Design, Construction, and Operation of Long-Distance High-Voltage Electricity Transmission Technologies

摘要

This report focuses on transmission lines, which operate at voltages of 115 kV and higher. Currently, the highest voltage lines comprising the North American power grid are at 765 kV. The grid is the network of transmission lines that interconnect most large power plants on the North American continent. One transmission line at this high voltage was built near Chicago as part of the interconnection for three large nuclear power plants southwest of the city. Lines at this voltage also serve markets in New York and New England, also very high demand regions. The large power transfers along the West Coast are generally at 230 or 500 kV. Just as there are practical limits to centralization of power production, there are practical limits to increasing line voltage. As voltage increases, the height of the supporting towers, the size of the insulators, the distance between conductors on a tower, and even the width of the right-of-way (ROW) required increase. These design features safely isolate the electric power, which has an increasing tendency to arc to ground as the voltage (or electrical potential) increases.