80°C) without running into a insulation coordination issue.
Brilliant as always thank you
A beautifully presented and very encouraging summary. Incremental improvements like these are less dramatic than cutting edge inventions that you often cover, but absolutely essential.
really good material, I was not aware( and I am a retired electrical engineer)
Another very informative and encouraging video. I had no idea that reconductoring was even a thing or that several new types of conductors had been developed. Good news indeed.
I'm a transmission planner. Unfortunately, some of what you said is not true here in NY State. Article 7 makes projects even on existing ROW very slow and costly. Our environmental requirements also force us to use matting on most projects where soil will be disturbed, even just by heavy truck traffic, driving up our transmission line work by 40%. No, that is not an exaggeration. Most reconductoring (anywhere) requires all new towers as well, more than doubling the cost. Our average 115 kV line rebuild cost (existing ROW) is around $12M per mile and growing fast. It was half that less than a decade ago. Lastly, I'll mention that reconductoring a *typical* transmission line will get you 2-3x the capacity, and there are limits to what you can transfer at any voltage, regardless of conductor capacity. In cold climates where our biggest peak loading will soon be the backup (auxiliary) heat strips in ducted heat pump systems all kicking on when the heat drops below 10F (because most homeowners are buying the cheap ones that can't do -10 or -20F with the heat pump alone), we're going to need much more than 2-3x the capacity of our existing network, especially when also considering the coming EV loading. We're still grappling with how we're going to handle it. Finally, what good is added transmission capacity when we can't get the added baseload generation that we need? Here's hoping that small modular reactors become a reality and FAST.
SMR is a boodoggle which you would know if you did any research.
All good points, except SMR
Every new nuclear technology arrives with an announcement that “oh, but this time it’s safe! And the science says so!” And ten years later, a bunch of people have cancer, another area of the earth is uninhabitable for millennia, and we learn that the scientists were paid off.
Why would reconductoring require new towers? The new conductors aren't any heavier than the old ones, are they?
I agree on SMR. In Canada there are towns in the north running diesel generators 24/7 for power. SMR would be a game changer.
In Québec, they've slowly been upgrading the network over the last 2 decades. More often than not, they tear down the entire line and start from scratch. What they've been doing is upgrading lines and substations from the old 200KV to 315 KV which is the more common voltage nowadays for the second layer of the transmission network. Most of the long range transmission is done using 735 KV lines. Increasing voltage reduces losses, but requires taller towers. Another big issue to consider is redundancy. In Québec, we learned that the hard way with the 1998 ice storm. One of the big changes has been to ensure that most substations can be powered by at least 2 separate circuits.
Québec has Hydro Québec, which is a 100% publicly-owned utility. (Contrast this with Ontario, which privatized parts of the system such as generation that earn money, but left parts such as transmission that cost money with taxpayers.) I understand some of the larger cities (Montreal, for example) have significant permitting challenges, but overall the permitting process is fairly streamlined compared to most of the rest of the continent.
@@jeffreyquinn3820 As far as permitting goes, there's nothing like a catastrophe to wake peoples up and get things moving. When an issue start to affect the comfort of peoples, things tend to move quickly. The 1998 ice storm played that role in Québec and it might very well be that the US needs its own wake up call to fix some of the issues it has.
@@jeffreyquinn3820 Transmission is always a monopoly. So it is better own by the public. At power generation real competion is possible.
@@orbiradio2465 Power generation is either a monopoly or oligopoly. Oligopolies seldom work out better than a regulated or state-owned monopoly, and are by definition not very competitive. So my ECON 101 textbook says.
Also in the UK swapping the lines out has been going on for several years.
This could possibly be the most important yet also underrated segment you have created.
Re-conductoring is a no-brainer. What people don’t realize is the grid can handle more load. All conductors are sized for peak load which happens twice a day. How much power do you think is running through those lines at 2 AM? taking a first principle approach with energy storage means that localized batteries eliminate any grid upgrade requirement. Now of course you still need to plug in the windmills and solar panels into the grid but if you take a ridiculous example of scale and put a sea can of batteries in everybody’s backyard then we could probably power the world with extension cords! 😊 now adjust this scale to reality and we have decentralized energy storage and most importantly the elimination of curtailment which is the ultimate waste.
