|
An aging and inadequate power grid is now widely seen as among the greatest obstacles to efforts to restructure power markets in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.
Utilities face several converging pressures, including steady load growth, unplanned additions of new generation capacity, rising reliability requirements, sharp price volatility resulting from new competitive forces, and stringent barriers to siting new facilities, particularly extra-high voltage equipment. In light of persistent challenges to proposals for conventional grid expansion, and the recognition that industry reforms cannot succeed without renewed grid investment, new technologies that can increase the electrical capacity and flexibility of this vital network are attracting increased attention.
One of the technologies with the greatest promise to address these concerns is the high-capacity, underground High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) cable which is capable of serving very large power requirements at medium and high-voltage ratings.
|
