Conductor Coating optimizes power grid.
Press Release Summary:
Consisting of thin, durable coating applied to surface of any General Cable TransPowr® overhead conductor, E3X™ Technology increases conductor emissivity and reduces absorptivity, optimizing heat dissipation and minimizing heat absorption. Technology also minimizes sag or size which optimizes structures, hardware, and labor for new lines. TransPowr with E3X Technology can be applied without any modification to installation, termination, or maintenance practices.
Original Press Release:
General Cable's New Groundbreaking E3X(TM) Technology
OPTIMIZES THE NATION’S POWER GRID WITH MORE POWER, LESS COST
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KENTUCKY — General Cable (NYSE: BGC) is proud to present to the industry at the IEEE PES General Meeting July 26-30, 2015 its new groundbreaking E3X™ Technology, which enables utilities to optimize the power grid by adding more capacity and controlling losses, ultimately resulting in improved sustainability, reliability and resilience with significant first-cost and long-term operational savings. The patent-pending E3X Technology is a thin, durable coating applied to the surface of any General Cable TransPowr® overhead conductor to increase conductor emissivity and reduce absorptivity, improving heat dissipation and minimizing heat absorption. TransPowr with E3X Technology drives results — a reduced conductor size for a given ampacity rating, or increased ampacity rating and reduced operating temperature for a given conductor size, improving energy effectiveness and efficiency. And it delivers an accelerated payback period, on average, of less than two years.
Specifically, E3X Technology delivers results — lower project costs by up to 20% by reducing conductor sag or size which optimizes structures, hardware and labor for new lines. Alternatively, up to 25% lower reconductoring costs are achieved due to increased conductor ampacity, facilitating improved operation within the existing infrastructure without upgrades. By increasing emissivity and lowering absorptivity of overhead conductors, E3X Technology also reduces conductor line losses up to 25% via lower operating temperature—up to 30%—resulting in significant operational savings for the life of the transmission line. Easy to implement, TransPowr with E3X Technology is a highly adaptive innovation that can be applied without any modification to installation, termination or maintenance practices.
“By increasing power-carrying capacity within an existing infrastructure, E3X Technology improves grid efficiency without compromising on safety and compliance,” said Vijay Mhetar, General Cable’s Senior Vice President of Global Technology. “At the same time, the technology’s ability to increase power-carrying capacity now gives utilities new means to improve sustainability of the more than 90,000 miles of new U.S. Transmission lines expected over the next decade*, including those from renewable energy sources.”
E3X Technology has been tested over several years by a General Cable-directed team of expert development partners; independent test laboratories including Kinectrics and Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and utilities with a focus on energy efficiency and reliability. This groundbreaking, heat-dissipating coating has been tested to the most stringent protocols above and beyond what is required for standard overhead conductor, and it has been evaluated via extensive validation in field trials with installation and test reports available upon request.
“As a global energy industry leader, General Cable developed E3X Technology to meet evolving transmission system requirements and improve economics,” said Jay Lahman, Vice President and General Manager, Electric Utility Products, General Cable. "With a compelling payback of less than two years on average resulting from significant savings from lower project costs, lower reconductoring costs, or lower line losses, TransPowr with E3X Technology is a win-win for utilities, customers and the environment alike.”
Developed through the collaborative efforts of a highly qualified team of experts, as well as extensive R&D and testing capabilities, E3X Technology is yet another example of General Cable’s commitment to drive innovation and set new standards for reliability and sustainability that allows utilities to supply safe, clean, reliable and cost-effective power for generations to come.
*C Three Transmission Project Database – US Projects only
General Cable (NYSE:BGC), a Fortune 500 Company, is a global leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of aluminum, copper and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, construction, industrial, specialty and communications sectors. With annual revenues of approximately $6 billion, General Cable is one of the largest wire and cable manufacturers in the world. The company serves customers through a network of manufacturing facilities in our core geographical markets and has sales representation and distribution worldwide.
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