Saving power

There are many ways to increase the availability of electrical power from plants that burn hydrocarbons without increasing hydrocarbon emissions, particularly CO2. There is a way of burying the effluent from coal-burning plants (used to generate power and for the manufacture of cement and steel) deep underground, in basalt formations, in exhausted oil wells, or in saline aquifers. The use of depleted oil wells for this purpose has been tested in Europe but these methods have not been used on a large scale, for fear that the CO2 might find a way to escape its underground or undersea domain, and because carbon emissions are not yet taxed.

Electric motors of all sizes could become more efficient. Home and industrial lighting, including street lighting, could use newly developed, non-incandescent lights. Traffic lights are already undergoing a major transformation to LED lights and many of us have been enticed successfully into changing our incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. Many personal computers still use huge power supplies (transformers) that use many times the power needed for current, less power-hungry computer components. Reducing the size of these power supplies could make a significant change in our power consumption, since these computers are commonly left in the "on" position 24 hours a day. Many other electrical appliances, most notably television sets, use a small amount of power to keep them in a "ready" position. Unplugging such appliances, TVs and computers when going on vacation would be helpful.

I just learned of a new, interesting way to improve the efficiency of power tranmission. The design of high voltage transmission lines that conduct power from the power plant to the substation, often hundreds of miles, has not been changed for almost 100 years. Nearly all of these lines have a steel core of cable wrapped by spirals of aluminum. When excessive power is pushed through these lines or when the ambient temperature rises too high (think of the temperatures in the Middle East), the lines begin to heat up (the cable has resistance and the increase amperage creates heat) and the lines sag dangerously.

A new transmission line has been developed and approved by regulators which has a carbon composite core and is wrapped much efficiently and tightly with aluminum cable that has a polygonal cross-section that fits tightly together around the composite core. It is the same diameter as the old transmission lines, yet much lighter and not subject to heat expansion. The result is that this new type of transmission line can be substituted for the old line using the same towers, the same right of way (eliminating a huge amount of bureaucratic friction), and the same installation equipment. The cost of the line is greater, but there are such huge cost savings that derive from these new transmission lines (conductors, in the trade jargon) that the new conductors pay for themselves in two years. The new composite-core cable can transmit almost twice as much power (because it is resistant to sagging from heat), and has 33% less power loss (from resistance and heating). Interestingly, the Chinese have been among the first to order this cable (called ACCC conductor) in large volume. Of course, the Chinese want to buy the ACCC core material and then wrap it in aluminum in China, which is fine with the patent holder and company that produces this new cable, since they outsource the wrapping, anyway and the Chinese are the world's largest producers of aluminum (another large consumer of electric power). The Chinese company has a three year contract for cable. They like the product and are likely to order more in a volume of thousands of kilometers. AES, the U.S. utility that owns the largest set of transmission lines in the country, has also showed interest and has placed small orders for testing. But it is easier to deal with a national utility in a foreign country than with hundreds of smaller bureaucracies in the U.S. About 10 other countries have shown interest, including power companies in the Near East, eastern Europe, and South America. This is such an intriguing product, because if used widely, it can greatly improve the efficiency of power transmisssion and reduce the number of power plants, including alternative energy power plants, that are required to serve the electrical needs of the world. Wind farms are particularly interested in this conductor solution, since they get paid for the amount of power delivered to the grid, so if the transmission line that carries power from the wind farm to the electrical grid has 33% less loss, that increases the profits or reduces the number of wind turbines the wind farm requires in order to produce a given amount of power.

The company that makes this new conductor is called Composite Technologies (CPTC). The company has had its problems, including bankruptcy, which now seem to be behind it. In 2006, CPTC purchased a struggling wind turbine company in Germany, renamed it Dewind, and, after extensive testing and regulatory approvals, is ready to sell their newest generation turbines (designated 8.2). The market for wind turbines is very hot and they are likely to succeed, although their new turbine design is somewhat different ("improved," they say) than those of other companies. They have contracted with an outside company to insure the turbines against all defects for 3 years in order to reassure the buyer that the turbines will be maintained properly, even though CPTC is a tiny company with a history of bankruptcy.

CPTC has to prove that the company is real and has products that are attractive and will succeed. It is a tiny company compared to its competitors, but it finally seems to be getting its act together. It remains a penny stock, selling for a little more than $1/share. But it may succeed in this new environment, where anything that reduces the carbon footprint of power production and distribution is going to be attractive to someone.