American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC) says its superconductor technology has been chosen for the Tres Amigas Project in New Mexico, where superconductor wire and cable will be used to transfer and balance renewable power among the Eastern, Western and Texas Interconnections.
Touted as ‘the nation's first renewable energy market hub,’ the project will feature transmission-level DC superconductor cables powered by AMSC high-temperature superconductor wire and high-powered voltage-source AC/DC power converters.
‘Tres Amigas will serve as a renewable energy market hub by connecting all three of America's power grids to enable the transfer of green power from region to region,’ says Phil Harris, CEO of Tres Amigas LLC and former CEO of PJM Interconnection. ‘The system will also add a new dimension of reliability and security for U.S. power supplies.’
The Tres Amigas project will be constructed in Clovis, N.M., where the state has granted Tres Amigas LLC the right to lease 14,400 acres of land. The company is filing for a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) declaratory order stating that transmission lines connecting Tres Amigas to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas will not come under the jurisdiction of FERC, and that Tres Amigas can be operated as a merchant transmission entity.
AMSC is expected to provide transmission planning services, superconductor wire and the superconductor cable system for the project. AMSC says it intends to partner with superconductor cable and system component companies to manufacture the cable system.
SOURCE: AMSC
