(Carrollton, Georgia * August 24, 1999) -- Southwire Company has begun installing the world's first
real-world application of a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power system at its headquarters in
Carrollton, Ga.
The three 30-meter cables will power three of the company's manufacturing plants * Southwire Machinery
Division, Southwire Carrollton Utility Products Plant and Southwire Carrollton Building Wire Plant. This will
be the first time a company has successfully made the difficult transition from laboratory to practical field
application.
"This is a milestone for Southwire. Several companies, including Southwire, have built HTS cables but this is
the first complete load-bearing HTS cable system to be installed," said R.L. Hughey, Southwire's
superconductor project manager. "For years, superconductors have represented the promise of more
energy-efficient and cost-effective electrical power delivery. The live installation of this HTS system is a giant
step forward in making that promise a reality. Since the operations of three manufacturing facilities will be
depending on this cable, this is an important and critical moment for us."
The 100-foot long HTS cables were developed and manufactured at Southwire's Carrollton facilities. On
August 24, representatives from the company's Superconductivity Partnership Initiative (SPI) joined
company employees in carrying the cables out of the manufacturing clean room to specially-equipped
cranes, which transported the 1,200-pound cables to the installation sight near the Southwire Carrollton
Building Wire Plant.
"Our next step is to build the two terminations for each cable and complete the cryogenic liquid nitrogen
cooling system," Hughey explained. "These are complex systems and will take several months to build. We'll
spend the last two months of 1999 testing the nitrogen pumping system and we plan to start carrying a live
load in January of 2000."
Southwire began its HTS cable development in 1995, five years behind its closest competitor. The company
has completed two successful laboratory tests of HTS cables. As one of only two companies in the United
States working on HTS cable development, the company formed industrial partnerships with Intermagnetics
General Corporation and Plastronics-EURUS. Electrical utility partners include Southern Company
Services, Georgia Transmission Corporation and Southern California Edison. Department of Energy
partners include Oak Ridge and Argonne National Laboratories.
As the rapid growth of urban areas increases demand for more power while limiting the space for
underground cable installations, HTS cable's ability to transmit more power using the same amount of space
as traditional cable will be increasingly important. HTS cables can also transmit power with virtually no
electrical resistance. Currently, non-recoverable energy losses due to resistance result in the waste of up to
eight percent of the electricity generated in the United States. The world market for HTS materials is
estimated to be at least $30 billion by the year 2020.
"The installation of these load-bearing cables make Southwire one of the world leaders in superconducting
technology development," Hughey stated. "We're proud of this groundbreaking achievement and we're
excited about being able to bring our customers the benefit of this leading-edge technology that will be
capable of handling the power demands of the new millennium."
With annual sales of US$1.4 billion, Southwire Company is one of the world's leading wire and cable
manufacturers. Southwire technologies and products, including copper and aluminum rod, are distributed to
countries worldwide. Southwire's world headquarters is in Carrollton, Georgia, USA, 40 miles west of
Atlanta. |