Slightly off topic but demand response will be more important in the next 20 years for the success of green energy than batteries will be.
copy/paste from my stand alone comment
as you say, at 2am a mega-dollar grid is operating at a fraction of capacity. the entire investment is sized for peak demand yet most of the time less than half of peak is needed. an answer is in consumer peak leveling. which also offers consumers a choice of price for power. it works like this; every half hour the retail price of electricity changes, prices are digitally signaled in real time and forecast for 24 hours. so consumer devices can be tuned to low price points for heated water storage, battery charging, clothes drying and refrigeration etc (including cold storage to augment air conditioning at peak), leaving only essential and low-wattage, lighting etc devices when rates are high. a simple utility algorithm can easily set rates to deliver an almost flat grid demand over every 24 hours, thereby saving the difference between flat average and peak grid capacity investment.
@@GaryGraham-sx4pm It doesnt even need to be a flat demand. Just knock off 10% from peak to that midnight to 5AM period is all thats needed.
Yep, we really want a system of storage buffers at the source and load, with the transmission system between running at close to full capacity at all times. The cost of the storage systems payed back in efficient utilization of the transmission system.
Decentralized creation and energy storage the key here...
I worked a couple of years in the energy industry and grid operators hate maintenance more than they hate anything else. I have seen producers urging them to upgrade their grid only to hear BS like "we are working on a project so we dont have money for anything else".
not all of them of course but even those that do try to keep up have to do deal with unreasonable producers that want their part of the grid to upgraded first while "smaller" ones "can wait" even tho those "smaller" ones would be much more urgent/effective for the grid as a whole... its a mess on both sides of the issue.
I wrote a paper last year on electricity for a greener world, where I looked at future consumption needs, generation, and transmission. I think that reconductoring is going to be a wonderful addition to any business looking to increase capacity and lower costs using existing transmission network infrastructure. Obviously cabling in only one part of the network, but it is good step in the right direction, and should also help with budgets for replacing pole-mounted transformers, etc. Thanks for sharing.
Don't forget to say that the electricity demand in the UK has dropped by 20% over the last 10 years. Interesting to hear that the US has the same bureaucratic issues with grid connection that we have.
Thanks to the EU energy efficiency regulations
@@adblocker276True, in EU countries, a lot of effort has gone into reducing energy use without lowering quality of living.
Over the last two decades, we've managed to cut our electric use by about half what it was 20 years ago, even thought we have more tech devices and computers around the home, and there are still many improvements that can be done.
It also looks like since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, there's another big push to reduce energy consumption whiles at the same time boost renewable energy generation, the two together makes it much easier to do the transition.
But with all that said, there's likely going to be more demand on the electric grid because of EV cars and heat pump, which is pushing all our energy needs to electric, which is fine by me because it's a lot more flexible in how it can be used and we can also generate it with renewable energy.
Thanks to EU regulations, it's putting constant pressure on all companies to find ways of reducing the energy a product needs.
@@adblocker276actually I'm guessing it's more related to economic decline. Power demand is linked to how many factories and businesses are running.
UK doesn't manufacture anything anymore. And it drops more industries every year.
Yep, computers, lighting, TVs and standby consumption all improved dramatically in consumption terms. And a lot of relatively high power gadgets like Hi-fi systems and VCRs and radio-alarm-clocks have just disappeared over the last 30 years and been replaced by much lower-power kit (e.g. mobile phone+bluetooth speaker). There are more other gadgets (routers, voice assisstants, smart doorbells/thermostats/hot water tanks) but most of those are low power. Ultimately it's the LEDs that are responsible for most of the reduction.
This sounds great. However, here in Texas, ERCOT is garbage. They wouldn't even do this if it only cost them one more dollar. Not one dollar per mile, mind you, but one dollar.
Privatized power grids are stupid.
I live in Texas
The Texas New Mexico Power company just replaced miles of regular poles and lines in my area.
In addition to burying a significant portion that crosses a flood plain.
The last is a new state requirement.
Yep, they want grift not customer service. They won't even connect to the national grids for back-up power for their customers.
GOP, pennypinching mentality.
As far as Texas is concerned, it is in a state all its own. We don't want anyone stealing our power.
"... Jeremy and Colin in the Finance Department ..." Made me LOL - Thanks, Dave. great analysis as always.
A great overview! I volunteer with Citizens' Climate Lobby and we've been helping push for more electricity transmission across US regions, with things like the BIG WIRES act. Boosting transmission capacity with reconductoring as well as building new lines sounds like a great idea.
