|
New
Release -- Superconductor Week does not edit or endorse the following
news release:
World’s First In-Grid High-Temperature
Superconducting Power Cable System is Now Online at Albany, New York
Tokyo, Japan August 1: The transmission of electricity over the in-grid
superconducting power cable system started in Albany, New York State on the
local date of July 20th 2006. This system at the Albany High-Temperature
Superconducting (HTS) Cable Project (hereinafter referred to as the “Albany
Project”) uses high-temperature superconducting cable manufactured by Sumitomo
Electric Industries, Ltd.
First in the world to be used in the practically used underground power grid,
the superconducting cable system undergoes a demonstration test for the next six
months. A ceremony will be held on the local date of August 2nd to celebrate the
successful completion of the construction of the Albany Project HTS cable
system, with honorable guests including New York’s Governor Pataki. Sumitomo
Electric President and CEO Masayoshi Matsumoto will also attend the ceremony.
About the Albany Project
Funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Albany Project is a
superconducting cable system demonstration project currently underway in Albany,
the state capital of New York. Between National Grid’s Riverside and Menands
substations (about 3 kilometers apart), 350 meters of superconducting cable is
installed and connected to the underground electricity grid.
Project partners: SuperPower, Inc. (Main contractor) Sumitomo Electric group
(Manufacture and installation of superconducting cable, cable end boxes in air
and cable joint, and operation of cable system) National Grid (Utility) The BOC
Group (Cryogenic system/ Monitoring)
Total project cost: About US$27 million (US$13.5 million funded from DOE, US$6
million funded from NYSERDA, and the rest is shared among the project partners)
Project period : From November 2002 to November 2007
In the United States, under the Energy Policy enacted last year, the
modernization of power grid is positioned as a national issue. The plan to
construct a powerful superconducting cable network covering the entire nation by
2030 is under review. As a part of this plan, three DOE-funded superconducting
cable projects are currently underway. The Albany Project is the first among the
three projects to complete the construction of cable system and commence
demonstration test in real power grid.
Superconducting Cable System Specifications and Other Information
The Albany Project superconducting cable system is comprised of 350 meters of
34.5 kV/800 A three-cores-in-one-cryostat type (“3-in-OneTM”) superconducting
cable, the three-cores-in-one-cryostat type cable end-boxes in air and the
world’s first three-cores-in-one-cryostat type cable joint (Photo 3). The system
also includes a measurement system and a cryogenic system. The superconducting
cable is installed in an underground duct about 150 millimeters in diameter and
the joint are installed at the end 30 meters from the south end of the cable.
The cable uses 70 kilometers of Sumitomo Electric's dynamically-innovative
bismuth superconducting wire (DI-BSCCO○R ) manufactured using the company’s
proprietary “Controlled-over-Pressure (CT-OP)” sintering method.
“3-in-OneTM” (three-cores-in-one-cryostat type) superconducting cable: Sumitomo
Electric’s “3-in-OneTM” (three-cores-in-one-cryostat type) superconducting cable
is designed to have three cable cores stored in one cryostat. This structure is
more advantageous than conventional ones in that cable diameter can be made
narrower and heat invasion is less. The three cable cores are stranded by the
“loose stranding” method to suppress thermal elongation/contraction that occurs
when a superconducting cable is cooled and experiences a large temperature
difference between room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature (boiling
temperature -196 degrees C).
Return
to industry news releases |
