EMAC is proud to announce that Emilia Chojkiewicz, PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group, and Duncan Callaway have recently co-authored a significant research paper on transmission capacity expansion. The paper, titled “Accelerating Transmission Capacity Expansion by Using Advanced Conductors in Existing Right-of-Way,” was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). You can read the full paper here.
The research focuses on the critical challenge of integrating renewable energy sources into existing power grids, an essential step toward achieving decarbonization goals. The paper presents a compelling case for using advanced composite-core conductors to double transmission capacity in existing right-of-way areas, which can greatly accelerate the transition to clean energy by 2035. This method is shown to be both cost-effective and time-efficient, offering substantial benefits over traditional greenfield transmission expansion. The work demonstrates that reconductoring, a largely underutilized strategy, can save $180 billion in system costs by 2050 while unlocking renewable energy potential across the United States.