Nice explanation indeed
Excellent. Line losses total 15% of the electricity put on the grid, the vast majority ofs which is due to heat during peak load. 7.5% on the transmission grid. 7.5% on the distribution grid. Local generation takes energy off the transmission grid and thus saves 7.5% loss +/=. Direct current transmission also saves loss. Underground transmission loss is less than that on above-ground wires plus underground wires are subjected no wind or other weather stresses resulting in lower maintenance costs. Underground is more costly than above-ground but the savings in maintenance makes up the difference. And direct current is more efficient than alternating current transmission. Consider this, all the costs are heading down from generation to transmission to distribution. Will that result in lower electricity costs to the consumer? Only if we fight to have the savings passed on to us!
High voltage DC is only cost effective for long transmission lines (over 300 miles) due to the high cost of 'converting AC to DC' at the generating end and 'inverting DC to AC' at the receiving end of the transmission line. That said it would save a worthwhile amount of energy along with 'rewiring' the grid with lighter weight, higher ampacity cables.
Underground transmission loss is typically higher than aboveground from my recollection, due to the high capacitive coupling of the ground. So I ask, have you got a source, because I don't know that I trust a reversal of what I'm familiar with just on a UA-cam comment. I know some underground transmission has superconducting lines installed, but that's largely down to local constraints and is only done where absolutely necessary because the ongoing operational cost of the cryogenic coolant is non-zero.
@@NidkidfulI think I read about it in Utility Dive or David Roberts. Laying underground DC cable along the freeway grid addresses two thorny problems -- permitting and maintenance. I may be wrong, but I also think it was discussed at NREL. There may be a paper on it, or the 2018 study that was suppressed by the Trump administration may have talked about it. That study suggested a handful (4 or 6 West to East DC lines and 2 North to South).
@@NidkidfulAlso, I thought underground line loss was less than above ground. I'll look around -- google electricity line loss above and underground. Something like that. I was pretty deep into this stuff before my wife came down with cancer and died. Am getting back into it after my period of grieving.
@@bobbresnahan8397 potentially for HVDC, as it doesn't have capacitive losses, however it is quite hazardous to build HVDC underground, as it's much harder to build switchgear to open the circuit in sections should it be damaged, and the arcs are not self quenching, so any damage to the HVDC line would cause massive damage. It's also way more expensive because of the specialized equipment needed. HVDC only makes sense right now for long distance transmission, and while underground puts it in a more stable thermal environment, I don't know that combining two niche expensive applications is a viable cross country link.
Thumbs up. The revisiting and new stuff combination is really good
I totally agree. The electric Spanish grid is a really catastrophic mess. Where I live the grid that feeds our town is older than 60 years and the maintenance is near to 0 and the design is completely out of date. Now we already have problems with the solar power houses connected to the grid and provokes high voltage and can damage our electric devices.
The main problem in Spain is the former presidents and ministers end up working in energetic companies in order to earn 300.000€ per year doing nothing only "for the services provided"
I helped build a model for the Western Interconnection, the long-distance grid for Western North America that extends from Canada to Mexico and includes the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico, and all or portions of the 14 Western states between.
Using new technologies to upgrade existing towers and corridors was a major factor driving the model because of the challenges getting permits for new transmission and the capital costs of building new lines. Even so, plans called for roughly $1 billion per year in capital investment to bring new renewable energy online and get it to a market serving over 90 million people.
It's important to note that the grid is designed for maximum load, so there is a huge overcapacity available off-peak to move energy if it can be stored. Local storage can be done at regional levels (e.g.: with pumped hydro), at local levels, or even with batteries dedicated to specific installations or homes. As batteries drop in price this is becoming more economically practical.
I think distributed storage and generation will completely change the way the grid operates over the next 10-20 years.
A billion dollars a year sounds like a lot, until one realizes that America alone spends a trillion dollars a year on energy. An improved grid should benefit a lot.
As an aside, it's interesting to note how enormous the reservoirs are in BC, if their hydro plants could be partly converted to peaker (like one west of Calgary) or backup instead of exclusively base load. (Using hydro exclusively as base load feels like a missed opportunity, and typically bad for the river downstream too.)
Shorting the Grid by Meredith Angwin is a short book length overview of the electric grid in the U. S. I highly recommend this insider’s perspective.
