"Replacing existing power lines with cables made from state-of-the-art materials could roughly double the capacity of the #ElectricGrid in many parts of the country, making room for much more wind and solar power.
This technique, known as “advanced #reconductoring,” is widely used in other countries. But many U.S. utilities have been slow to embrace it because of their unfamiliarity with the technology as well as regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles, researchers found."
How a simple fix could double the size of the U.S. #ElectricityGrid
"Carbon-fiber wires don’t sag as much in the heat. That means that they can take up to double the amount of power as the old lines.
It could also cost half as much as building an entirely new line and avoid the headaches of trying to get every state, city and even landowner along the route to agree to a new project."