wiredinUSA October 2015

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wiredInUSA - October 2015 21
Power
to get
moving?
Wind projects in the Midwest can
generate power at 1.5 cents to 3 cents
per kilowatt-hour. Yet while these
regions are sometimes curtailing wind,
or are limited by transmission capacity,
other regional grids are short of power.
Demand is being driven by renewable
portfolio standards, the Clean Power
Plan, and the retirement of 50GW worth
of coal power. The problem is how to
move cheap wind power, cheaply.
Founder and president of Clean
Line Energy, Michael Skelly, wants to
connect low cost wind resources to
major demand points. He believes that
transmission is the key ingredient to
getting more renewable energy on-line.
Skelly says: "We believe that an
independent [company] is suited for
the job,” suggesting that most utilities
are mandated to meet local needs
and are not thinking of the challenge
of interstate transmission.
Despite the dominance of alternating
current on national grids, direct current
is a more efficient way to move power
over long distances, with about half the
line losses and less infrastructure than a
comparable AC system.
Skelly suggests that DC, unlike AC,
“Allows complete control of power flow
and prevents cascading outages.”
A Clean Line ±600kV DC bi-pole
transmission line will have a 3,000MW
to 4,000MW capacity. The company
founder is claiming an all-in delivered
cost of “About 2 cents per kilowatt-hour
to get to market."
Clean Line is backed by National Grid,
Ziff Brothers Investments and Bluescape
Resources.
Clean Line Energy aims to develop
long distance HVDC transmission
lines to carry cheap renewable
power and still allow competitive
pricing at delivery.
ire In - Oct er 2015