In Australia I think we could see gains from a much more distributed grid, this is becoming the case with generation as a result of renewables and rooftop solar, but distributed storage is lagging, instead we are focusing on large scale projects such as snowy 2.0 and Tasmania battery of the nation. Distributed local storage would stop us sending power 1000s of km, saving transmission losses but making the existing network go much further. There's no lack of prospective pumped hydro sites.
Distributed local storage would stop us sending power 1000s of km. Well said, the beauty of electricity is it is everywhere to be harvested.
4:00 "...as those of us of certain age know only too well."
OMG I didn't expect this.
One other benefit of replacing the wires is that the old cable can be recycled into the new cables.
There by saving some mining and electricity in the production of new aluminium.
Great channel.
True, but it doesn't sound like this carries forward: the new glass and composite strands sound as recyclable as windmill blades, which aren't.
Oh, all this sounds great, thanks for your videos!
watching this, I realized that the grid or its cables may not be needed to replaced or upgraded for the EV future since you power companies can simply double or multiply the voltage depending on the capacity need. I don't know how much HV transformers or HVDC equipment costs but i think it is doable for not much more money and time.
The problem is more the lead time to get more HV transformer equipment. We're talking months or years lead time for conventional replacements, while big projects like changing the voltage on a major grid provider is a decade long process as a large number of isolators, switchgear, and all the transformers need replaced, and that stuff isn't built in the quantity required to do a fast changeover, as the typical lifespan is 20-60+ years, and any additional production would have until recently been wasted or idle.
@@Nidkidful good point. I guess it's a chicken and egg problem. While there are more EVs vs previous years, grid power requirements did not increased or have reduced due to multiple reasons. There is no reason to increase transformer production. But then, if transformer availability remain a problem or gets worse, companies would have no choice but generate own power and use solar PV equipment for EV charging.
Dropping dad jokes nonchalantly like a boss! XD
It would be interesting to combine this reconductoring with your previous video on increasing transmission voltage to improve efficiency further.
Further efficiencies could be gained by increasing voltage supply into the home along with high power factor step-down conversion coupled with maybe 12V lighting circuits in the home.
1:44 "taking the electrons from where they’re generated to where they’re needed. " - ok, I'll be _that_ guy: the electrons are not going far at all. They are travelling just a tiny distance relative to the grid (or even your home.) It's the *energy* that is travelling, through the electric field. In an AC line the electrons are just sloshing back and forth.
They literally move less than a millimeter in distance.
0:53 two of the "three main US grid networks" include parts of Canada; so it would be better to refer to them as "the there main North American grid networks", and better still to show a map that includes the significant parts of Canada that are included
North American? That would imply that it covered all of Canada and Mexico too.
If he's talking about US consumption data, the 3 main grids that serve the US are relevant. If they also serve other territories, that's not relevant to this specific talking point. There's no need to get hung up on how he refers to them. Also, more shocking in this segment is the visual callout that Texas is just doing its own insane thing down there (which we have seen the consequences of in recent years).
Thumbs up for Jeremy and Colin!
Awsome as always, thank you.
Thanks to Robert Llewellyn, I made a presentation about the electrical needs of the petroleum industry. It's massive, probably 2/3 of all electricity, energy and infrastructure.
By transitioning from fracking and tarsanding, we wouldn't need to replace todays levels.
Every EV built (buses, trucks, farm and construction equipment as well as cars) is a storage device, which could save money and make the grid more efficient.
The problem is that a bankster won't look at that as saving money, he would look at it as costing them money. That's the biggest problem.
Thank you.
Yet again an excellent piece. Thanks.
In many cases an existing right of way can be upgraded with dual, triple, or more conductors in a bundle. This should work well if the voltage is not also ungraded (which would require new pylons.)
Quality. Simple, clear. Keep it up
Yeah, making every part of the system more efficient is going to help us all in the long-run for sure.
Always love your videos, Dave! 🎉😊
Thanks!
Fascinating, thanks, something I’d never thought of. 👍
Dave, I attended Everything Electric Show on the Friday, really enjoyed your talk panela, you have a new subscriber.
This is good news! We've known for a long time that the grid was the biggest loss problem. More efficient wires are just the thingk! Add to that, solar installations where grid wiring is not practical - the beauty of solar is its ability to decentralize the power structure.
he beauty of solar is its ability to decentralize the power structure.Well said and not just solar. We are just scratching the surface of electricity harvesting. Its everywhere.
