How ACCC Conductor can help meet the Clean Power Plan mandate

How Modern Technology is Improving the Efficiency, Capacity and Reliability of the Grid

Dave BryantDirector TechnologyCTC Global Corporation

Taking a closer look at the wires

Colorado Department of Public Health & EnvironmentAir Quality Control Commission

February 18, 2016

1900 2000

Generation, Transmission and Demand-Side Appliances saw improvements, but the fundamentals remained basically the same.

During the last century not much changed

2010 +++

Why… Because Efficiency, Capacity and Reliability Offer Substantial Economic & Environmental Benefits

Globally, we invested billions of dollars improving the efficiency of generation and demand-side appliances. Now we are investing billions more gathering data about generation capacity & consumer habits. Some call this “Smart Grid.” What about the grid itself?

Until Now

• Inaccurate telemetry data and computer glitches led to excessive conductor sag.

• Conductor sag led to a series of short circuit events that knocked out the entire grid.

• The economic impact was estimated to approach $10 billion dollars.

Recall the major blackout of 2003

Following that major event, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 provided a number of incentives to leverage new technology that could be used to “improve the efficiency, capacity and reliability of the grid.” This included modern high-capacity, low-sag conductors.

High-Capacity, Low-Sag Conductors offer several advantages• They allow for load growth;• They allow for the integration of renewables;• They offer added capacity for emergency “N-1” conditions;• They substantially reduce thermal sag to improve grid reliability;• They offer improved resistance to corrosion and cyclic load fatigue;• They offer improved toughness and resiliency.

(Note the direct strike from the Moore, Oklahoma EF-5 tornado below)

Conventional steel-reinforced “ACSR” conductor and modern composite core “ACCC”

composite core undamaged = fast repair

High-Capacity, Low-Sag Conductors also offer:

Improved Energy Efficiency• ACCC reduces line losses by 25 to 40% or more depending upon load level

compared to other conductors of the same diameter and weight.• Line loss reductions can serve to reduce fuel consumption and associated

emissions and/or improve the economic viability of various renewables.• Reduced line losses also frees-up generation capacity that is otherwise

wasted.

100 mile 345 kV line – replace ACSR with ACCC Increased line capacity by 75% with 625 amp emergency reserve Reduced line losses by 30% Line loss reduction saves 300,606 MWh / year (=$19.2M @$0.06 / kWh) Emission reductions saves ~200,000 Metric Tons CO2 / year This equates to removing 42,000 cars from the road Line loss reduction also frees up over 40 MW of generation ($50M+)

Project Example:

Notes: Doubled bundled conductor No structural modifications Load factor = 62% US National Average CO2 = 1.372# / kWh 1 car = 4.75 MT CO2 / year Cost of wire ~ $12.7M

Project Analysis using CCP™ software (w/ IEEE 738 equations)

To request a copy of the excel-based program go to: www.ctcglobal.com/resources/free-resources/

(existing conductor)(new conductor)

30,540 km ACCC energized125,865 km in cumulative service12,215,924 Metric Tons CO2 saved annuallyThis is the equivalent of removing 2.6 million cars50,346,085 Metric Tons CO2 saved cumulatively

(1 passenger car produces ~ 4.75 MT of CO2/year)

Environmental Impact so far:

Note: over 35,000 km of high-capacity, low-sag ACCC conductor has been selected by over 175 utilities in 35 countries for ~375 projects. ACCC conductor was commercially deployed in 2005 and is now produced by over 20 regional manufacturing companies globally.

Transmission Line Efficiency & the Clean Power Plan:

Should transmission line efficiency be considered in meeting the objectives of the Clean Power Plan initiative?

If the efficient integration of renewables is important, yes.

If existing fossil fuel generation will still be used to some degree, yes.

If the addition of electric cars and/or space heaters is projected (which could further strain the power grid), yes.

If other methods of reducing CO2 emissions are considered (scrubbers, carbon capture techniques, etc.) are considered, yes.

If economics are important, absolutely!

Fuel Type lbs CO2 per kWh

Metric tons CO2 per MWh

Coal 2.190 0.99Natural Gas 1.120 0.51Petroleum 2.097 0.95Combined Fossil Fuels 1.898 0.86Geothermal 0.054 0.02Municipal Waste 1.298 0.59National Average 1.372 0.62

Consumer Emissions lbs / year Metric tons CO2 per year

Average car 12,500 miles per year at 21.5 mpg 11,450 5.19

Average household 14,796 6.71

Footnote on CO2 Emissions:

Improving the Efficiency, Capacity and Reliability of the Grid

CTC Global2026 McGaw Avenue Irvine, California 92614 USA+1 (949) 428-8500 www.ctcglobal.com

[email protected]

ACCC Conductor