How to Improve the Efficiency, Capacity, Reliability and Resilience
of the Electric Power Grid with ACCC® Conductor
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ACCC® News - October 2021
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The Role of ACCC® Conductors in Meeting U.S. Decarbonization Goals
One of the Biden Administration’s primary goals is to achieve a 100% carbon-free electricity sector in the U.S. by 2035. While demand for electricity is anticipated to grow by as much as 40% by mid-century to support ‘electric conversion’ in the automotive, industrial and other sectors, the need to build a more robust and efficient electric power grid has never been more urgent.
Currently, approximately 65% of all electricity generated in the U.S. relies on fossil fuels - responsible for over 1.7 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2019. To reduce this number to ZERO by 2035, approximately 53 GW of new carbon-free generation will need to be added to the grid every year for the next 14 years (not including additional generation resources needed to meet growing electrical demand in other sectors, including transportation). To meet this goal, the existing grid needs to be modernized with advanced transmission technologies that can relieve congestion and reduce losses. Further, the current process for interconnecting large amounts of generation capacity is daunting. Siting new transmission lines is nearly impossible and, if it can be done, the process can take a decade or more, which is not timely support for meeting the 2035 goal of ZERO-carbon emission in the electric sector. Is there a way to more rapidly add generating capacity to the grid and not be constrained by overloaded sections of the grid?
Fortunately, the high-capacity, energy efficient ACCC® Conductor can greatly assist in the rapid integration of large amounts of new clean generation resources onto the existing grid. There are many opportunities within the existing grid where replacing legacy steel-reinforced overhead conductors with ACCC® Conductors (“reconductoring”) can substantially increase (up to double) the capacity of existing transmission lines without the need to reinforce or replace existing structures. Reconductoring at “choke points” or constrained areas in the grid can rapidly enable more carbon-free generation to be interconnected to the grid in half the time and at a fraction of the cost of the conventional method of upgrading a power line.
In the past, increasing the capacity of an existing transmission corridor required shutting the line down, removing the existing wire and structures (often with undesirable environmental consequences), replacing the structures with larger / taller structures with new foundations, and pulling in new larger, higher capacity conductors (called “rebuilding”). This was a very expensive, arduous, and disruptive process that is no longer necessary for many situations. Reconductoring a power line using the existing structures is the fastest, lowest cost way to add substantial capacity to the existing grid. Reconductoring can help rapidly interconnect needed carbon-free generating capacity onto the grid so that the ambitious decarbonization goal of reaching ZERO carbon emission from the electric sector by 2035 has a chance to be met. Let’s find more opportunities to reconductor!
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The TenneT DIM-LLS 380kV ACCC® Reconductor Project Continues
Originally built in the 1960s, the 52 km line runs between substations in Diemen, a suburb of Amsterdam, and Lelystad City in the Markemeer. The triple-bundle, twin-circuit line needed to be upgraded to take in increasing flows of renewable energy from onshore and offshore sources, part of TenneT’s Beter Benutten Bestaande 380 kV program.
By choosing advanced ACCC® Conductor, TenneT is able to increase transmission capacity from 2,500 to over 4,000 amps with a minimum of structural work. As is typical for TenneT’s 380 kV network, the conductor is in triple-bundle configuration.
A total of 1,100 km of ACCC Warsaw conductor was supplied by Midal Cable in late 2020 / early 2021 for this project and installation started in early August 2021.The installation itself is being closely supervised by CTC Global Master Installers throughout the project. As there are at least 3 - sometimes 5 - sub-project sites and some complex road and water crossings, this has required close coordination. Further, CTC’s ACCC® InfoCore™ system was successfully deployed on part of one phase during installation.
“It’s a tough challenge for our team to supervise this installation with many moving pieces, but we have very close cooperation and regular meetings with TenneT which helps a lot,” advised Chris Morrison, CTC Global's Regional Service Manager.
“We are satisfied with the progress of this project, thanks to the close cooperation we have with TenneT staff,” advised Peter Hughes, CTC Global’s VP Europe. “ACCC Warsaw is by now a well-known conductor to TenneT, but the project nevertheless benefits greatly from the very early planning, site visits and joint review engagements we made with both TenneT and their contractors.”
Installation works and CTC Global’s support will continue until March 2022.
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ACCC® Hardware is Key to Safety & Reliability
CTC Global's ACCC® dead-ends and splices, produced in association with 11 qualified and authorized manufacturing partners, use an innovative stainless steel collet system that grips the core without crushing it or imparting excessive stress that can sever the core when using compression core grip designs. Unlike steel or aluminum that will plastically deform and yield when compressed, composite cores do not. The ACCC Collet design also accommodates core elasticity without causing stress concentration at the entrance to the collet housing which is where other designs fall short.
With well over one million ACCC collet devices deployed to more than 1,000 projects in 60 countries, there has never been a single reported failure. Dead-ends and splices are critical system components - the importance of which cannot be understated. Please check out the animated video below to learn more or send an email to info@ctcglobal.com
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Animated ACCC Dead-end Installation Video: |
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ACCC® Conductor is currently reducing CO2 emissions by over 3.5 million metric tons every year - the equivalent of removing over 750,000 cars from the road
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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 added strength and lighter weight can enable longer spans and the higher modulus and increased stiffness reduces sag and blow out during high wind conditions. Improved stiffness can also reduce sag under heavy ice load conditions.
Dozens of engineers have specified ACCC® ULS Conductor for projects, worldwide, and 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.
The photograph below shows a 1.6 km (~1 mile) river crossing in Mozambique completed by Bouygues. Watch Installation Video
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ACCC AZR Conductor – Expanding the Capabilities of the ACCC® Conductor Using Aluminum Zirconium Alloy to Combat Extreme Ice Loads
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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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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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 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.
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CTC Global, Inc. 2026 McGaw Avenue Irvine,
CA 92614 Phone: +1 949.428.8500
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