Media Contact: Ron Walli Communications and Media Relations New
conductor could provide answers for energy demand OAK RIDGE,
Tenn., Nov. 7, 2002 Oak Ridge National Laboratory and 3M Company
are hoping for powerful results from a project aimed at making
transmitting electricity more efficient and reliable.
Researchers from 3M, working with ORNL, are developing a
promising replacement conductor for conventional power lines
that addresses the problem of power outages caused by sagging
lines. Lines sag under the heat of high current loads. The
replacement conductor also avoids the high cost and
environmentally harmful effects of building new towers. "3M's
new composite-core conductor can increase the current-carrying
capacity of a transmission line at minimal cost and
environmental impact," said John Stovall, technical leader in
ORNL's Engineering Science and Technology Division. "Its
advantage is using existing structures to increase transmission
capacity without the cost of a new transmission line." The
design