Coalition for an
Underground Alternative

 

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© Copyright 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Technology > Underground Projects


 

ATC has declared that building this line underground is not possible. From their website: "For higher voltage transmission lines such as the 345-kilovolt line being proposed for the Rockdale to West Middleton project, undergrounding is not a viable option because at that voltage the lines cannot dissipate heat and become capacity bottlenecks on the system, defeating the purpose of building them."

 

The technology to bury the line exists, and it has been done for years all over the world. It is also being done right here in the United States. The City of San Diego, California has decided to underground new powerlines;  all new projects will be underground, and by the year 2020, all existing overhead lines will be buried.

 

 

This table, taken from the Black & Veatch presentation at EUCI's Conference on Current Trends in Underground Transmission, contains a list of the big underground projects: 10 circuit miles or more of at least 345 kV

*Note that this table does not include projects under 345 kV. There are numerous underground projects at the 230 kV level.

YEAR

 

OWNER/
PROJECT

 

COUNTRY

 

OPERATING
VOLTAGE

 

CIRCUIT LENGTH
(miles)

 

1996

 

The Tokyo Electric
Power Company

Japan

500 kV

11.4

1997

 

The Tokyo Electric
Power Company

Japan

500 kV

11.46

1998

 

Copenhagen /
South Link

Denmark

400 kV

13.2

1999

 

The Tokyo Electric
Power Company

Japan

500 kV

12.48

2004

 

Nordjitlands /
Vaerket-Trige

Denmark

400 kV

16.8

2004

 

NGC /
St. John's Wood

UK

420 kV

25

2006

 

Turbigo / Rho

Italy

380 kV

10.55

2006

 

SEC / COA

Saudi Arabia

380 kV

16.3

2006

 

SEC / WOA

Saudi Arabia

380 kV

12.2

2007

 

Keyspan

USA

345 kV

14.9

2008

 

ComEd /
West Loop

USA

345 kV

10