Always a well presented video, on something new to me .
Another technology contribution to a better world. Not a game changer, but a welcome improvement. Presumably these cables are just as usable with higher voltage, and with DC lines... caveat replacing insulators and transformers cost requirements.
This is a really superb presentation of information of which I had no knowledge. It makes me feel really good about the future of our energy grid. People like to act like we don't have the capacity. Doom and gloom!
On the other hand, if usage is not increasing, revenue is not increasing so the incentive to improve the system is lacking.
that usage buffer could serve us well for a rapid ev transition regardless
I know I have said it before but thank you for having real subtitles! I really appreciate it!
Dave, thanks making this video about reconductoring that I asked for in the comments last week. I doubt you read my comment, but now I can refer people to your video for an excellent, concise explanation of reconductoring.
Reconductoring to increase line capacity is fine but the ratings of the existing terminal equipment such as switchgear and transformers means these would have to be upgraded too.
Somebody built the power grid to begin with; We didn't inherit it from the dinosaurs. I guess rich people will have to start paying taxes again.
Indeed, but as pointed out, this would be maintenance. Not requiring enquiries and planning permissions for new build .
I don't see your point. You could increase the line capacity ten-fold but if the switchgear controlling the line can't cope with the increased rating, you'll need to change that too or build another substation. Transformer capacity presents similar limitations.
@@protectiongeek Would upgrading existing switchgear and transformers be more expensive and time consuming than building brand new lines then?
@@rednammoc obviously, that depends on the details of the new line, principally its length. The costs associated with reconductoring to increase line capacity depend on a number of factors. For example, how much land is available within the existing substations/switching stations to accommodate new, higher rated apparatus? If no room for new bays exists at one or more stations, can adjacent land be purchased? If additional land can be purchased, what permitting etc will be required? The permitting process for extending a station could take a similar amount of time to that of a new line, depending on the circumstances. All I’m pointing out is that reconductoring and/or dynamic rating technology developments, while welcome, are not in themselves going to accelerate an increase of transmission network capacity. They are one part of the solution going forward but there are lots of parts to the machine!
In addition to composite conductors, the US could also transition from High Voltage 60 Hz AC (Alternating Current) to Ultra-High Voltage DC (Direct Current) transmission to reduce (I^2R) losses even further. China already has many of these UHVDC transmission lines in service across the entire country.
I remember reading a paper in the late 90's about findings from California and alternative power.bone key finding was 100MW power stations ie solar wind etc was around the right size to reduce transmission loss whilst affordable to build/profitable.
Logically that principle makes sense, multiple generation sites close to citoes towns villages etc means less transmission loss.
One of the best video’s definitely a no brainer for larger grids.
Great Post!
This is good news! 😊Have fun in London!!
Thank you for the commentary.
It is interesting that you and a very few others provide such information. You answered so many seemingly silly questions I've been asking for years. Then, as I ask such questions, you are the first to answer while not telling me I just give them a headache.
Fantastic video, Thankyou. Very informative and positive news.
Pylons…. I’ve not previously heard them called that before. I’ve previously heard them referred to as “towers”. Interesting! I was listening to the video (rather than watching it) and was confused what was being referred to at first. :-)
How encouraging!
Thanks for the new video.
Thanks for a very clear presentation. As an electrical engineer I liked it.
If sagging has been reduced they could fit longer insulators and increase the operating voltage of the grid, thus getting more power through for a given current.
Very good video.
What about using really high voltage DC lines in stead of AC that is also a major solution in conducting more power
I forget what it is but there has to be a certain distance and amount of power being transmitted before the economics of the higher cost infrastructure outweighs the loss of energy due to resistance.
@@thatfatman6978 There are also useful for tying together different grids which may be out of phase.
the terminal equipment for HVDC is very expensive but works for long distances and high MW capacity.
Cheers, Dave, interesting stuff, just what we need!
Another method of increasing the power carried by high tension lines is bundling. Two, three or four cables are used to carry a single phase and bundled wires can carry more voltage with less losses. The resistance of a line and hence the energy wastage is proportional to the amperage and the higher the voltage, the lower the amperage can be to carry the same power.
Very cool video good coverage of the technology and systems
The optimal approach lies in decentralizing energy production through localization. The current electricity grid model perpetuates rent-seeking behavior, concentrating profits in the hands of a select few.
