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Published: 2008

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This report focuses on transmission lines, which operate at voltages of 115 kV and higher. Currently, the highest voltage lines comprising the North American power grid are at 765 kV. The grid is the network of transmission lines that interconnect most large power plants on the North American continent. One transmission line at this high voltage was built near Chicago as part of the interconnection for three large nuclear power plants southwest of the city. Lines at this voltage also serve markets in New York and New England, also very high demand regions. The large power transfers along the West Coast are generally at 230 or 500 kV. Just as there are practical limits to centralization of power production, there are practical limits to increasing line voltage. As voltage increases, the height of the supporting towers, the size of the insulators, the distance between conductors on a tower, and even the width of the right-of-way (ROW) required increase. These design features safely isolate the electric power, which has an increasing tendency to arc to ground as the voltage (or electrical potential) increases. In addition, very high voltages (345 kV and above) are subject to corona losses. These losses are a result of ionization of the atmosphere, and can amount to several megawatts of wasted power. Furthermore, they are a local nuisance to radio transmission and can produce a noticeable hum. Centralized power production has advantages of economies of scale and special resource availability (for instance, hydro resources), but centralized power requires long-distance transfers of power both to reach customers and to provide interconnections for reliability. Long distances are most economically served at high voltages, which require large-scale equipment and impose a substantial footprint on the corridors through which power passes. The most visible components of the transmission system are the conductors that provide paths for the power and the towers that keep these conductors at a safe distance from each other and from the ground and the natural and built environment. Common elements that are generally less visible (or at least more easily overlooked) include the maintained ROW along the path of the towers, access roads needed for maintenance, and staging areas used for initial construction that may be restored after construction is complete. Also visible but less common elements along the corridor may include switching stations or substations, where lines of similar or different voltages meet to transfer power.