CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor offers a new level of performance and unprecedented reliability. There is nothing more important to grid operators than reliability. It is absolutely key and conductor performance is mission critical. Sagging lines can cause sag trip outages, economically devastating blackouts, and jeopardize human life and property. The CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor offers a new level of performance and unprecedented reliability. Longevity is also important. The ACCC Conductor’s composite core raises this performance bar as well. The ACCC Conductor’s hybrid carbon fiber core is not only resistant to harsh environmental conditions and corrosion, it also resists cyclic load fatigue. In 2003, following a series of events that included inaccurate telemetry data, computer glitches and reboot failures the electric power grid in the northeast United States and Canada experienced a widespread blackout caused by a series of conductor sag-trip outages.
When improving grid reliability is your challenge, look no further than CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor. Learn how CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor reduces CO2 Emissions. In the electric power transmission business, most of us associate “grid efficiency” with improvements in generation equipment, transformers and demand side appliances. While new more efficient components in many cases are more expensive than the less efficient units they replace, their higher prices have generally been easy to justify due to their reduced operating and lifecycle costs. This article will explain how the use of CTC Global’s ACCC conductor is cost effectively helping improve grid efficiency and why it may be one of the least expensive means of reducing CO2 and other GHG emissions.
In 1992 the Energy Star® program was established to promote improved efficiency for appliances and building materials. This helped consumers better understand what they were buying and helped manufactures market their improved products. Subsidies and rebates were also provided in many instances to inspire consumer investment and reduce the need to build new generation at presumably higher costs. Reduce Emission Goals with CTC Global’s High-Efficiency ACCC conductors. Concerns about climate change continue to shape corporate and regulatory policy. The use of high-capacity, high-efficiency ACCC® Conductors can help you cost-effectively achieve your organization’s emission reduction goals CTC Global’s high-capacity, high-efficiency ACCC® Conductors offers one of the most cost-effective means of reducing fuel consumption and associated emissions, while also increasing grid capacity to support the deployment of more clean renewable energy.
Let’s consider an example based on a recently completed American Electric Power project in Texas. Looking at a 100 mile section of 345 kV line designed to carry 3,000 amps with a load factor of 62%, the use of CTC Global’s Drake size (double bundled) ACCC Conductor would reduce line losses by 30% compared to an equally sized ACSR Drake conductor. This translates into a savings of 300,000 MWh per year. For comparison, consider the energy savings offered by a 100 watt equivalent LED light bulb replacement. Reduces Up-Front Capital Costs with CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor. Overview: In spite of the fact that High Capacity ACCC® Conductor is approximately twice the price of conventional AAAC or ACSR conductor, ACCC conductor reduces up-front capital costs and overall project costs on new transmission lines and reconductor projects. This article briefly discusses how upfront capital cost reductions are achieved, as well as how the ACCC conductor’s higher capacity and greater efficiency continues to reduce utility costs throughout its entire service life.
Conductor Description: ACCC conductor utilizes a hybrid carbon and glass fiber core that is approximately twice as strong as conventional steel core strands and less than half the weight. This allows the ACCC conductor to incorporate nearly 30 percent more aluminum in any given conductor diameter (using compact trapezoidal shaped strands) – without any weight penalty. Reconductor Project Savings: New Transmission Line Savings: Why choosing ACCC Conductor from CTC Global is going to be the decision for you. Our company was founded to develop, certify and deploy advanced technologies that electric utilities could use to improve the efficiency, capacity, reliability and resiliency of the electric power grid, worldwide. To date, more than 250 utilities have selected ACCC® Conductor for more than 1,000 projects in 60 countries.
Our primary product is high-capacity, low-sag (“HCLS / HTLS”) CTC Global ACCC Conductor solutions. ACCC® is a registered trademark of CTC Global. CTC Global is a privately held Delaware Corporation headquartered in Irvine, California midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. We are located about one mile east of the Orange County John Wayne (SNA) airport, less than ten miles from the Pacific Ocean and Newport Beach.