Thanks for the new video! One thing that makes this a particularly cheerful story is that it's an innovation that's already happening. ACCC conductors are already being installed as part of the regular upgrade cycle for power lines. (Although I guess a political push will be needed to get electrical companies moving in places where they never do upgrades or maintenance.) Much to my surprise it seems one of our provincial power companies (Enmax) has already installed an ACCC line, and we're not exactly on the bleeding edge of technology here.
Great video.
A simple thank you, simply put, for your being a simply wonderful human being.
Very relevant for South Africa’s aging grid as well.
Great video
I have for a long time been an advocate of local, modular systems which includes power generation. Far more resilient and expandable.
I love the elegance of this. There's also the ability to recycle all of that aluminum and steel from the old lines - 2 of the most recyclable existing materials. Thanks Dave! I know it's hard to find good news about the energy transition, but your stats throughout are very inspiring.
The existing electrical grid is a dinosaur. We need graphene conductors located in a underground type electrical grid. We lose 5-8% of all the electricity being generated with our existing electrical grid. A great video!
Yes, and underground requires HVDC to prevent capacitive losses, with added benefits of higher power transmission with the same cables, no need for reinforcement, the possibility of liquid cooling, but requires expensive high voltage AC DC conversion stations which become economical beyond 40 miles of transmission.
Very important topic here, way to go.
As an economist, former utility planner and current entrepreneur the biggest challenge we face is liner thinking by engineers stuck in their narrow paradigm.
The most coveted asset we have in this topic are engineers with imagination, very hard to find!
The greatest concentrate increase in EV uptake in the USA was in California. Seen how their grid is coping?
My cousin walked in on me "reconductoring" when I was 14. I'm now 45 years old and I STILL can't look her in the eyes.
Great information about good news! Well done
This is the elephant in the room. As a designer of overhead lines for thirty years , we could not change the standard to reduce the temp from 100 deg C for normal operating the system. Heating to that temp. burns bird feet!. Victoria Australia.
Beautiful ❤
Excellent content as always! We're off to 'Everything electric' today here in the UK! Really looking forward to being inspired!
I'm beyond fed up with our Government. No aspect of it is functioning anymore. We have all the potential in the world but all we hear is "well it'll take X amount of yrs for permits/licenses & costs too much to start & it's not profitable enough) *no wonder we aren't seeing progress. I'm so tired that we just have to put up with it? It needs across the board change. Improvement. It's beyond dysfunctional & it doesn't have to be this difficult. I love this country! Born and raised in Oregon but I'm tired of people thinking any aspect of our government has the correct approach to getting anything done and actually function well. It's clear our system no longer works across the board and all they're doing is distracting people and playing with peoples emotions to keep people distracted, divided and talking about nonsense.. I'd like to see progress with in my life time. I'm in my early 30's. Is that so much to ask for? We have so much more potential than this and it's sad to see how dysfunctional and ineffective our local and federal government is at this point. It feels totally disconnected from the people. Not a system made for the people, by the people, to better our surroundings by working together. (What do we do when our system no longer works as it was intended to do? {In a not radical way} I know I'm passionate about this topic but it's because I genuinely believe that our country is starving for a better way of living, a greater sense of community. Showing we can adapt to change, problem solve using our ingenuity and the collaboration of talent and people we have around us to address certain local issues. Idk it's just hope for a better and more effective future)
Looks like a no brainer to me. Stop fiddling around and start reconduction right away would be my approach.
petroleum lobbies will be opposed to all actions that reduce our addiction to their poison.
Sounds great in theory but have we the materials and manufacturing capacity to build the cabling we need and at what cost per foot?? I can just imagine the howling as electricity prices climb, even marginally, to pay for the upgrades.
I love the bits of humour thrown in... Keep up the good work!!
Thanks for the great video! I am an electrical engineer from Germany and although not working at a DSO anymore, I was wondering why this is not covered in any scientific discussion I attended. So I did a little research:
1. According to a paper from the federal department of economic and climate affairs from 2014, 30-50% of the costs for building a new power line come from the cables itself.
2. The ACCC type seems to be 7-10 times more expensive than the ACSR type.
Therefore changing the cables of an existing power line would me more expensive than building another power line with the same capacity. As I said this is based on some superficial research, so I would be happy to hear your opinion on this!