By HEATHER CLARK, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Officials announced an ambitious project in New Mexico on Tuesday that would allow energy to flow more freely across the nation's three massive power grids, breaking down significant barriers to ramping up alternative energy in the United States.
The proposed Tres Amigas SuperStation in Clovis, N.M., would help route energy from isolated wind and solar installations to urban centers and other places that consume the most power.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who served as President Bill Clinton's energy secretary, said the transmission station would be "historic."
"This is going to be the largest power converter in the world, making New Mexico the meeting place for America's electricity needs," he said at a news conference to unveil the project.
The transmission hub would be located across 22 square miles in eastern New Mexico near the Texas border. Clovis was chosen because it is nearest to where the nation's three power grids — called the East, West and Texas interconnections — come closest together.
Tres Amigas would build a triangular pathway of underground superconductor pipelines, combined with AC/DC converters that synchronize the flow of power between the interconnections. The equipment allows electricity to be transferred from grid to grid.
Construction could begin in 2011 or 2012, and the hub could be running in 2013 or 2014, said Phil Harris, chief executive of the Santa Fe-based Tres Amigas.
The pipelines, 3 feet in diameter, contain hair-thin ceramic fibers developed by Devens, Mass.-based American Superconductor and can carry enough electricity to power 2.5 million homes. [The project will use high-temperature superconductor wire developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, Richardson said.]
"That's how we're going to break the power gridlock in this country," said Greg Yurek, the company's founder and chief executive.
Balance of article: StarTribune.com
No comments:
Post a Comment