CTC Global (formerly CTC Cable, a subsidiary of Composite Technology Corporation), was privatized in 2011. CTC Global’s staff began the development of the high-capacity, low-sag ACCC® Conductor in early 2003. Reduce carbon footprint & the line losses significantly with CTC Global ACCC Conductor. Improve the transmission line capacity using CTC Global’s Conductor. This article discusses the importance of transmission line efficiency and explains how replacing conventional ACSR conductor with CTC Global’s ACCC conductor is less expensive than switching incandescent light bulbs to modern LED light bulbs.
Following the Western Energy Crisis of 2000 and the Major East Coast Blackout of 2003, a group of engineers at CTC Global in California got together to design a new type of bare overhead conductor that could carry twice the current of a conventional conductor without exhibiting excessive conductor sag, while improving transmission line efficiency. The team essentially replaced steel core strands, used to strengthen most types of overhead conductors, with a composite core made up of high-strength carbon and glass fibers. The composite core offered a coefficient of thermal expansion nearly ten times less than steel. Increasing line capacity offers several advantages. In recent years, Smart Grid was envisioned.
Learn About the work of Super heroes at CTC Global. There’s a fairly good chance you’re old enough (but not too old) to remember the phrase “Holy Cow, Batman!” The reason I bring this up is because the world of energy in whatever city, Gotham or otherwise, you happen to live in is more exciting, daunting, and incredible than any of us could have ever imagined. Whether you believe it or not, you are one of the most important super heroes of our time. Why? Because you are part of the world’s ‘energy team.’ Guys and gals like you and me are not only working hard to provide affordable, reliable, and efficient power to support our information-based society, build viable economies, and even pump water to grow crops, we’re also being called upon to save the planet. At the end of last year, despite a tragic attack on the City of Paris, over 40,000 representatives of the ‘energy team’ got together in the ‘City of Lights’ to discuss climate change and energy.
Like anything else, if we own it, it will cost money and require management. CTC Global Efficiency - Reducing CO2 emissions. In the world of commodity transmission conductors, conductor efficiency is generally not considered to be high on the priority list. Conductor selection is generally based on load considerations. But times are changing. Looking back a few years, consider the substantial investments that were made to improve the efficiency of generators to reduce fuel consumption and/or help improve the economic viability of competing generation technologies such as solar and wind. Improved transformer technologies, while slightly more expensive, were also easy to justify – as they offered reduced lifecycle costs and improved efficiency.
On the demand side, consider that billions of dollars have been spent to improve the efficiency of demand side appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioning units and even light bulbs. On the conductor side, very little consideration historically has been given to conductor efficiency and line losses as these costs are generally passed through to the consumer. CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor has a proven track record of resisting damage. CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor has a proven track record of resisting damage Following Super Storms Katrina, Sandy, Haiyan and many others it has become readily apparent that climate change is causing the frequency and severity of weather related events to take increasingly heavier tolls on our power grids.
A substantial effort has begun not only to harden the grid to make it more resistant to damage, but also to leverage modern technologies to make inevitable damage easier and faster to repair. Climate change has also increased fire hazards in certain areas. CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor has a proven track record of not only resisting damage from severe weather conditions, but also surviving when wood and metal structures were burned down or knocked to the ground. For example, when an EF4/EF5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma flying debris hit a 125 foot tall steel monopole supporting CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor. The pole was knocked over by 45 degrees and didn’t hit the ground. CTC Global ACCC Conductor for unprecedented reliability. Learn about CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor in details. The CTC Global ACCC® Conductor utilizes a hybrid carbon and glass fiber core embedded in a high-performance thermoset epoxy matrix.
The central carbon fiber core consists of tens of thousands of high-strength, high-modulus unidirectional carbon fibers that are surrounded by a protective layer of glass fibers. The outer glass fibers improve toughness and flexibility while also providing a galvanic barrier to prevent corrosion with the conductive aluminum strands. The ACCC Conductor hybrid core is not only twice as strong as steel, it is also 70% lighter.
