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New power cable technology launched at AEP´s Bixby Station
Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 18, 2006 – An innovative High Temperature Superconducting
(HTS) power cable system was launched today at
American Electric Power’s (NYSE:
AEP) Bixby Station outside of Columbus, Ohio. The launch begins a two-year
test of a new HTS cable design that holds promise for lowering the costs of HTS
cable and helping address concerns about growing electricity demands in an
increasing number of cities.
Over the next two years, 200 meters (approx. 660 feet) of new Triax HTS cable
will deliver more than 50 megawatts of electricity to approximately 8,600
industrial, commercial and residential customers served by AEP’s Bixby Station
in Groveport, Ohio. The new Triax cable was developed by Southwire and nkt
cables, a European cable company, in an effort to lower the costs of HTS cable
and bring it closer to commercial application. Partners in the Bixby
demonstration of the cable include Southwire, nkt cables, AEP, American
Superconductor, Praxair, the Department of Energy and its Oak Ridge Laboratory.
“Over the last century, AEP has led our industry in bringing power generation,
transmission and distribution innovations out from the research lab into
real-world application. The demonstration of this new high-temperature
superconducting cable at our Bixby Station is another example of how we are
constantly seeking to advance technologies that could increase the capacity of
and ensure the reliability of our power delivery network,” said Carl English,
president, AEP Utilities. “Over the next two years, this project will provide an
invaluable demonstration of state-of-the-art superconducting cable technology on
an operating power distribution system.”
Superconducting cables, operating at extremely low temperatures, eliminate
virtually all resistance to the flow of electric current. HTS cables can deliver
up to five times more electricity than traditional conventional copper or
aluminum cables and have the potential to address the challenge of providing
sufficient electricity to densely populated areas. In an increasing number of
cities, there is little room to expand underground cable networks and the cost
to lay additional cable, including building new tunnels or ducts, is
prohibitive. With their higher capacity, superconducting cables have the
potential to increase the supply of electricity to an area using the existing
underground cable footprint. Additionally, because HTS cables can carry more
current at a lower voltage over longer distances, large power transformers could
be located farther from urban centers and densely populated areas freeing up
valuable real estate for development or green space.
Although the benefits of superconducting cables have been proven, the cost of
the technology has been too high for commercial application. The new Triax HTS
cable design being demonstrated at Bixby cuts the costs of HTS by reducing the
quantity of HTS wire needed for the cable and also requires less extreme
cooling. Although called high-temperature, this HTS system operates at
temperatures just below the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (-321 degrees
Fahrenheit).
Tests of the new Triax cable have verified its reliability; however, AEP will be
able to automatically switch electricity delivery back to the pre-exiting system
at Bixby Station to ensure continued electrical service for customers if the new
Triax HTS cable system experiences any problems.
AEP is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering
electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the
nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 36,000 megawatts of
generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity
transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765
kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission
systems combined. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas,
Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in
Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of
Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and
east Texas). American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating
its 100th anniversary in 2006.
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