The lighter weight allows the CTC Global ACCC Conductor – of any size – to utilize ~28% more aluminum without a weight or diameter penalty. The low coefficient of thermal expansion mitigates conductor sag under heavy electrical load conditions. In some cases pre-tensioning can be performed during installation to achieve these added benefits. Know how to Improve the grid efficiency with the help of ACCC Conductor offered at CTC Global. Achieve Reducing Emission goals with CTC Global ACCC Conductor. Increase the line capacity with CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor. CTC Global’s ACCC® Conductor was developed to increase capacity and carry twice the current of conventional all-aluminum and steel reinforced conductors.
While classic AAC, AAAC and ACSR conductors were limited to operating temperatures of ~90°C, other high temperature conductors such as ACSS, Invar and GAP were also designed to carry twice the current as well. The capacity advantages CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor offers over the alternatives is based on CTC Global’s patented composite core which has a coefficient of thermal expansion about 90% lower than steel core strands. So while other high-temperature conductors can operate at higher temperatures while carrying more current, CTC Global’s high-capacity ACCC Conductor mitigates thermal sag. This makes it an outstanding choice for increasing the capacity of existing transmission and sub-transmission lines without the need to replace or reinforce existing structures. Added line capacity offers several advantages. CTC Global's ACCC Conductor High efficiency.
Over the past few decades, changes in weather patterns due to climate change or global warming have led to more extreme, frequent, and costly weather events that have included intense rains, ice storms, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, and wildfires. These events have caused hundreds of major power outages which have closed schools, shut down businesses, Impeded emergency services, and cost the economy hundreds of billions of dollars. In an effort to combat the growing problem, many utilities are developing strategies to modernize and “harden” the electric grid. New initiatives are directing substantial investment to improve the grid’s efficiency, capacity, reliability, and resiliency.
These efforts will not only help make the grid less vulnerable to weather.related outages, they will also help reduce the time it takes to restore power after this number-one cause of outages occurs. Firestorm damage – ACCC Conductor undamaged Storm damage – ACCC core remains undamaged. All you need to know about CTC Global. CTC Global’s super-heroes. Transmission line capacity. Following the Western Energy Crisis of 2000 and the Major East Coast Blackout of 2003, a group of engineers in California got together to design a new type of bare overhead conductor that could carry twice the current of a conventional conductor without exhibiting excessive conductor sag. The team essentially replaced steel core strands, used to strengthen most types of overhead conductors, with a composite core made up of high-strength carbon and glass fibers.
The composite core offered a coefficient of thermal expansion nearly ten times less than steel. This allowed the ‘new’ conductor to carry very high levels of current during peak load and/or emergency conditions without sagging into underbuilt lines, trees or other structures. To date, the new conductor has been deployed to more than 430 projects in 40 countries, primarily to increase the transmission lines capacity of the existing lines. Increasing line capacity offers several advantages. CTC Global software helps in improving the efficiency, reliability and capacity of grid.
Challenged by an increase in demand for affordable electricity, many system planners and transmission engineers are being asked to find economical ways to reduce grid congestion and improve grid reliability. In many cases, grid congestion costs the utilities and the customers they serve tens to hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Restrictions on new line permitting and advances in conductor and related technologies have changed the options available to planners and engineers trying to solve these problems; until the introduction of CTC Global Software, however, there have been limited design tools available that can help illustrate the differences between multiple conductor solutions.
Grid congestion is often described as a condition where existing lines are no longer capable of importing power from less expensive and often remote sources of generation, forcing utilities to develop and use more expensive, local sources of generation. CTC Global’s ACCC Conductor improves overall efficiency and capacity of the grid. Initially developed to increase the capacity of existing transmission and sub-transmission lines, the patented and trademark registered ACCC® Conductors were commercially deployed in 2005. The CTC Global ACCC Conductor utilizes a high-strength, light-weight composite core to replace conventional steel core wires in conventional bare overhead conductors.
The composite core offers a very low coefficient of thermal expansion to mitigate conductor sag under heavy electrical load conditions. The composite core’s greater strength and improved dimensional stability also enables increased spans between fewer and/or shorter structures to minimize environmental impact on new transmission lines. The ACCC Conductor’s lighter weight composite core further allows it to incorporate up to 30% more conductive aluminum which not only helps increase line capacity, it also helps reduce line losses by 25 to 40% or more.
CTC Global history helps in understanding the company's details.